The Elephant Man's Bones
Studio album by
Roc Marciano and The Alchemist
ReleasedAugust 26, 2022 (2022-08-26)
GenreHip hop
Length37:58
Label
  • Pimpire
  • ALC Records
ProducerThe Alchemist
Roc Marciano chronology
Mt. Marci
(2020)		 The Elephant Man's Bones
(2022)
Alchemist chronology
Continuance
(2022)		 The Elephant Man's Bones
(2022)		 The Great Escape
(2023)
Singles from The Elephant Man's Bones
  1. "Deja Vu"
    Released: August 12, 2022

The Elephant Man's Bones is the first full-length collaborative studio album by American rappers and record producers Roc Marciano and The Alchemist. It was released on August 26, 2022, through Pimpire/ALC Records. Produced entirely by the Alchemist, it features guest appearances from Action Bronson, Boldy James, Ice-T and Knowledge the Pirate. The album was supported by its lead single "Deja Vu" with accompanying music video. A music video was also directed for the song "The Horns of Abraxas".

A website-exclusive edition of the album, subtitled Pimpire Edition, was released a week prior to its official release via Roc Marciano's website, featuring two bonus tracks entitled "Macaroni" and "Momma Love". Physical versions of this edition were also released on Marciano's website. Another deluxe edition of the album, subtitled ALC Edition, was released over a year later on September 1, 2023; featuring two brand new bonus tracks "DNA" and "Turkey Wingz". Physical versions of this edition were released exclusively on The Alchemist's ALC Records website, and unlike the Pimpire edition, was also available on streaming platforms.

The album marks the second joint project between the two artists, which was preceded by Greneberg EP together with Oh No.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
HipHopDX4.5/5[3]
laut.de[4]
Pitchfork8.2/10[5]
RapReviews9/10[6]
Spectrum Culture[7]
Tom HullB+((2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention))[8]

The Elephant Man's Bones was met with universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on six reviews.[1]

Anthony Malone of HipHopDX praised the album, saying "the realization of internet dream collaboration chatter, where the result is better than fantasy".[3] Grant Jones of RapReviews wrote: "the chemistry is undeniable and The Elephant Man's Bones is the culmination of this partnership. This is an album that gets better with each listen and yet, despite capturing everything great about previous Roc Marciano albums, sounds remarkably fresh and current".[6] Dylan Green of Pitchfork stated: "for the duo to finally meet in the middle for a full-length project after all these years—and for that project to be as warm, gutter, and satisfying as The Elephant Man's Bones—is remarkable".[5] AllMusic's Paul Simpson resumed: "there's nothing sensationalist about the album's most brutal lyrics, and they're balanced out by the record's sly sense of humor and casually innovative production".[2]

In a mixed review, Anthony Fantano for his YouTube channel The Needle Drop gave the album 6 out of 10, concluding: "after a strong start, The Elephant Man's Bones kind of trails off".[9]

Accolades

Accolades for The Elephant Man's Bones
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
BrooklynVegan BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2022
19
Complex The Best Albums of 2022
11
Okayplayer Okayplayer's 22 Best Albums of 2022
10
Passion of the Weiss The POW Best Albums of 2022
2
Sound Opinions The Best Albums of 2022
14
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums Of 2022
41
The Ringer The 33 Best Albums of 2022
7

Track listing

All songs are produced by The Alchemist.

The Elephant Man's Bones track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rubber Hand Grip"
3:29
2."Daddy Kane" (featuring Action Bronson)
2:54
3."Deja Vu"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:40
4."Quantum Leap"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:28
5."The Elephant Man's Bones"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:37
6."Bubble Bath"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:36
7."Liquid Coke"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:32
8."Trillion Cut" (featuring Boldy James)
2:42
9."The Horns of Abraxas" (featuring Ice-T)
2:46
10."JJ Flash"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:48
11."Zig Zag Zig"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:49
12."Stigmata"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:16
13."Zip Guns" (featuring Knowledge The Pirate)
  • Meyer
  • Richard Iverson
  • Maman
2:43
14."Think Big"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:38
Total length:37:58
Pimpire edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Macaroni"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
3:16
16."Momma Love"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
3:50
ALC edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."DNA"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:39
16."Turkey Wingz"
  • Meyer
  • Maman
2:31
Total length:43:14

Personnel

  • Rahkeim Calief "Roc Marciano" Meyer – vocals
  • Ariyan "Action Bronson" Arslani – vocals (tracks 2)
  • James Clay "Boldy James" Jones III – vocals (track 8)
  • Tracy Lauren "Ice-T" Marrow – vocals (track 9)
  • Richard "Knowledge The Pirate" Iverson – vocals (track 13)
  • Alan Daniel "The Alchemist" Maman – producer
  • Eddie Sancho – mixing
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • Darrell Krum – design, layout
  • New High Filmz – photography
  • Kitasavi – artwork

References

  1. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for The Elephant Man's Bones - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Simpson, Paul. "Roc Marciano, The Alchemist - The Elephant Man's Bones Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Malone, Anthony (October 8, 2022). "Roc Marciano & Alchemist 'The Elephant Man's Bones' Is A Dream Collab Come To Life". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  4. ↑ Klein, Moritz. "Schwere Themen, große Kunst". laut.de (in German). Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Green, Dylan (August 29, 2022). "Roc Marciano / The Alchemist: The Elephant Man's Bones". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Jones, Grant (September 20, 2022). "Roc Marciano & The Alchemist :: The Elephant Man's Bones – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Ranft, Jordan (September 5, 2022). "Roc Marciano and The Alchemist: The Elephant Man's Bones". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  8. ↑ Hull, Tom (September 5, 2022). "Tom Hull: Grade List: Roc Marciano". tomhull.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  9. ↑ Fantano, Anthony (September 4, 2022). "Roc Marciano & The Alchemist - The Elephant Man's Bones". The Needle Drop. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  10. ↑ S., A. (December 14, 2022). "BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2022". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  11. ↑ Diaz, Angel (December 1, 2022). "The Best Albums of 2022". Complex. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  12. ↑ Hobbs, Thomas. "Okayplayer's 22 Best Albums of 2022 - Okayplayer". Okayplayer. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ Weiss, Jeff (December 29, 2022). "The POW Best Albums of 2022". Passion of the Weiss. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  14. ↑ Kot, Greg (December 9, 2022). "Sound Opinions #889: The Best Albums of 2022, Plus RIP Christine McVie". Sound Opinions. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  15. ↑ Buford, Jayson (December 6, 2022). "The 50 Best Albums Of 2022". Stereogum. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  16. ↑ Sayles, Justin (December 6, 2022). "The 33 Best Albums of 2022". The Ringer. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
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