The rapper Busta Rhymes described as “the father of all y’all”
Busta Rhymes has praised many rappers over the years, including Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, but one lesser-known artist tends to crop up more than most. The pair go way back to the era of Flipmode Squad in the ’90s, with his first appearances as a crew member coming on ‘Whatcha Come Around Here For’ and ‘The Heist’.
The lyricist in question, Roc Marciano, who has been credited as the “Godfather of the Underground,” is behind some of the best rap albums of the last decade, from his solo LPs Rosebudd’s Revenge and Behold a Dark Horse and Marcielago to his Alchemist collaborative album The Elephant Man’s Bones and joint DJ Muggs project, Kaos.
The Long Island artist has been making music for over 20 years, releasing his acclaimed debut album, Marcberg, in 2010. But Busta has known about his talent longer than most, believing he’s the “father” of many rappers making music today.
“Roc Marciano is the father of all y’all and all of it,” he said during a conversation with Peter Rosenberg on Hot 97. “It’s interesting how people might think that his beginning was from fathering that wave – no. [And] Marc was nice before Flipmode.”
He continued, “Marc wasn’t an original Flipmode MC. That’s why the first Flipmode album wasn’t no Marc. Marc came and we put Marc on when Lord Have Mercy left, because I wanted him to be a part of it so much. He didn’t even wanna do it – that’s Marc.”
Years ago, Busta joined Marciano on stage and put him among his top five MCs of all time. “There’s a whole lot of science behind that,” he said at the Highline Ballroom in 2018. “The God Roc Marciano is a Godsend. The precision, his ability to be an incredible architect with words. The man is a craftsman with the pen. Roc Marci exemplifies a timeless greatness, and there’s a lot of great n*ggas that’s afraid to rhyme with him.”
Following the release of Marciano’s Marciology album in March, Busta Rhymes brought back his “father” comment once again and made sure people were aware of their affiliation since the late 1990s.
“The father of this sound that gave birth to so many of you is back!!!” he said about Marciano on Instagram. “Just a friendly reminder @rocmarci was getting platinum plaques with me since 1999 when he collaborated with myself, @raekwon @realghostfacekillah prod. by @xplargepro called #TheHeist on the #Anarchy album 25yrs ago!!!”
He added, “Know your fuckin’ history and do your fuckin’ research!! No Ron DeSantis shit over here!! Brand new @rocmarci album #Marciology live and streaming everywhere right now!!! Run it up!! Fuck you mean!!!” Then, Marciano collaborated with The Alchemist for their second collaborative album earlier this month, combining over 12 tracks for The Skeleton Key, which had no features.