''Reloaded'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

recording artist

Roc Marciano Rahkeim Calief Meyer (born February 11, 1978), better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his intricate internal rhymes and wordplay detailing mafioso and pimp themes over sample bas ...

, released on November 13, 2012, by

Decon Decon is a New York–based advertising agency and record label. Decon is known for their "Green Week" initiative for NBC Universal, which involved an installation at the 30 Rockefeller Center. Additionally, Decon has produced documentary-style ...

. Marciano produced most of the album and was assisted by

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

, Ray West,

Q-Tip Cotton swabs (American English) or cotton buds (British English), also Q-tips ( proprietary eponym), are wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod made of wood, rolled paper, or plastic. They are most commonly used for ear cleaning, although th ...

, and The Arch Druids. The album features guest contributions by rappers Ka and Knowledge the Pirate.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 13 reviews. Nick de Molina of '' XXL'' praised its production as "bold and experimental", and called ''Reloaded'' "a thrilling upgrade of signature East Coast delivery in the new age and one of the best albums of the year to date." Phillip Mlynar of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' felt that "Marciano's writing style elevates he albumto a great one" and stated, "he's written perhaps the most vivid rap album of the year — and possibly of his lifetime." Peter Marrack of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' called it "a sequel nonpareil in its originality and craftsmanship ... a humbling exhibit of spoken poetry knitted to orchestral magic, mixed and beautified by Q-Tip himself." Although he found it thematically "narrow",

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

's Ian Cohen found Marciano's "lyrical genius ... so captivating on a second-by-second basis that these criticisms feel misplaced or even irrelevant", and stated, "''Reloaded'' improves on ''Marcberg'' in every conceivable way."

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

ranked the album #4 on its list of the "Top 10 Rap Albums of 2012." ''

'' ranked the album #6 on its list of the "40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012."

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Roc Marciano albums Albums produced by Roc Marciano Albums produced by Q-Tip (musician) Albums produced by the Alchemist (musician) Decon albums