Roc Marciano 456 (Ft. Action Bronson)

Roc Marciano has rap in the Boston crab. With a simple and straightforward approach, Pimpstead's Supercat has leveraged impeccable street raps into the most distinctive voice currently rapping. His subject matter is not diverse and some of it is problematic, but his delivery and presentation is so nuanced and skilled that anyone who claims to appreciate rap has to recognize this.

After the breakout 1-2 combination of Marcberg and Reloaded, Roc cemented his stature this year with another dual offering. The mixtape The Pimpire Strikes Back prefaced Marci Beaucoup, a compilation album produced by Roc featuring an array of MCs that is much more cohesive than one would imagine. What stands out from the latter of the two is Roc's ability to create the structure of a song even when he's not front and center. Though to be honest, most of his performances steal the spotlight on the LP, though more often than not the guests deliver strong.

"456" is a succinct boom-bap gem. Over a loop that's simple and elegant like a good piece of nigiri, Roc Marciano and Action Bronson tag team to talk that shit. Roc has a particularly awesome line about filing the serial number off a handgun before eating cereal. I mean, c'mon.