Roc Steady
Talib Abdul Keyante, professionally known as Roc Steady, is a Sierran rapper. Born in Porciúncula and raised in Bernheim, San Joaquin, Keyante initially gained recognition as a battle rapper in the local Bernheim hip hop scene, and achieved mainstream attention with hip-hop supergroup The Throne. Noted for his intricate wordplay, Keyante is regarded as one of the most influential rappers of Styxie hardcore hip hop.
Roc Steady | |
|---|---|
 Roc Steady in 1997 | |
| Born |
Talib Grant Keyante May 6, 1974 |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Children | 1 |
Prior to forming The Throne, Roc Steady gained a local buzz as a lyrical battle rapper at The Cave in Bernheim. After performing in various different rap groups, Roc Steady would form the rap group The Throne with rappers Genesys, Zaa, Killer Woo, and MAC-12, as well as producers H.E.S. and C-Side in 1995. Following the release of The Throne's debut release Truly Humbled Under God (1995), Roc Steady would pursue a solo career under Genesys' nuwrld record label, releasing his debut album Meet The Roc (1996) to critical acclaim admist the ongoing East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. His following two studio albums, The Roc Father (1997) and Meet The Roc 2 (1999) were national successes with the former being nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Early life
Talib Abdul Keyante was born in Porciúncula, Gold Coast, on 6 May 1974. After the death of his father, Abdul, Keyante's family would relocate to Bernheim when he was 3 was subsequently raised on 45th and Queens Ave., near Chelsea Park. He grew up with his mother, one brother and two sisters. While his father was a criminal prior to his death, Keyante's mother Rachel was an English professor. At a young age, Keyante joined the Chelsea Park Crips in attempt to make money, but soon departed and turned to drug dealing as he felt it was more lucrative. Keyante would be involved by name in numerous gang altercations throughout Bernheim during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Following a RICO case against the several Crip gangs of the city, Patterson quit dealing and focused thereafter on making music.
Career
1992–1995: Early career and The Throne
While attendeding Redwood High School, Keyante would meet his future collaborators, Zaa and MAC-12. At this time, he developed an interest in hip hop music, beginning to write songs and battle rap at The Cave music venue. Keyante's musical career would turn professional upon formation of The Throne in 1995, a hip hop group spearheaded by Styxie rapper Genesys and other battle rappers Killer Woo, Zaa, and MAC-12.
The Throne became known in 1995 with their feature on Genesys' second album, Bastard (1995), on the song "Triumph", with Keyante in particular being featured on the song "Survival of the Fittest". "Survival of the Fittest" and "Triumph" would later be the album's third and fourth single and helped gain the group a sizable underground following. Though there was some difficulty in finding a record label that would sign The Throne while still allowing each member to record solo albums with other labels, Interscope finally agreed, releasing their debut album, Truly Humbled Under God, in November 1995. The album was inspired by the 1985 film Scarface, and featured gritty mafioso lyrics. The album received critical acclaim, and to date is regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. The success of their debut album established the group as a creative and influential force in the 1990s, with Keyante later signing exclusively to Genesys' record label, nuwrld.
1996–1997: Meet The Roc, The Roc Father, and 47th and Queens
Genesys' nuwrld released Meet The Roc, Keyante's debut LP on 26 January 1996. Keyante's collaborators on Meet The Roc included fellow members of The Throne, as well as Fivvey. Inspired by the 1971 film Meet The End, the album's productions sampled numerous excerpts from the film. Hugh Gomez, in a review of Meet The Roc for Music Box Magazine, praised the gritty vocals and approach, writing "Roc's flow is muddy, it's haunting and forceful. His thought process is contradiction emphasized." Gomez revisited Meet The Roc in Sierra Media in 2021, calling it "one of the darkest hip-hop albums of the 1990s, and one of the defining moments of the Styxie hip-hop explosion of that decade". Kayden Robinson, in a review for Newstar, described Meet The Roc as Keyante's "twist on Truly Humbled Under God".
