Sy ShacklefordThe album cover of Roc Marciano’s tenth LP, titled “656”, is of a 1.44 MB floppy disk, one that looks like it’s seen some things. In my day, these disks were our USB flash drives, holding only less than a one-hundredth of what current digital storage technology allows. For Roc Marci, though, a floppy disk remains a tool, one he uses with equally vintage production equipment. This is what’s given him a consistent and revolutionizing sound since his 2010 debut. At his emceeing core, Roc Marciano is essentially a coke rhymer: His style has a penchant for brand fashion, cinematic narratives, expensive tastes, drug dealing, pimping, all with a braggadocious delivery. He delivers no hooks, but clever rhyme schemes if listened to closely. Roc provides neither social nor political commentary, but bars, nonetheless with quotable gems. His production? Usually self-produced sampled loops often with no drums. Thematically, “656” is no different than most Roc Marci albums as it’s the same ol’ crime story, but he keeps things interesting because he finds ways to elevate it every time.
“656” contains twelve tracks and fellow New York underground rhymesayer Errol Holden is the sole guest rapper. “Trick Bag” gets the ball rolling, having the backdrop of a looped jazz-funk sample evoking a low-key crime thriller. “Childish Games” is a keyboard sample looped and chopped as Roc raps vividly about lavish living with references to films like The Godfather (1972) and Indecent Proposal (1993) before giving a one-minute coda with a production shift to a more ominous keyboard melody. “Hate Is Love” has vintage soul to the beat and Roc lampshades his own self-awareness on how he’s perceived as a rapper when he rhymes, “Might have to crack the old rich cracker / caviar on a Ritz cracker / I’m not an actor, but I’m in character.” The simplicity of the production on the single “Yves St. Moron” stands in contrast to Roc’s intricate internal rhyme scheme: “The Pullman pull in bullion / never been on bullshit / Bullpen from pimp stick to pulpit / Pulled a thick Pitbull bitch out a wolves’ den”:
“Rain Dance” marks the first of Errol Holden’s two appearances on “656”. The vocals in the sample (“I don’t know who to blame”) sometimes overlap the raps, particularly in Roc’s verse, and Errol’s verse fades out with an echoing sound. “Vanity” is comprised of a looped sample and is a lyrical exhibition of Roc Marci’s microphone narcissism with a “who’s who?” of fashion designers referenced. “Tracey Morgan Vomit” comes with an obligatory and hilarious Tracy Morgan sample at the end from one of his stand-ups, which is appropriate as Roc hilariously spits “Lil Mama is sitting by us hot and bothered / Lauryn Hill was singing Doo Wop / I let off the oo-wop / Fucked up the whole concert like Lil Mama.” The second single, “Prince & Apollonia”, is upscale from its pimp narrative to its French vocal samples to the all-strings-and-no-drums production:
“Trapeze” features Errol Holden, but the production is too repetitive to be interesting. However, Holden’s verse goes beyond Roc’s own. While Roc has literal LOL boasts like “If we rating thе pen, if I ain’t top 10, the list was creatеd by atheists”, Holden’s verse is longer and contains more of a story. Once more, his verse has an echoing coda. Roc wastes no time on “Good For You” and immediately hits the mic at the track’s very first second while “Easy Bake Oven” has psychedelic soul written all over it, the kind you play when indulging on a drink once you get home from a long day at work. The album closer, “Melo”, is in the same vein, though more upbeat. “656” isn’t perfect, but it’s another feather in Roc Marciano’s catalogue. At this point, Roc Marci has composed, written, and starred in so many New York City crime dramas that Dick Wolf has to stand up and take notice.