Royce Da 5'9" - The Show Must Go On
Royce gets candid about learning from mistakes, Detroit's after Proof's death, and his new sense of focus.
Royce 5’9”, or Ryan Montgomery by birth. Growing up near 7 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan, his childhood ‘R’ pendant was the inspiration for the name, which looked like a Rolls-Royce insignia to his childhood friends. The 5 foot 9 bit explains itself. Some of you may have first heard him as the only guest MC on Eminem's multi-platinum Slim Shady LP, on ‘Bad Meets Evil’ where he dropped one of the best verses on the album. Spitting “whipping human ass / throwing ‘bows / cracking jaws / with my fists wrapped in gauze / dipped in glue and glass”, he represented lovely, way back when Eminem was still a hilarious drug addict, a fierce freestyle rhyme animal, and an Aftermath Records rookie. Originally meeting Eminem at an Usher concert, Royce went from semi-serious high school rhymer to full-time hip hop performer in a matter of months, due to his undeniable talent and newly-formed friendships. After the Bad Meets Evil’ 12" surfaced, the Eminem/Royce collabo ‘Scary Movies’ scorched the mixtape and radio circuit for months, and a few other outstanding collaborationsmade these two Motor City microphone maniacs among the best tag-team MCs of the new millenium. But that was a whole era ago. In 2007, Eminem is virtually a retired multi-millionaire, while Dr. Dre is tantalizing the world as everyone waits for his retirement album. Yet, one of Dre’s former ghostwriters (on the Chronic 2001 album's ‘The Message’ and ‘Xxplosive’) is still independent, still grinding, and still on his rise to the top. With retirement nowhere near his mind, ‘The Bar Exam’ mixtape is expected to be a rejuvenated Royce, fresh out of lockdown, and ready for a new beginning.
Royce has been put through the fire of trials and tribulations from all levels of the music industry, having seen the extremes of million dollar budgets (Tommy Boy, then Columbia Records, “Rock City: Version 2.0”), to indie hustler self-promoted product (2004’s “Death Is Certain” album, and 2005’s “Independent’s Day” album, on KOCH Records), to pumping out multiple mixtapes on some 50 Cent shit. But one of the largest obstacles he had to overcome in his life was his recent incarceration in the Oakland County Jail located at Pontiac, Michigan on a DUI charge that he caught in September 2006. Receiving work release in January 2007, and truly appreciating freedom like never before, Royce the 5’9” sounds focused on a level that few others are, and is still seeking his place at the top of the rap game. His lyricism is revered as some of the most sophisticated in the underground, yet he holds the potential to rival some of the best in the mainstream as well. Let’s speak to one of the best lyricists in the game explain how he maintains his momentum and progression in the direction of his destiny.
EW: You're one of the last of a dying breed of MCs that is still doing it.
Royce: Aiight, I appreciate that.
EW: I been listening since your first 12", 'I'm The King'.
Royce: Way back. Yeah, I miss those days.
EW: Maybe we'll start with this question: can you give a hint as to whose name got edited on 'The Return of Malcom', and why did that happen?
Royce: That's why I edited it, actually. That's the reason I didn't say the name, cause I didn't want anybody to hear the name.
EW: No hints?
Royce: I'm the kinda MC that says what's on my mind, but now I'm really trying to think before I say certain things. That person who I said, it's not nothing big like that, but that person knows who he is. It pretty much is what it is, there ain't no problems with that. Cause if it was a problem like that, then it wouldn't have been edited.
Something is on your mind? Then n!gga, say it/ you scared?
If I was trying to X you out, you know you’d be dead/
You need beef with me like you need a hole in the head/
You little stone throwers/
you signed-to-a-label-ass niggas ain’t sayin' shit until you own yours”
EW: True. So, I'm going to get into your history, but to bring us to the present, how do you approach the day differently, after the experience of being in jail?
Royce: I kind of think more. You know, I came to terms with myself and realized that my gift that God gave me is my mind, the ability to use my mind. The thing now is not to hinder it and not to alter it in any way, thinking around the clock, twenty-four hours a day, because when I'm thinking on that level, when I'm thinking outside the box. There's not even anybody that's on the same page as me. It's to not be in that world [jail]. Like, I don't even work my problems out with violence, really. My change is to really, really show people that when I'm using my mind, I'm really thinking outside of the box that nobody is even in, and ain't nobody even near me.
EW: Word, I feel you. Like you said, we have all known Eminem is a world class MC, but since day one, you've been one of the only cats that can go line for line with him. It's time to make the world wake up. What's your masterplan for the next album, and this year?
Royce: I think it's all going to come down to the music. More so than anything. I mean, I'm proud of me being more focused than ever before, and I think we're really going to get people to pay attention. I'm going to come out and say things and people are going to be like "damn! Royce sounds focused." You know, but they're really not going to get it until they hear the record. With myself and my team, 'Preme, Kino, Mike B, we putting it down and trying to make sure that every song on the album is like a scene from my movie. The album is going to be of epic proportions. With Preme, I'm holding the belt.