While concurrent to Keyante's rise to mainstream attention, he was part of the infamous East Coast vs West Coast hip hop rivalry, that was fueled and increasingly promoted by the private media. Though the beef had been ongoing since the release of East Coast rapper Rakeem Wallace's album Juicy (1993) and the Disciplez. The beef involving Keyante began with the release of "Who Shot Ya?", which would lead to numerous responses by both Keyante and members of The Throne. Specifically, Keyante would respond to the Disciplez 1996 diss track "L.A. L.A." with the song "Drop a Gem on 'Em" featuring Genesys from Meet The Roc. On 9 August 1996, associates of the Disciplez would attend one of The Throne's concert, leading to a brawl where two people were killed and twenty were injured. In response, Keyante would continue dissing the Disciplez on multiple tracks, including: "Clear The Room" and "Ride On Our Enemies" in which Keyante makes light of Disciplez member Junya for looking frail, which may be due to having multiple sclerosis.
In 1997, Keyante did guest performances on the albums Murda Muzik by Zaa, Bruised Up by B Monie, Incarcerated Scarfaces by Ysuah and Paradise by Kidd G. For his following release, Keyante enlisted production duo Tony+Ares, beginning preparation for his second album, The Roc Father. The album was chiefly produced by Tony+Ares, as Keyante consciously worked towards more of a G-Funk sound. The Roc Father was released in 15 August 1997 to critical acclaim. Two singles, "Exhibit" and "Hoodlum" (featuring The Throne), were instant hits. These songs were promoted by big-budget music videos directed by Hype Millions, making Keyante a common name among mainstream hip-hop. Excluding The Throne, the album had no features. Reviewing The Roc Father, Lawrence Parks of Music Box Magazine believed the album's rhymes were not as complex as those of Meet The Roc, but still thought Roc Steady had "deepened his talents, creating a complex series of rhymes that not only flow, but manage to tell coherent stories as well." The Roc Father would later be nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Additional diss tracks against the Disciplez would made on The Roc Father, which include: "Flow Forever" where Keyante said "You're barely breathin', stop wheezin', you're fiendin' for attention, don't mention my name when you can barely get to steppin" and "Don Life".
On 14 November 1997, Keyante along with Zaa and producer C-Side released a single titled "Mob Ties", featuring Genesys. The song would later be the lead single from their collaborative studio album, 47th and Queens. The album was released on 19 December 1997. It features guest appearances from B Monie, Doc Dre, Genesys, Smokey 2X, and Lauren Jill of the Fugees.
1998–2001: Feud with Hovah
Following the release of 47th and Queens, Keyante would re-group with The Throne to work on their second group album, originally titled "Growth and Development". However, after the death of Genesys in a July 1998 armed robbery in London, the album would be shelved, with songs from the sessions later be re-purposed for Genesys' posthumous solo releases.
After trading veiled criticisms on various songs and freestyles throughout 1998, the highly publicized dispute between Keyante and West coast rapper Hovah became widely known to the public in early 1999. Hovah, in his song "Conquer and Control", criticized Keyante by calling him "fake" and his career "lame", as well as dissing Genesys. Keyante responded with "False Prophets", a scathing diss track where Keyante revealed that he had an affair with Hovah's girlfriend at the time, Catalina Chase. The song was later included on the deluxe edition of Keyante's second studio album, Meet The Roc 2, released on 24 December 1999. The album was executively produced by Dick Durban, and featured a guest appearance from Duggy Foreign and a posthumous feature from Genesys. Meet The Roc 2 peaked at No. 2 on the Sunset 100 chart.
Discography
Studio albums
- Meet The Roc (1996)
- The Roc Father (1997)
- Meet The Roc 2 (1999)
Collaborative albums
- Truly Humbled Under God [with The Throne] (1995)
- 47th and Queens [with Zaa and C-Side] (1998)