On 2012’s Reloaded, Roc Marciano was part-hustler, part-crime boss, a new-age street poet made in Kool G Rap’s image. He was Michael Corleone and Gustavo Fring—a coolheaded ambassador with sharp business acumen and an understated mean streak. On Reloaded, Marciano didn’t knock you out, but he won with subtle lyrical jabs and quiet confidence. Marciano flexed more muscle on his recent mixtape, “The Pimpire Strikes Back,” even if he shared the spotlight with Action Bronson, Evidence and others.
Marciano’s new album, Marci Beaucoup, picks up where “Pimpire” left off as a collection of raw rhymes that reference the drug game and street survival. Marciano raps alongside the aforementioned emcees while bringing Blu, Quelle Chris (“Cut the Check”), Guilty Simpson (“Squeeze”) and others into the mix. There’s no clear theme and it ends abruptly, which makes Beaucoup feel more like a mixtape than an actual album. It recalls Ghostface Killah’s Ironman or Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx as a project focused more on group triumph than the lead rapper. As a result, Marci Beaucoup is a relay race: Marciano spits a verse and hands the baton to Simpson. He hands off to Bronson and so on.
The production is a bit shaky, though. While the beats are good, the looping soul samples grow tedious after a while. There’s also a disconnection between Marciano’s flow and the mixing. He’s monotone, so it’s a strain to decipher his wordplay beneath the background fodder and noisy vocal clips. But there are gems if you can catch them: He’s “blowin’ Cubans with druids” on “Willie Manchester” and getting “slow top” in the Beemer on “Squeeze.” On “Dollar Bitch,” Marciano and Maffew Ragazino mimic the Wu’s infatuation with Italian mob culture. With Marciano, you’re not enamored with what he says, but how he says it. He brims with gritty bravado, and is one of Rap’s most technically sound emcees, even if he’s largely unheralded in mainstream circles.
In the end, Marci Beaucoup is a nice victory lap that falls just short of Reloaded. There are standouts here—“Drug Lords,” “Psych Ward” and “Soul Music” to name a few—but the overall product isn’t as spectacular. Like its predecessor, Marci Beaucoup follows a standard formula of dope beats and dope rhymes, which works fine for an emcee of Marciano’s caliber. With Beaucoup, Marciano and his friends just wanna rap and talk shit. That’s fine. Marciano is a benevolent leader.
i love this
Cats gave 4.5 to 7 Days Of Funk, but this just as good, if not better.
this is probably the greatest album ever made
and your second favorite: immobilarity by Raekwon
you sound like he scorned you personally @poppa Large
Top 10 of the year.
I have to throw my hat in the ring here…when it comes to Roc Marc, i dont think there’s many that’s a big a fan as i am….loved marcberg, loved reloaded, even pimpire strikes back…but i do have to agree, the new record wasn’t mixed well it sounds thin an that ruins it for me being an audiophile…..now, for the dude that’s saying beats have to have hard drums….that’s not true….as long as you can flow on it….a lot of people appriciate the minimialistic style that roc has brought to the forefront….(think Q tips production on “thread count”) it works if its mixed properly….and for me, this new album does sound hella thin….its a bummer for me….and also, i think roc should keep his circle tight like he has on previous albums, i wasn’t really feeling the overload of features…..just my 2 cents….
somebody forgot the drums
exactly. and the caffeine. some songs are too sleepy.
young cats dont catch the vibe..
i’m 35 and grew up in the golden era that was full of hard drums and so was the 80’s. you know boom bap?? nice excuse man- the beats are weak-documented provable fact.
go listen to your boom bap cuz this aint that either old timer… this that raw rhyme play over minimalist soul flips that act as the backdrop NOT the backBONE
@ anon
your brainwashed to like production that has no talent.
backdrop my dick. the shit is weak. and i understand the style lil man but its boring except for Roc’s rhymes and stye. he just needs to try somrething different. love annoying all you lil fan boys.
Idiot. It’s a soul sample repeatedly looped. That’s not outstanding production, that’s flat out LAZY. Add some instruments or something and maybe the production will actually SHINE.
@poppa large you a washed up has been never was though. leaving 10 hating comments like the sucker you are.
I’m just gonna come out and say that I think Roc is the best rapper/producer alive. Another incredible album from Roc Marciano. This is the best album of 2013 next to Ka’s The Night’s Gambit. Even though there is at least one guest emcee on every track, Marci Beaucoup stays extremely consistent throughout and all the features do their thing and sound comfortable over Roc’s beats. Without a doubt 5 stars and I can’t wait for Marciano’s upcoming projects.