EW: Do you have a title yet for the album, or a label that you'd like to put it out on?
Royce: I've got tentative titles, but I don't want to say anything, then the info gets out all everywhere. If I change my mind, then I'm kind of stuck answering questions about a title that I'm not using, so I'm kind of keeping it to myself.
EW: You're working with some classic producers, and I love that track 'Ding'. You're making great shit with Premo and Nottz and it's dope, but what other producers would you like to work with that you think would take you to a level that you have not been on yet?
Royce: I don't know man, I admire so many people these days. I mean, producers, there's not a lot of development needed. As far as MCing, as far as mainstream music.
EW: No doubt.
Royce: I want to be mainstream, but mainstream with the perfect production. Production has come a long way. A lot of people might think that hip hop is dead, but production is definitely not dead. There's a lot of great producers. I like Timbaland. I like Pharrell. I like a lot of people. I like Scott Storch. I like 9th Wonder. I could go from the most extreme, from the most hip hop producers to the most commercial producers. I just think I got a way of staying in my lane and appealing to both sides..
EW: Before it's all said and done, before your great grandkids are rocking the mic: is the hip hop nation ever going to get a 'Bad Meets Evil' album?
Royce: That's a good question too. Probably not, but I think that my solo album will be just as classic as that one would be. THAT album would obviously be in a class all by itself, but my solo album will definitely be something that can compare to that, and be just as good.
EW: Let's pray to maybe hear both of them come to light. I've got another question, have you seen a change in the streets of Detroit since the tragedy of Proof? Has it had an actual effect on people starting to watch themselves more?
Royce: I think so. It's always like that when there's death. You know, death lingers in Detroit, year round. But when it's somebody that's that significant to the city, it always feels different. Always. With Proof, it's a shame he shot to iconic status right after something that tragic, instead of people realizing it when he was living. As human beings, we kind of take that for granted, naturally. So there's definitely a change around here that I noticed.
EW: Do you have unreleased music with him?
Royce: I got one song that we did that nobody else is going to ever hear, because I'm not going to put it out, out of respect to him. It was his song. He never told me while he was living that I could put the song out, so I'm not going to do it after he's passed.
EW: Word. So, what do you think is the biggest mistake of your career so far?
Royce: Um, man, you know what... I don't know if I have a biggest mistake.
EW: Yeah?
Royce: Well, I've made so many mistakes. I'm human. Like anybody else. I've got a big mouth, I say a lot of crazy shit. You know, that's just me. I'm Royce da 5'9", love it or hate it! You know, one thing I always like to say is that I regret, but I don't dwell on the past. I've never made a mistake that I'm dwelling on. I've made mistakes where I look back and say, 'Okay, I definitely have to improve on that, I've got to NOT be this way. it's all about teaching yourself. I'm like a sponge for knowledge. I love learning. What better way to learn, than to learn from yourself? And your mistakes. Basically, I'm one of those people where, a lot of times, you can't tell me shit. I gotta go through shit myself. I regret some of the decisions I've made, but I feel like they have happened for a reason.
EW: Say word. I appreciate these lessons. Parallel to that question, what do you think is the biggest blessing you have received since choosing to do hip hop as a career?
Royce: That's the blessing. That's the whole blessing right there. There's a lot of other blessings that come from that, there's a lot of blessings that come from being able to do what you love to do for a living. I've been blessed to be able to do this for ten years, I've never gotten another job. I never went to hustle, I never sold drugs. Never been illegal. I've always made money doing this. So people can say what they want about me, 'Oh he fell off' and this and that, but my family has not seen ONE starving day, and that's all courtesy of this pen and this paper.
You know what I was thinking about the other day, man? It's really when I get all these letters in when I'm jail, like people writing me letters, cause I'm still on work release. I was thinking like people writing me letters. The actual form of writing a letter is a forgotten form of communication, you know what I'm saying? People like Jay-Z, they talk about how he writes his rhymes in his head... I just thought to myself like how I love writing my rhymes. I love writing my words on the paper, and seeing the ink on my paper wet, and as it dries, it forms my thoughts. Cause I just started to write my rhymes down and memorize them. Like how I write my rhymes down and I would remember them by the piece of paper. Those thoughts on that piece of paper, is how I remember them. Like when I go in the booth, and I'm rhyming, and when I got to memorize them, I'm visualizing that paper in my head. You know what I'm saying? It's a beautiful fucking experience.
EW: It's like scripture, man. I feel you man. I got rhymes in this very book that I'm asking you the question of this interview in. I love writing, I feel you.
Royce: So I just really took it from doing it like that, from filling them notebooks, to now I'm doing it how I say my rhymes. Shit, I'm feeding my family doing it, so...that's a blessing.
EW: Speaking of not letting things go, do you have any unreleased music with J. Dilla? Did you ever work with him?
