Since early 2011, Roc plugged away at what he calls, "An album that wasn't all about me, but more of a project that was about how other artists sounded on my beats." Those guests include Cormega, Freeway, Guilty Simpson, Boldy James, Knowledge The Pirate, longtime affiliate KA, as well as AG Da Coroner. The last is Marci's first signing as VP of A&R at Man Bites Dog Records, the same respected imprint responsible for the third album in Roc's solo franchise.
Marciano hopes to gain recognition as the latest in a long line of championed MCs and beat-providers. "It's the music I grew up loving," he says of self-contained Hip-Hop. "Q-Tip, EPMD, Rakim, Ultramagnetic MCs-all of those artists, they weren't just rappers. They were involved in their sound and production. So I'm just pretty much following tradition." With his cold accounts of "Pimpstead," and a vividly-described metropolitan underbelly, Roc's dusty sources, film dialogue, and subdued basslines sound made for each other. However, after two albums that topped year-end lists, and prompted a reported debate between Jay Z and The Roots' ?uestlove over which was better, Roc says he has even more to offer in number three. "Now, when I listen to stuff that I've done a while back, I want to flip it a whole different way. Lately, I feel like I have no style: I do what I have to do. Back in the days, I stuck to a four-bar loop. Now, I don't have any rules." The unconventional approach comes to life on Marci Beaucoup, through Roc's personal highlights, including "Squeeze" with Random Axe's Guilty Simpson, and longtime collaborator, Brownsville's KA.