Easily 5 stars
take some ambien and float with ka and his old pal roc. some of the best production ever heard by ears.
til I saw the draft ov $5580, I did not believe …that…my neighbour was actualie bringing in money part time at there labtop.. there brothers friend has done this 4 only twenty three months and by now took care of the debts on their cottage and got a great new Peugeot 205 GTi. Learn More… http://www.Fb39.com
Beyonce article on a HipHop website? Can we get some Keisha Cole and Mary J too or are they not HipHop like Beyonce is?
anybody giving this more than a 3 is on Roc’s dik and dosn’t know what real production is. seriously, thats not a subjective statement either. the production is weak. sorry dick riders.
3/5
his weakest yet.
“what real production is..” FOH roc understands what should be the backdrop for his rhymes.. you dont get it and thats fine but to marginalize like that shows your lack of game
oh i get it fuk tard.
you are a mindless follower.
if roc said jump of a cliff youd be off.
roc could be releasing much better albums and i think he’s going through a weird phase and he might regret it in the future whenhe looks back and all his songs sound like shit except his rhymes.
Good god. Did I not point out the flaws in the production? It just seems like a headache trying to critique an album for you people. If we point out minor flaws or write a “poor” review, then we’re wrong. If we write a good review for a talented artist and STILL point out minor flaws we’re STILL wrong. I give up.
opposite.. his minimalism is what will make these projects stand the test of time.
Roc Marci has done it again. This album is the best that i’ve ever heard. Reloaded was the shit and i like his The Pimpire Strikes Back mixtape.
production is so thin sounding and lacking drums even worse then previous albums. hip hop is a drum driven genre.
Marcburg- 4/5 (due to terrible mixing and recording of album)and some weak beats.
Reloaded- 4/5 improvement but not alot
marci beaucoup- 3/4- weaker production, even less drums. its getting tired this overly laid back style with no intensity or creative production.
*washed up producer alert*
washed up producer alert posted by a kid who dosnt know shit about production and beats. what a joke.
i’m 87 years old fam! has beens recognize has beens!
yaaaawn. over rated albums by a really dope emcee. time to swith up the formula pal.
The production is a bit shaky, though. While the beats are good, the looping soul samples grow tedious after a while. Theres also a disconnection between Marcianos flow and the mixing. Hes monotone, so its a strain to decipher his wordplay beneath the background fodder and noisy vocal clips.
EXACTLY What brought the album down.
huh? thats my favorite part of the album.. this article is written by someone who doesnt understand this sub genre of hip hop
They way overrated it. I’m a fan of this nigga. He’s one of the only MCs I really check for, ’cause he’s nice. His rhyme style is the type of shit we grew up on, and I get it. But this album was just weak. To me, ‘Reloaded’ is his best album. Marcberg second best, Pimpire third, and this one last by a mile. I know niggas say “it’s not an album, it’s a mixtape”…nigga if there’s no DJ, it’s an album, regardless of what you call it. The guest appearances are just weak, almost every single one of them. This crop of rappers that are out right now are mediocre at best. The Maffew Ragazino’s and Action Bronson’s and Guilty Simpson’s and Blu and such…they’re overrated just ’cause niggas are so desperate to hear real MCs that when they hear anyone even average, they jump all over ’em and act like they’re dumb nice. These dudes are very average and uninteresting.
The production on here is hit and miss. I like his beats most of the type. I like those dusty ass samples and simple loops, but there’s ways to tighten them up engineering wise and arrangement wise where you can maintain the dirtiness but still have it sound good. The engineering on this album is poor, and the structuring was lazy. The rhymes are ill, as always, but even his lyrics on here are on the same level as his other effors, if not a notch lower. It kind of strikes me as a money-grab, on some “Wu-Massacre” or “The Dragon and the Abstract”. I don’t get the sense that any real effort went into this album. It was “I got these songs left that aren’t great but aren’t terrible, I’m just gonna throw it out there and get some bread off it.” Which I understand, but now he gotta come back with a heater. That shit with Alchemist will most likely be ill.