Royce: Ha, you know what? I did a song with Jay Dee a long time ago.I got some songs that never came out, that I probably could dig up, but again it's the same thing, you know what I'm saying? Same respect I have for Proof, I got for him. It's not like as soon as somebody passes, I'm not going to put out a bunch of songs with him. That ain’t my angle.
EW: No doubt, man. Cats just ruin that. You can't just exploit that. So, last time I saw you, you were one of the most focused artists I've ever met, like no drinking, no smoking... you even said "so sober/ 'Renegade' before Hova", and stuff like that. Could you explain how that happened, how you got caught up?
Royce: Yeah... I'm a contradictory person. Heh heh... that's one of my weaknesses. I don’t really need to be... I'm the last person to know that I'm not focused. I don't really need to be out drinking. I could be partying, and I could still do quality records. And then I don't realize that I could do MORE quality records when I'm not doing all that stuff. Like, for a long time, I was not drinking while I was doing my work. I still don't drink in the studio, and stuff like that. When I got caught on the DUI was when I was out partying, and driving home. I've NEVER been focused enough to be in clubs and not drinking, you know what I'm sayin? That's one of my weaknesses. I’ve either got to stop going to the club, or I've got to find my balance. I'm trying to find my balance. I'm not perfect. That's the thing, I'm a work-in-progress, always.
EW: You're not the only one, Royce. So what did you learn form working with Puffy that you never knew? Like when you see the Bad Boy machine and things on that level, is there any thing that you didn't know before then?
Royce: It's not a lot different. But Puffy takes the full steps to make sure things go to another level. You know, like he won't settle for the same old commercial beats. He's checking out the original ones, the crazy ones. And I chalk that up to him not being an mc. Like, you can't be an mc, and that much of a perfectionist as him. You'd drive yourself crazy. Number one, like when you write your rhymes, you're always going to be partial to what you're writing, as soon as you do it. It may take you a month to say really like: these are the flaws in this rhyme. He'll see them right away, cause he's not an mc. He can hear it. It's his ear. Like him, and Dre, and dudes like that, Preme. That's their talent, before anything. And I don't want that ear. I don't want that engineer mixed ear. I always want to be able to look at it from an mc and a fan's standpoint. You just got to keep the critical people around. That's how you find that balance.
EW: So Royce, I believe in you since the Game Recording days, you've always been one of the top mcs to me, one of the elites, but what do you feel is stopping you from becoming a household name?
Royce: Myself. Myself. It's just me. It's me, working out my demons. Working on the positives and the negatives. You know what I'm saying? I've only held myself back, nobody, not Em, not anybody shutting shit down, not me beefing with D-12. All of that stuff slows me up because I allow myself to get into certain predicaments, you know what I'm saying. Like I told you, I'm thinking twenty four hours a day, around the clock. Now watch how fast I go, between now and next year. Look at everything that happened before today. Then you look at how fast shit is going to move in between now and next year. You are going to see... as far as anybody else, I don't care who it is. They can't stop me. It's impossible. Cause, there's always somebody that wants to fuck with Royce, always. And that's it. Just do your thing. Cats like us that want to spit that real shit, is what's going to make it better.
links: http://www.royceda59.com, Myspace.com/roycefivenine
Newsletter
Royce is BACK!
Royce deffitnily has da potential to be up there with da greatest lyricists of all-time, whether underground or mainstream. he's a bomb waiting to blow
Only Skin Deep
Never got jack from this interview, but the basics plus the interviewer really earwak'sing the rappers persona. Dude's mouth, probably has some stretch marks on it.
Like I mean, Who asks Royce why isn't he a household name! Dudes been a household name since the dawn of time.
Ya'll need a redo and give us some information that we don't already know.
royce....
Royce da 5'9" is the sickest out there... above all dead or alive nikel nine is the illest... complete on all levels of hip hop... he is the truth and by far no other rapper out there like him... those who I meet that say they hip hop heads and havent heard of royce become lifetime fans... i play track after track and instantly they become a fan... 5'9" is and will always be the best... hip hop aint shit with out him... peace...
Royce The Illest
Bar none, there is not an MC who can easily take lyrical talent and words and mix it together so well as Royce does. Rap is going so far down and changing that its not even Rap anymore but its excellent that there is still one MC that stands out over ALL...that means your buddy Jay-Z, Lil Wyane or who ever that people are confused with being good just cause they "Say" they are good. Royce da 5'9" is the illest and quite possible the best rapper ever to grace us but definitly the best alive. Take Notes!
Plain and simple
Dude, is one of the hardest artist eva!
One of the best out there
Ive been bangin Royce since Death is Certain first came out and he's in a class of only a handful of mc's that manage super lyrical skill with a real tight delivery. Most MC's that have incredible lyrics lack the delivery or production to really pull it off. But as the Source said "Royce is the complete MC". And he just keeps on proving it.