Concert Review: Roc Marciano at The Axis Club Theatre with Tha Rhyme Animal & Ashton Francis (05-26-2024)

Hempstead, NY rapper and artist Roc Marciano is an artist that has been on a successful run so far, in terms of longevity and growth not only within music but with life experiences and as a creative. Being a part of many moments in hip-hop such as being in Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode Squad, having an appearance on the track “The Heist” from Busta’s fourth album Anarchy alongside Ghostface Killah and Raekwon and even working on an unreleased track with The Notorious B.I.G, Roc’s journey as an artist became more prevalent during his independent era. 

Through many cult classics such as Marcberg, Marci Beaucoup, Marcielago, Mt. Marci, & The Elephant Man's Bones, Roc’s ear for vibrant production, his nonchalant lyricism and wicked storytelling demonstrate his abilities as not only an emcee but an artist of all trades and sounds. With the recent release of his eleventh studio album, Marciology, the underground legend decided to showcase the best of his abilities by going on a select-city tour, where he managed to stop by Toronto and perform at the legendary Axis Club Theatre.

The show started with legendary Toronto hip-hop DJ, DJ Law, playing many old-school and new-school hip-hop classics, ranging from boom bap to underground East Coast hip-hop and much more. With a packed crowd vibing along to many classic hip-hop bangers, it wasn’t until an emcee introduced one of the opening acts, which was Toronto’s own Ashton Francis. 

He started off the night performing his own songs such as Devil Is a Liar & Monte Carlo, and the crowd gravitated to his lyricism and energy well. With lots of great stage movement, diction in his vocals, and performing effortlessly well with no backtrack, his performance was something to enjoy.

After Ashton’s set, the emcee for the night introduced another amazing Toronto rapper and artist by the name of Tha Rhyme Animal. An OG in the Toronto music scene that still has an old school style with a new school mindset, his lyricism and the bars he brought on stage were remarkable. Tha Rhyme Animal delivered lots of lyricism, ensured his vocal presence was heard clearly with charisma and consistency, and gave lots of amazing stage movement when he performed tracks like Back 2 Jail, SARS Season, & Enough of You, which were from his recent project, The Great Reset.

After the openers finished their sets, it became a remarkable moment as producer and DJ, Animoss, came to the stage to set up for the headlining set and with Toronto OG Lord Fury to come by and introduce Roc Marci to the stage. As that happened, Roc stepped to the stage to perform some of his cult classics like Emeralds, Goyard God, and Gold Crossbow.

For an artist to perform in Toronto for the very first time in their career, it was an exciting moment for not only the fans to see but for Roc as well as he explained the wonderful feeling of being in the city and performing at a legendary venue like the Axis Club. With a vibrant backdrop with the words “Art That Kills”, the energy that Roc Marciano brought was remarkable as his good stage presence, his ability to rap with no backtrack and the lyricism and style he brought were top-tier. The crowd gave lots of great energy as the Hempstead rapper performed many cult classics like Fabio, Downtown ‘81, Richard Gear, and even brought his collaborator Knowledge The Pirate to perform their track, Zip Guns.

Roc Marciano’s set proved that not only can you showcase your performance with top-tier bars and rhythms, but with an effortless creative aura and a swagger that fits, everyone will listen accordingly. He ended his set with tracks like 76 & Flash Gordon to amaze the fans in captivating a Marci-like presence for a show like this.

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