If you compare this album to Lil’ Ding-Dong and Young Droopy and all these fools, of course it’s good. But if you stand it next to the other MCs on his level, it’s a middle-shelf if not lower shelf album, not top shelf and definitely not vintage.
agree with all that.
except i think guilt simpson is mad nice. simple but unpredictable at times, soulful and raw at the same time. has substance but not too much, has a dope voice and a really cool flow and accent with the way he says shit. dice game is a classic album but i dont like the tracks “reputation”, “one man”, or lets play.
We can’t make anybody happy on this website. If we give your favorite underground anywhere less than a 4 , you’ll threaten to have our heads on a pike, and if we share the same sentiments as you do in terms of mixing & engineering, you’ll say we’re overrating. Make up your minds:*(
hey guys look. its a circle jerk of washed up producers who never made shit acting like they know!
this is an extremely lazy review
Your mama wasn’t too lazy when she was giving me dome the other day.
had to comment again.
thought they were gonna give this a 3.5 max. surprised by the 4 because the album is a 3.5 max because of the beats.
i just listened again and my fav tracks are “didnt know” and “drug lords” (they have drums!). only like half the tracks and only put 5 on the iPod.
the main issue i pin pointed last listen is that some of the loops are just overly simple loops all by themselves with noting else added with it except when the beat changes up the do another simple loop. and the loops a lot of the time arnt even comprised of a really dope section of a song that was sampled. a couple songs with overly redundant loops that dont contain a sample worth looping. theres almost no chopping.
theres basically no drums on the record except for what is already i the sample. its like each song contains 1 sample and they are relying on it to provide all the instruments in the song!?? stupid.
its boring, uncreative production and its not even mixed that well and is lacking a wide range of frequencies a(sounding thin).
you cant just loop a section from a soul song and then call it a beat. this is mixtape material.
Roc shold do an album with prodution from people like Apollo brown, bronze nazereth etc. its time for a change Roc.
you a washed up producer
I bascially agree with everyone else. Production is somewhat boring and quite uninspired. Im sick of these producer looping a segment of a track, speeding it up or down and just looping it. If you do that and dont add drums, bass, or other instrumentation, that is simply not producing. And Im not even talking about chopping the sample. Damn it that shits lazy. Even Alchemist, who is and always will be one of favorite producer is guilty of this. Look at ALC & Actions album. Almost every beat on there is just a looped segment of some obscure soul sample and everyone calls it genius. Damn people.
Now I am a fan of a lot of the MCs on this album, and I actually enjoy a lot of the album as well, but the mixing was done quite poorly. Maybe the beats sounded so bad sonically to begin with the producer couldnt mix it any better, but I could barely even hear the MCs on most of the tracks. One MC would be loud and the next is too quiet.
And where are the drums? Add some drums in there dammit! I mean, I guess people are giving it fantastic reviews all over the place so he must be doing something right. Im a huge fan ROC, but the beats on MARCBERG where way better. They still got extremely boring due intense repetition with little no change in the beat over the entire 4 minutes. But it was still dope. Mixed horrendously, but still dope.
I guess I dont know what to think. I support him cause hes dope. But I expect more outta these producers. Stop being so lazy.
**Chek my beats out on sound cloud.com/eroksteady –that grimy boom gap shit
PEACE-
Agree with you absolutely.
As muchas as I enjoy Roc Marciano “success” we must recognize that right now being a fan of Marciano it’s an underground trend…. Although he is really good and could do better the beats are too repetitive in my opinion.
I wish he could reelease an album with The UN
This the first time that an editor & a commenter actually agree on an album review.
For the first time underground fans of an underground artists agree that the mainstream site overrrated the album.
As I said, as much as I like Marci he’s an underground trend like Action Bronson as example, and even mainstream sites are afraid to say that the beats are….. lazy, wack? I don’t know but not good beats.
huh?
This is a outstanding compilation of tracks. The features were chosen perfectly and th beats are perfect for lyric driven music.
To me this is as bood as if not better than both Marcber and Reloaded. Mixtape was the shit too.
