Roc Marciano & The Alchemist – Deja Vu [Single + Video]

An MC and producer from New York City’s tradition-rich Long Island, Roc Marciano is well respected for his moody, claustrophobic beats and stream-of-consciousness, heavily stylized lyrics. Briefly affiliated with early in his career, he formed the short-lived crew during the early 2000s before going solo, earning massive acclaim for his self-produced 2010 full-length Marcberg. Collaborating with rappers and producers like , , , and , subsequent releases such as 2013’s Marci Beaucoup and 2018’s RR2: The Bitter Dose featured more experimental production as well as sharper lyricism.

Born Rakeem Myer, Long Island hip-hop steered his musical vision, approach, and tastes as a youth growing up in Hempstead. He cited Long Island greats such as , , , and the lesser-known , as well as new-school pioneers and But it was , originally from Long Island’s , who gave Marciano his biggest break. was given a tape of early Marciano music, and the platinum-selling rapper decided to sign Marciano to his label, which, at the time, was one of rap’s foremost artist-owned imprints. Marciano appeared on ‘s 2000 full-length Anarchy, on which he traded verses with ‘s and (“The Heist”).

Around this time, Marciano formed , made up of Dino Brave, Laku, and Mike Raw — all high-school classmates at Long Island’s Uniondale. Together, they appeared on ‘s PeteStrumentals and released their buzzworthy mixtape Strength & Honor and the 2004 LP UN or U Out? Soon, though, the crew disintegrated; they found it hard to get industry traction. Marciano forged on by dropping verses on ‘s Pro Tools and ‘s Port Authority. In 2010, he released Marcberg, his official solo debut album. He handled all production, and wrote and rhymed all but one verse. It was hailed by New York underground hip-hop royalty. The following year, he teamed up with and for the Greneberg EP. LUV NY, a supergroup set featuring Marciano beside the likes of and A.G., was released in July 2012. A few months later, Marciano issued his second proper album, Reloaded, which was mostly self-produced but also included as well as . Critical praise nearly equaled the level of Marcberg.

Marci Beaucoup appeared at the end of 2013, with many features (including frequent contributors and Knowledge Pirate, plus , , , , and ). Marciano spent several years lying low, but was featured on a track from ‘s And the Anonymous Nobody. He finally emerged in 2017 with his fourth album, the independently released Rosebudd’s Revenge, which included few guests but more outside production (from beatmakers including , the Arch Druids, and Mushroom Jesus). This kickstarted a prolific run which continued with no less than three full-lengths in 2018: the murky, electronic-influenced RR2: The Bitter Dose, Behold a Dark Horse, and the -produced KAOS. The Prequel, a brief collection of rarities, appeared in 2019.