'The Elephant Man's Bones' is the culmination of two careers

The Elephant Man's Bones likely won't trouble the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 — but that's not its reason for existing. Instead, the album by revered Los Angeles producer Alchemist and Long Island crime rhyme auteur Roc Marciano is a nourishing reminder that artists who stay authentic to their core values can make the long game work and ride out sub-genre impact and regional movements. Eventually, like-minded souls meet. In the case of Alchemist and Marciano, it has been an epic, intersecting journey across eras, and, rewardingly, the culmination of their respective efforts is the record they've both been inching towards their entire careers.

In essence, is a testament to a couple of hip-hop long haulers who've never wavered from their creative ethics, even if at times those ethics seemed out of sync with hip-hop's, was recorded and released in 2004 under the guidance of renowned New York producer Pete Rock, but from its inception the project seemed destined to be an under-appreciated thug-rap gem rather than a breakthrough moment.