Roc Marciano names his favourite Public Enemy album of all time
New York emcee Roc Marciano is an often overlooked figure in hip-hop. The former Flipmode member has been on the scene since the turn of the millennium, and after leaving Busta Rhymes’ collective in 2001, the lyricist formed his own underground rap group, the U.N.
Alongside Dino Brave, Laku and the late Mic Raw, they released their 2004 album, UN Or U Out, through 456 Entertainment. As a thoroughbred New Yorker, the city’s legends have always collaborated with him.
Marciano (real name Rahkeim Meyer) was featured on Wu-Tang Clan’s 2005 Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture and also appeared on Pete Rock’s NY’s Finest, which was highly acclaimed by critics for its East Coast authenticity and raw lyricism.
For the duration of the 2000s, Meyers found himself making guest appearances on records by MCs such as GZA, Royal Fam, and Pumpkinhead. However, by the beginning of the 2010s, he had begun releasing solo material. From 2013’s Marci Beaucoup to his 2022 project, The Elephant Man’s Bones with The Alchemist, Meyers is an intriguing artist.
That said, following the release of his second studio album, Reloaded, in 2012, the New York lyricist had an in-depth interview with Complex magazine where he spoke about his early influences and some of his favourite albums ever.
From hip-hop to funk, soul and even pop, Meyers revealed to Complex that, growing up, he loved Michael Jackson, particularly his 1979 project Off The Wall.
Opening up about his love of Off The Wall, Roc Marciano unveiled, “I love this album. It reminds me of all my childhood memories. I’m trapped in the 80’s when I hear that. When I was shopping for records when I was recording Marcberg, I saw Off The Wall in the store, a clean copy on vinyl. And I knew I wasn’t gonna use it for my album, but you can’t resist buying it”.
He continued, “Even today if I see it in a record store and it’s a clean copy, I just buy it. Like, ‘I can’t believe this is available, still.’ To me, that’s just Mike at his best. The whole album is fire.”
However, as a hip-hop artist, he naturally loved hip-hop growing up, and one collective in particular. Opening up about Public Enemy and their 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Marciano began, “That’s another thing where it’s like, ‘That’s me. That’s where I’m from.’ You can’t even describe what Public Enemy was doing with their beats, to Chuck’s rhyming. Flav coming in. I’m from the part of Long Island where dudes like Flava Flav are perfectly normal. [Laughs.] Public Enemy took the game over. S1Ws, Professor Griff. That military shit.”
He concluded, “There’s a 98 Posse flick that they took in front of an old school Hempstead building in this old parking lot off Main Street. They’re sitting on the cover, with the leather bubble gooses, with the guns in their hand. That just embodies my neighbourhood and where we’re from. I remember that time vividly”.
You can hear It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back below.