This Is What Roc Marciano’s Debut LP Originally Looked Like

Schott Free just blessed his Instagram with the track listing for an early version of Roc Marciano’s debut solo project, back when it was intended to drop on SRC Records. As you can see, only a portion of these tracks made the final version (albeit with some changes to the names and spellings). Here’s what Schott had to say about it:

“Original working title, “The Best Part”, & credited as the last NYC hip hop album recorded entirely at #ElectricLady studios, this lp revived the raw essence of rap, & probably had 4 or 5 different versions. (Version 3 track listing here) Ask @jazzungang about “The Life” prod by Grand Daddy I.U. feat Devin The Dude! Smmfh, classic sessions, even rock legends like Axl Rose slid in on occasion at 4am after his own sessions at Battery Studios, & lent us a golden ear. Respect to Citizen Cope, engineer Cristos Tsantalis, & the live motivator, Darryl (D.O.A.) Shepherd, who also has a few unheard bangers, recorded towards this project, marinating on ice. If we’re lucky, perhaps a few unreleased gems will get defrosted in 2019 (ten years) Til then, Happy 5th year #MARCBERG”

Here’s what Roc had to say about it back in 2008:

Didn’t you guys originally have a label called W.O.R.L.D. Records?

That’s the label that I’m doin’ my stuff through on SRC. That’s just a under-label that I’m working with. That’s the same family, man. It’s been Schott and us since the beginning in this UN shit. He’s been real instrumental in making a lot of shit that did happen, happen. I just mastered my album yesterday. It’s completed – sixteen cuts.

We can expect more stuff like that ‘Snow’ joint?

Exactly. And harder and other shit. Some real hard shit on there, and I got variety on there. I got joints that people can rock with in the club. Different styles of records, too. I’m definitely more versatile than people even think. I have all kinds of different records on there, but most of it is my regular ’1,2′ G shit. Straight up. Those are the pillars on the album. We build the foundation on the hard shit. That’s how I wanted to do this record, to make records that other demographics can play, but still keepin’ it true to what I do. I kept it G, I kept it me all way through. There’s no funny-style reaches on the album. I didn’t try anything too to the left, but I’m a traveling man. Anybody that know me know I be everywhere. I don’t just be in New York – I might be in Atlanta, I might be in LA and shit like that. When I go to other places I want people to have a record that they can play, ‘cos that was the problem it seems with the UN. We did so many gutter, raw records that DJ’s we know – that love us – that play records in certain forums, didn’t have a record that would fit in with what they were playing at the time. Not necessarily meaning if they playing wack shit, but some times if a dude – if he’s at a party, he needs a party record! You can’t just be rockin’ the party then slow down the party with ‘Golden Grail’! Plus I’m doing this on a major, so I have to be business minded. I made sure I didn’t push myself to rap on beats that I didn’t wanna rap on, and I’ve done that in the past. I know how that feels. So I made a conscious effort to make sure I did that on this record. A lotta people gonna be surprised at how much range I have.

As we know now, the final result was one of the most effective rap albums of the last decade, but it would be fascinating to hear the music from that era that got left in the SRC vaults when that situation dissolved…