When I had the chance to talk about 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, the lead single from this highly successful collaboration between DJ Premier and Roc Marciano, earlier this year, I particularly focused on Preemo's talent in the art of scratching. The expectation in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 is met, and it is especially met due to the chemistry between a master of the old school and one of the MCs who has witnessed a generational leap in hip-hop, while remaining faithful to the underground scene. Roc Marciano has actually, in the words of his partner, a great talent for being on point without sounding banal: “Roc always makes sure never to go in the direction of predictable types. He brags, without bragging. He shows style, without flaunting it. If that doesn't make sense to you, then you're not fit for our league of pure style”. This meeting of two different generations shapes a work where the streets intertwine with luxury, originality with opulence. In 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰, the instrumental has a sinister tone, accompanying Marci's storytelling with a slow pace and a recurring piano riff. In the first verse, the New York rapper tells of his life and reputation as a hustler: “𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 [...] 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 / 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯' 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩”, while in the second, he helps us frame his perspective for a moment:  “𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 / 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦”. In 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, however, a minimal boom-bap beat accompanies the MC's self-celebratory rhymes: “𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵 / 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 / 𝘜𝘩, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤 / 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 / 𝘗𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴”.

Mattia

@_bearhop

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