This album doesn’t seem to be getting the praise and attention that it deserves. Marci Beaucoup definitely contains some of Roc Marciano’s best songs to date. Love Means, Squeeze and 456 are the first three tracks on this album and contain some incredibly dope soul sampling (and rapping obviously). Roc Marciano kills all his verses on the album (that’s a given at this point) and I think all the featured emcees on the project did a commendable job of sounding comfortable flowing over Roc’s beats, especially Evidence, Ka, Guilty Simpson, Knowledge The Pirate, Boldy James, S.A.S. & Ag Da Coroner who I thought had the best guest verses. Roc Marciano produces every song on this album and shows some extremely diverse production skills and in my opinion Marci Beaucoup contains his best production work to date. Roc Marciano is one of the best rappers/artists in the game and this album is more proof of that. I think the reason some people are disappointed with this album is because they were expecting a follow up to Reloaded, Roc had stated in various interviews that this project is more of a compilation than an album and is meant to showcase his talents as a producer while collaborating with some of his favorite artist in the game. In my opinion Marci Beaucoup is the best album of 2013. On a side note, I can’t wait for that Metal Clergy project with Ka, gonna be another classic for both men!
Not only the beats are boring but Roc sound to monotone. He gotta swith up his flow and delevery.
It can’t all be that ” turnup” country shit. That shit is dope too, but this music serves a different purpose…
this is real rap all u haters u guys smoked out lookin like pookie out here
My nigga!
fruits
Raw dogs a faggot!
We gave it a 4, what more do you want? LOL. Is every independent release going to be labeled “album of the year”? This the trend now, HHDX commenters?
This is the real reviewer, for the record. The guy posing as “Marcus J. Moore” is not me. Thanks, all. MJM
Yo, dipshit, why the fuck have all my comments been deleted? You’re not the real Marcus. Fake ass nigga.
Peace, y’all. Thanks for reading.
Again, for the record, the guy posting as “Marcus J. Moore” is not me.
Thanks.
MJM
Lying sack of shit. You are NOT the editor here; I AM.
roc marci and ka are masters at what they do…. Dope posse cut esque compilation… I love the production and the emceeing displayed 4.5/5
posse cut? no.
roc marciano is on fire,that ol bruce wayne sittin in the penthouse fukin biatches while lookin at the city out the window!… but when it comes to that ” ol bruce wayne sittin in the penthouse fukin biatches while lookin at the city out the window” type shit,people sleeping on the p.l.k,he started that style if you ask me.the g-unit name tarnishes his credibility in the eyes of many…that f.n.o is crazy. so is this Marci Beaucoup.peace
WHAT!?!?
Actually, Roc Marciano predates Lloyd Banks…by A LOT…He was on Pete Rock’s compilation in 2001…on the song “give it to y’all”…and he was down with flipmode squad in 1999. Step your history game up, bruh.
I love Roc’s style & flow, but his lyrics are the same random fucking
nonsense every song. He has rapped one nonsense song in his entire
career. At this point he’s not improving, he’s just getting old.
LOL youve literally missed every single concept hes put out. you just shared your limited IQ b.
idiot. this man is geniune. go fuck your perspective of rap
the second 2 anonymous’ are probably whiny old failed
rappers trying to relive the 90s
name the concept songs
DOPE
DOpe album!!
ha ha ha ha ha
album is pure shit
This guy odviously doesnt know shit^^ bloody tosser
roc iz fuckin dope…
shit is sloppy and weak
this album is fuckin ridiculously hot….i need this its like drugs roc’s got me hooked great collabos great clever lyrics everyone steps there game up when collabin with roc
which lyrics were clever?
dopeeeee
this album blows donky dick
anyone that gave it a 5/5 is stupid
funny how its either, “fuck this” or “best project of the year.” personally i liked pimpire strikes back more but roc is an mc you have to listen to for a few weeks to have an actual understanding of the record. album reviews dont mean much anymore
Sounds like Raekwon on Nyquil
REAKWON ON NYQUIL HAHAHA..THARS REAL TALK HE DOES!!! I CANT FUK WITH HIS MUSIC!!
If you fuck with Roc, you can support him and the label at http://www.manbitesdogrecords.com
nice.
Roc has always been a nice MC but the beat he spits over are wack.
this dude just be monotone as fuck, his lyricism is incredible, but he need to put them blunts down.
what the fuck was i thinking! Honestly i thought this was his weakest album, real talks. but after listening to this for a couple months now it grew on me hard. I literally started increasingly speeding when listening to the following verse on “psyche ward”; by the time roc marciano finished spitting, i was going 90km/hr on a 60km/hr street. you just gotta give the album some time like “Wu Tang Clan – The W” (if you haven’t heard that album in a while listen to it, underrated Wu album)
worst part about this album is that the guests come off a little weak compared to roc. before 4/5 now 4.75/5
5 star album no question , the guest list on this album is bananas
Just short of a Classic