Roc Marciano & DJ Muggs: Kaos [Album Review]

I’m not going to mince words with you here my friends, Roc Marciano in my humble opinion has beyond proven that he’s the best emcee to exist this year. Before you get your Twitter fingers ready let me explain. Roc has released two other albums this year in “Rosebudd’s Revenge 2: The Bitter Dose” and “Behold A Dark Horse”. Both albums incredible in their own right (and I’ll be reviewing those too, because I will NOT let you sleep on this history being made here) however when Roc & DJ Muggs (of Soul Assassin & Cypress Hill fame) announced their team up that immediately jumped to my most anticipated release of the year. Despite this being Roc Marciano’s third project of the year, this could be his best.

“Kaos” comes in at 10 tracks, a little under 40 miuntes and it’s all in the words of Dart Adams “unadulterated fire” and I couldn’t agree more. Before we jump into Roc’s vocal contribution, let’s talk about Muggs. Hot damn, it feels like every single vibe is covered with precision on “Kaos”. “Dolph Lundren” has a chill feel to it with a jazzy guitar in the background laid out for Roc to begin this 10 track journey on.

My favorite on “Kaos” is “The E Train” Muggs lulls us in with a beautiful flute sample that you can’t help but be whisked away by. Meanwhile Roc Marciano does what Roc does. Now I can’t pretend that I understand every single reference that Roc Marciano makes, however lines like “Life’s a b*tch, but I’m not the type to marry” when delivered by Roc is just perfect. I truly believe Roc Marciano can make any beat sound fantastic, when paired with top notch production like this from Muggs, it must be appreciated.

Back to the different sounds and vibes Muggs provides on “Kaos” the next track after “The E Train” is “Aunt Bonnie” and good Lord it’s guaranteed to back your back (both my phone & my bluetooth speaker melted due to too much heat). Just in time for Halloween, Muggs provides a haunting backdrop fit with organ and choir. Who better than the god Roc Marciano to come through and slay the beat to shreds. I could be imagining this but there are points in the track where Muggs will muffle the beat to really emphasize what Roc is saying. Specifically I think of the 2:06 minute mark “They gentrified the game, that’s when the God came in Cartier frames/I sprayed your frame, you changed body weight”. Like come on fam, who’s doing it like Roc Marci? Further the track “Caught A Lick” is a trap joint that crushes in the whip. The brother Fly Anakin told me there was a trap track on here and I can’t front I was worried, but I’ll be damned if I don’t see this track performed live.

Listen, Roc Marciano is the emcee of 2018, I think he’s one of the best of all time. “Kaos” is dark, it’s relaxing, Roc Marciano makes it look too easy, when in fact there isn’t an emcee touching him. Seeing two legends in Muggs & Roc Marci come together and create something even more legendary is what I live for when it comes to hip-hop. No guest verses, no BS, just two artists collaborating together to make something that will be etched in time forever. If you haven’t listened to “RR2: The Bitter Dose” do it. If you haven’t listened to “Behold A Dark Horse” do it. “Kaos” is a classic that I’ll be listening to forever.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to order vinyl editions of all three of these records.