Roc Marciano: 656

"In a world where plenty of rap elders are content to roll out unchallenging albums to steadfast fanbases, Roc Marciano still knows how to hold your head underwater. Few rappers boast a style so enveloping and detail-rich, every verse stuffed with taunts, velour victories, and nagging regrets rendered in granular, Gordon Parks-like radiance. New albums from Hempstead's veteran rapper-producer unfold like dispatches from a jet-setting uncle popping in for a visit: His tales scan as ridiculous, even a bit silly,"

"It's the first album he's fully produced for himself since 2013's Marci Beaucoup, and doesn't stray far from his patented bare-bones chops and loops. Presentation is the biggest difference here: Many of these songs have an electronic sheen to them, the type of haze associated with an unprocessed beat ripped straight from the machine it was made on. Instead of sounding rushed or cheap, it adds an extra layer of menace to Marci's gaudy underworld."

Roc Marciano returns to rapping and producing on 656, his first fully self-produced album since 2013's Marci Beaucoup. The album preserves his patented bare-bones loops and detail-rich verses while introducing an electronic sheen that heightens menace. Sparse arrangements include distorted organ, drum fills, and scant horns on 'Trick Bag,' Super Mario–like synths on 'Childish Things,' fuzzy bass strums on 'Prince & Apollonia,' and a subtle robotic metronome on 'Yves St. Moron.' The production leans minimal but purposeful, marrying analog warmth with machine-made textures to amplify stories of gaudy underworld triumphs and grudging regrets.

Read at Pitchfork