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| Cover Art for Royce Da 5'9's "Layers" (slightly customized by Joseph Sanker II) |
WE ARE NOW GOING BACK IN TIME TO 2016 JOSEPH S...
Royce Da 5’9″. Detroit MC. 1/2 of PRhyme, 1/4 of Slaughterhouse, 1/2 of Bad Meets Evil. All around ill MC.
“Layers” on iTunes now, is Royce’s 6th studio album and first solo album in 5 years. Royce has been through many changes since his last album, but the most notable change Royce has made is becoming sober. Having a self proclaimed “addictive personality” Royce has made big personal changes and it is noticeable in his music. For instance, Royce’s last release with DJ Premier entitled “PRhyme” has been lauded by critics and fans alike. Hell, even I fuck with PRhyme (it’s still in regular rotation for me) and I’ve never been a big Royce fan. I feel PRhyme was Royce coming into his own and a sign of a great things to come cause if that’s how you sound when you first become sober, I can only imagine how you’d sound years later in future projects. Royce also dropped a prelude EP called “Trust the Shooter” right before “Layers” dropped and it is really fucking excellent if I do say so myself. Really good shit. So, naturally, I was really looking forward to Royce’s album “Layers”, my expectations were reasonably set however, I was up at night longing for this album but after hearing the singles “Tabernacle” and the titular track, I was reasonably excited for Royce, let’s see how he did…
1. Tabernacle
Ain’t nothing to say that hasn’t already been said about this song. It’s very fucking heartfelt and personal which I appreciate in ANY artist regardless of genre. This is objectively a top 10 Royce song. And a favorite of mine on this album.
2. Pray
Was NOT fucking with the concept AT ALL. This clouded my judgement of the song cause I was mentally arguing with Royce in my head with this whole “Pray for so and so” concept but the beat and flow were good, it’s just…I’m not fucking with the song’s message and subject matter so fuck it, I don’t like it. Take that as you will. No, I don’t give a fuck if you think that’s unreasonable.
3. Hard
Royce can actually harmonize a bit, and it shows on this song. I was really fucking with the hook, I don’t really remember any lyrics but I definitely dug the jazzy production and that hook too. Really solid track.
“Fucking the baddest bitches around wasn’t as hard I thought!”
“What the fuck was I thinking?”
Dope Hook, but the rest of the song wasn’t as memorable.
4. Startercoat
Started to grow on me the more I played it. The way Royce falls in line with the beat is just…so fucking natural like he was made to rhyme over beats like this. I was really fucking with this song on approximately the 3rd or 4th listen. Dope track, definitely a favorite of mine on the album.
5. Wait
Felt short, but dope. Again, the hook is the real highlight on this song! Oh and the beat is dope too! Really upbeat song where Royce delivers very memorable lines like
“Christmas morning I remember waking up wishin’ I could just go to sleep”
“Cause we only got like two toys a piece”
“I ask my pops did he do more for me?”
“He said “yes, I got you clothes and heat”
“And let you keep a whole two rows of teeth”
That made me laugh lol and of course the dope hook:
“FUCK THEM NIGGAS LET THEM WAIT!”
A favorite of mine.
6. Shine (skit)
Just a skit where Royce quotes T.I. and explains the quote lol just picturing T.I. explain shit to Royce in his articulate voice just cracks me up. Those were just my thoughts, none of that actually happens in the skit. Hear it once and then skip for repeated listens. I personally won’t skip it but I can see why someone else would.
7. Shine
Boring. The beat is not interesting enough to carry Royce’s laidback flow and lyrics on this one. . The worst track on the album.
8. Lincoln (skit)
This shit felt totally random like why are you talking about Abe Lincoln? Lol I’ll just roll with it. (I understand you eventually find out why the skit is called “Lincoln”, this was just my first reaction to this skit, so chill) The instrumental during the second half of the skit was fire though, wish Royce would’ve rhymed over that. That would’ve been tight.
9. Flesh
Definitely one of the stronger tracks on this album. Everything works here, from lyrics, to flow, to the hook, to the production and delivery. Makes for a very memorable, standout track, and one of my favorite tracks on this album.
10. Hello (feat. Melanie Rutherford)[skit]
A little repetitive, BUT I actually don’t mind this skit. It reminded me of the Biggie line “Who the fuck is this? Paging me at 5:46 in the morning?” wish the singer would’ve said the 5:46 part but whatevs. Pretty good, not amazing or anything but hey I don’t mind it. Pretty good in my opinion. A favorite of mine too.
