So Roc finally got some drums to rap over. THIS SHIT IS CRAZY, and I'm not really up on Al like that.

Quantum Leap tho

...this is disappointing to me and this is coming from a huge Roc fan.

Maybe I only like Al in small doses and Roc hasn't been interesting to me in years.

like that kool g rap one was nicer than anything on here IMO, but still nice to hear roc over some drums... deja vu is a snoozer.

i can't front though, I would love to hear more of him over some hard drums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjAEG4Lr3lI

^^^ this is nicer than anything on the album IMO

that I would buy into without having heard a thing, just based on the strength of their respective back catalogs.

I want this on wax... but both of these dudes have such rabid (and easily exploitable) fanbases that it takes the fun out of stuff. I'm not above spending more than I know I should for something every now and then, but I'm not about to stress myself out constantly refreshing a shop page for the privilege of paying $75 for a 1LP release.

sorry for the rant, but this has been bothering me for a while, and it's the reason I pretty much stopped checking for Alc's output entirely. and even if I decided to go digital, Roc's got the album download for forty friggin' dollars on his site. c'mon, guys...

smh

>that I would buy into without having heard a thing, just
>based on the strength of their respective back catalogs.
>
>I want this on wax... but both of these dudes have such rabid
>(and easily exploitable) fanbases that it takes the fun out of
>stuff. I'm not above spending more than I know I should for
>something every now and then, but I'm not about to stress
>myself out constantly refreshing a shop page for the privilege
>of paying $75 for a 1LP release.
>
>sorry for the rant, but this has been bothering me for a
>while, and it's the reason I pretty much stopped checking for
>Alc's output entirely. and even if I decided to go digital,
>Roc's got the album download for forty friggin' dollars on his
>site. c'mon, guys...


The low stock and small chance of getting a physical copy of an album thing is more a problem with Alchemist's web store releases than Roc Marciano's web store releases based on past experiences. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is going to be sold on Marciano's website this Friday, so I'm hoping you won't have to go the hypebeast route (is that a phrase that is still used) to get a physical copy of the album. That's assuming you still have interest in getting a physical copy. If you don't, that cool as well.

The $40 price for the digital copy thing that Marciano does for each release is to combat what I'm assuming are the extremely low rates the more main stream digital streaming sites will pay Marciano for his stuff. On principal, I can understand why he'd want more dollars for his art. I forget which site does that, but I vaguely remember on paying fractions of a penny per song spin. That's beyond wild to me. However, I can't justify paying that much for digital material. I'm hoping I'll be able to get a physical copy of the album this Friday on Marciano's website.

I totally get and applaud artists goin' their own route to avoid the ridiculous streaming payouts for digital. but yeah, 40 bones is too much. if I'm gonna give an artist more with the intention of helping counterbalance that kinda thing, then I'd want something physical. which brings us back to the beginning, haha.

here's hoping I'll be able to snag something without having an 'F5 party' (as a buddy of mine called it). looks like the basic black LP is $40 on Roc's site. I'll let the hypebeasts duke it out for the frou-frou joints. hope you're able to grab what you're after too.

It's pretty dope. Full disclosure I'm not paying $40 for it. I get his wanting to charge what he thinks it's worth but I don't get the economics of that. Seems like fewer people will buy it if it's $40 and that would result in less money and less word of mouth about a dope album.

I understand keeping it off streaming, but I really don't get charging the higher price. Seems like it's penalizing your fans. The people who don't really care will just listen for free on streaming in a few months.

I wonder how many albums he wants to sell at the $40 price and if he just knows he has a certain number of dedicated fans that will pay that amount. Maybe $150,000ish/4000 die-hards?

let alone one I haven’t heard.

And the number of acts who I would buy a physical copy of their album without hearing it first is incredibly small. If I know it’s a great album from an act I want to support, then I’ll pay and even “overpay” a bit for a physical album. So yeah, I don’t really understand this strategy.

It’s hard to believe a sizable amount of people would pay $40 for a digital album - that’s vinyl prices. But if they do and he’s on top of that, then good for him.

He has said he makes good money from it, because his core fans want to support him. I feel like he has said he makes like $300k doing that each time but don't quote me. I think his albums generally hit streaming like a month or so after that.

>It's pretty dope. Full disclosure I'm not paying $40 for it.
>I get his wanting to charge what he thinks it's worth but I
>don't get the economics of that. Seems like fewer people will
>buy it if it's $40 and that would result in less money and
>less word of mouth about a dope album.
>
>I understand keeping it off streaming, but I really don't get
>charging the higher price. Seems like it's penalizing your
>fans. The people who don't really care will just listen for
>free on streaming in a few months.
>
>I wonder how many albums he wants to sell at the $40 price and
>if he just knows he has a certain number of dedicated fans
>that will pay that amount. Maybe $150,000ish/4000 die-hards?

Its probably a decent amount of money to help him at least cover the costs of making the record depending on how much he's actually spending.

And it is probably preferable to do that vs trying to get Lil whoever on a song or two just to get some extra streams. And even with that move, you risk ticking off the people who come to you for a certain 'type' of music if you can't figure out how to blend your guests into what you do..especially if you don't make a lot of music (IE: > 1 album a year). And getting the right guests for the right songs, at least to me, seems kinda hard to do..even when the guests theoretically should 'fit' with you.

didnt love it but a few songs will stay in rotation

Daddy Kane
Quantum Leap
The Elephant Man's Bones
Bubble Bath
Stigmata
Think Big

Good gawd.

Daddy Kane
Quantum Leap
The Elephant Man's Bones
JJ Flash
ZigZagZig
Horns of Abraxas


Between this, Cheat Codes and that Lupe...incredible year for Hip-hop.

Dayum.

Indeed...but don't front on that Elzhi/Georgia Anne LP, production is excellent, and you know Elzhi is coming with the lyrics...

>Indeed...but don't front on that Elzhi/Georgia Anne LP,
>production is excellent, and you know Elzhi is coming with the
>lyrics...

Yep, that was stellar as well.

No snare no care. I can fuck with Roc and Alchemist again.

This release fell short of my expectation. Uncle Al can't always hit 'em out the park.

This record is beautiful. The production is gorgeous, and Roc sounds hungry as ever. Of course, if you never got down with his lyrical content in the past, you probably won't like this either. He remains pretty consistent in that regard.

His album “Wolves Don’t Eat With Shepherds” is on point.

Was hoping to hear from the real star though, Stovie.

I’ll check deeper into their work

>So Roc finally got some drums to rap over. THIS SHIT IS
>CRAZY, and I'm not really up on Al like that.
>
>Quantum Leap tho

I went in excited. If nothing else, I expected weird and weirdly placed vocal samples. I got that!

Besides that, I tried to fall back and let them deliver their thing. And Roc delivered THE RAPS as per usual and Alc tried like hell to lace him with a mix of things. The title track is my favorite song on the whole thing by a lot cuz it is THE type of self-aware rap music I love most. Roc knows he's dope and beloved but still at least kinda sorta underrated. It's the God Loves You on this one.

Quantum Leap is the most unimpeachable song on there. Basically anyone who likes beats and rhymes should find value in that thing there. And that 'everybody stand.back!'? Yeah...that type of shit is gonna work on me pretty much every time.

ALC flipped it