Hungryfortacos Analytical Essay Series: Entry #2: The Year of the Roc?

These past few days of procrastination have led to multiple days of multiple music downloads. The more music I have downloaded, the more of a common thread I have found. About 1 in every 3 songs I download either are by, or feature the same three artists. And all three come from the same label: Roc-A-Fella Records. These three artists are none other than Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, and Freeway. In an earlier post on this blog, I made the assertion that the month of December could be the biggest month in the near future for rap music. I still believe that this is the case, but now, whether or not the month of December plays out the way I and the other contributors on the blog want it to, the next year in rap music may be dominated by the Roc. Backing up Jay-Z's earlier claim that "R-O-C is running this rap shit".

The first album release by one of these artists was Jay-Z's American Gangster, which dropped a couple weeks ago. I remained hesitant to buy this album at first, I never heard much of anything off Kingdom Come, but I heard it sucked, so I was skeptical of his newest effort. However, as I sat blazed to shit in the room of a buddy of mine in one of the frats on-campus, I found myself hearing a familar Brooklyn accent boasting "And I don't need a hook for this shit". This was not "Change Clothes" or "Show Me What You Got" Jay-Z. No, this was Reasonable Doubt Jay-Z. I came back to my room and after yacking, promptly downloaded the entire album. And I found, not just was the song "No Hook" fire, but the whole album was fire. Especially the songs "Blue Magic", "Ignorant Shit" and "Oh Hello"- my personal favorite, produced by DJ Toomp, the man behind T.I.'s "What You Know". This album was Jay-Z back to his old form, meaning the disputed "Best Rapper Alive" or "King of New York" proves he's worth the title belts he wears.

The next album scheduled to be released is Freeway's Free At Last. Every song I've downloaded so far from this album features big name artists, and Freeway consistently outshines them on the tracks. Scarface, Weezy, and Busta Rhymes all feature, and all come away sounding second-fiddle to Freeway. This album will not generate massive sales or publicity. However, the blogging world and the internet rap scene all seem to be trying to get Freeway tracks. People who know rap know Freeway has massive talent, as demonstrated in his freestyle I put up in my new music, and if he can generate some positive reviews and some buzz around his album, the Roc will have quite possibly its second-most talented lyricist rebuilding the dynasty.

I already mentioned Beanie Sigel in my previous essay, yet I want to add a few more words on the Mack. Beanie is only featured for 8 bars on Jay-Z's "Ignorant Shit" off of American Gangster, but as soon As Jay-Z cuts him off, I always feel a yearning to hear him spit more. I didn't particularly like his song with R. Kelly (I thought the beat and hook were mediocre), but I found myself constantly going back to listen to the song. Beanie always leaves you wanting more, and if his album can satiate that yearning, his album might be the hardest thing of the year to stop listening to.

A few years ago, Jay-Z built the Roc-A-Fella dynasty on the backs of weak rappers such as Memphis Bleek and Chris and Neek of Young Guns. While these individuals received the hype as the Roc became one of the most highly respected labels in Rap, Beanie and Free sat sitting in the wings, with their hungry but not particular radio-friendly music. Now as rap music gets more and more assimilated into the mainstream (for evidence see: Soulja Boy, 50 Cent, T-Pain and any other soft-serve eating bitch), the slept-on rappers of years past are what are needed to keep rap alive. And with Jay-Z's revival and the emergence of Freeway and Beanie, Roc-A-Fella is in position to rebuild the dynasty and reclaim dominance in the genre.