As I’m sure all loyal underground Hip Hop fans already know, Roc Marciano is a Long Island MC/Producer with ties to Alchemist and previously Busta Rhymes Flipmode Squad, who has been releasing critically acclaimed/underground classics for years now (Marberg, Reloaded, Marci Beaucoup), and has just released his fourth solo release titled Rosebudd’s Revenge last February. Although for his prior album Marciano handled the production entirely himself (and you always deserve points for that), this time around he allows it to be more of a collaborative effort, and from beginning to end there are countless instrumentals that are nothing short of incredible.
Without further ado Rosebudd's Revenge is critiqued track by track below, where for the most part it’s classic bars over classic production, along with plenty of soulful samples that makes it an absolute must listen.
Move Dope
“The purple haze in a mason jar, what you take me for, some waiter with a tablecloth? My sable hang to the floor, the velour I wore is made by Liz Claiborne, listen baby doll, you get what you paid for” Produced by George Paulin this one should not be the intro… not that it’s trash it’s just not his best work and would have been considered filler any where it fell on this. Overall this is a debatable skip.
Rosebudd’s Revenge
“I paid a lump, the table spun, I dip my blunt in angel dust, the gauge pump, turn your brain to mush, the slug'll make your potato bust, imagine what that Draco does, give you a halo, while i'm sniffin yayo off of J-Lo butt” Produced by Arch Druids the production is better on this and although it’s not a standout it can definitely be considered a decent album cut.
History
“Fields of kush, a strain - Barbara Bush, lay in the cut like a rook, play it by the book, for hard looks, let 'em cook, his frame shook, before he stood his firstborn grew a foot” The first of many standouts on the project, Marciano definitely flexed on this fire instrumental provided once again by Arch Druids, who does his numbers all over this album.
Better Know
“I'm just a Geto Boy like Willie D, I think my mind's playin' tricks on me, got a couple bitches turnin tricks for me, I'm the shit homie, shit, and only slow but I'm far from a one trick pony” Produced by Roc Marciano himself the sample inside the piano instrumental is nothing short of legendary. This is grown man rap at it’s finest *lights cigar*
No Smoke ft Knowledge The Pirate
“I still clean my jewelry with toothpaste, drivebys in Taurus SHO, silent murders with the crossbow” Produced by Knxwledge (of NxWorries / Anderson Paak fame) this one is mostly uninspiring from start to finish, a definite SKIP
Gunsense
“Polyamory, free financially, you should see the body on my spanish bitch, motherfucker this is art, you can't just pick this apart, this not a hobby, this is therapy” Produced by Arch Druids the verses are on point with this one and overall it’s another decent album cut.
Killing Time
“My white hoe standing like Anna Kournikova, I called her over, people pointing, ‘Yo there goes Rosebudd,’ all my clothes is bought with hoe's blood, rollin bud in the button up, bitches button it up, you see me and the homie here bustin it up” Produced again by Roc Marciano himself this one is over a sample of Lou Courtney’s ‘The Best Thing A Man Can Do For His Woman’ and it’s absolutely perfect. Major respect due to Marciano for his versatility this is one of the best instrumentals of the year period.
Burkina Faso
“Chase money, taste bubbly, aches, I get the shakes, takes more than cocaine to numb me, bang ace, angel grace but I ain't grumpy, .44 Bulldog, no time to waste puppies, as a youth I was a drifter, tan chucks, you keep the dunks - I'm not a hipster” More production from Arch Druids and this one is another instant classic… I fux with this one heavy 🔥🔥🔥
Marksmen ft Ka
“Tried to go hard at school, stayed for the best classes, just wasn't the sharpest tool, paid for my trespasses, a modest student got saluted when I met masters, thinking of fam, blinking here, you feel death's lashes” All about the vibe and that penmanship… another decent album cut
Herringbone
“The first chain I ever owned, I stole a Herringbone (Herringbone), the end result: I boned a yellow bone, back when I was peddling blow in the red zone, I can see me in Venezuela in dress clothes” Produced by Marciano himself this one is filler and an absolute SKIP!
Pimp Arrest
“There's no lid on the ride, I rhyme and pimp on the side, steak with the shrimp on the side, you can't just play the fence, pick a side” See above… SKIP
Pray 4 Me
“Flashy *****, Rucker Park shit, talk shit, diamonds flashing in the dark shit, I'm a marksman” Unlike the previous two record this right here is classic Roc Marciano production, and I think it’s fair to call it classic underground Hip Hop over the illest jazz instrumentals the genre has heard in many years.
Here I Am
"Ya'll finished or ya'll done, I might done you with the small bun, my man brung the drum, let's give the drummer some, rum-pum pum pum, I let a hot one run in your cummerbund, blood was all on his tux buttoned up, his buddies thought he might eat a few, he was muscular, but he didn't, he finished, I had the mask on, I had to just lift it to let him know who did this (I did this), I ate your food, it was delicious, my Haitian bitch, she doing voodoo with the chickens” <<<< crazy pen game and once more crazy production by Marciano, this time over a sample of Stanley Cowell’s ‘Here I Am’... another crazy record that’s good for the vibe.
Already
“I'm bout to cop a home in Oceanside, Sky Dweller's frozen in time, my mind’s a goldmine, you washed and left to dry on the clothesline, hoes on your vines look like Kanye clothing line” Nice production by Modus Op but this one is definite filler and a debatable skip.
Pig Knuckles
“Pull the drops out in the summer, I played Prince, while I waited on my bitch, when you rich you fly your jewelers in from Zurich, vintage Woolwich, I'm nothin to be fooled wit, I light a spliff in the memory of Ruck, we made legendary shit, I'm a history buff (Rest in peace, my man)” RIP Sean Price, decent outro to close it out
Overall this is a project that will make you want to go back through Marciano’s whole catalogue, considering his unique production and style is so efficient that you can’t help but admire a master of his craft, albeit even if it’s more or less an acquired taste. Ultimately Marciano stays true to what he does best in his music, and through 15 records there were only a handful of skips on the album, where far more memorable were the highlights that stand firm as some of the best Hip Hop to be released this year.