11. Misses (feat. K. Young)
This song has zero replay ability in my opinion. Like you hear this song, and that’s it, you have no urge or longing to hear it again. Or at least that’s how it was for me. I don’t necessarily hate the song, but I don’t have any desire to hear it again. That’s how it was for me. Definitely passing on this song. It’s not terrible or anything, and I won’t turn it off if it were to come up on shuffle as background music, it’s just so “meh’ to me and I get really weird vibes from this song for some reason. Not feeling this track like that.
12. Dope! (feat. Loren W. Oden)
Dope!…is DOPE. Holy fuck THIS is what the song “Shine” from earlier should have been. Everything is great here. And it is VERY MEMORABLE, which I feel is one of Royce’s shortcomings on this project. Songs are alright, but nothing sticks to the listener (or maybe it’s just me) but make no mistake “Dope!” is AWESOME. Definitely a standout track and one of my favorite tracks on the entire album.
13. America
Like I said, Royce’s songs on this album aren’t bad per say but they just aren’t memorable or they have little to no replay value. That’s what made PRhyme so great. Those songs were extremely memorable and had VERY high replay value. I wonder when PRhyme 2 is coming out…yeah, Royce doesn’t pick up the emotion and intensity of the song until like the last minute of the song and by then it’s too late to make any real difference from the rest of the song. I’ll pass on this song. The majority of it is too much in the “meh” category for me.
14. Layers (feat. Pusha T & Rick Ross)
I love this song, it’s so “gangsta-church-gospel-smooth” if you will. This single is what really made me hype for this album. Pusha T comes through and effortlessly delivers his verse and dips. Royce drops very memorable lines on this one, including my favorite line on the whole album
“They say misery loves company, no I don’t!”
Makes me smirk every time. And as for Ross, his voice mends so well with this beat. As long as he wasn’t saying anything too ridiculous or outrageous on this song it would’ve worked. What I’m saying is, Ross doesn’t ruin anything, which is a plus in my book, he doesn’t stick around long enough to be particularly memorable with any of his lines. But his delivery is great, which is good enough for me. A favorite track of mine.
15. Quiet (feat. Tiara & Mr. Porter)
I recognize this Tiara feature from the bonus track on the “Trust The Shooter” EP. I hated that song on that EP. Seriously that 12th song on the Trust The Shooter EP was really the only thing stopping me from looking at that EP as perfect. Like seeing a little pimple on your face. It’s not a big deal, but’s it’s still there so you can’t honestly say flawless. Anyway, this song was forgettable, the features feel like a waste. The beat is alright, but this song as a whole just doesn’t pop to me. Next.
16. Gottaknow
I like the beat, but that’s it. Feels like a throwaway track, it wasn’t moving me. Technically speaking, it was decent, but emotionally speaking, it wasn’t shit to me. So, skip from me.
17. Off
Such an anti-climatic ending. It’s not a bad track by any means, but as a fucking closer? Royce, you’ve got to be kidding me. Like it feels like Royce is talking to me and then mid conversation he just says fuck it and randomly walks off like Wtf? Definitely NOT a good way to end the album. Hell, I think he should’ve ended it with “Tabernacle” and started the album with “Hard” but hey what do I know? I’m not Royce nor am I rapper but damn. THIS is how you choose to end your album? Your first album in 5 years and THAT’S how you go out? Like a dropped call or a disconnected internet chat room it just ends abruptly. The track itself is pretty smooth and solid in it’s own right though, but “Off” is definitely NOT an album closer.
Overall, I had a feeling I would like the “Trust The Shooter” EP more than this album. And that’s alright. I’m going to cop this album anyway as my way of compensating Royce for that “Trust the Shooter” EP. That shit was so dope. But this album? It really is the epitome of hit and miss. And it honestly does more missing than it does hitting. The problem is not even that the songs are necessarily bad. It’s just they don’t fucking move me like I hear it, I go “That was cool” or “That was alright” and that’s it. I don’t remember any lyrics, nor do I remember the production. I also have no urge or longing to go listen to this album in it’s entirety again (except for my favorite, standout tracks) This album had too much fat and not enough meat for my taste. Oh well, at least I have PRhyme 2, a new Slaughterhouse album, the Black and Nickel project and a possible new Bad Meets Evil project to look forward to from Royce, so, at this point, even Royce can afford to miss with all these upcoming future projects to look forward to. It’s just a shame that Royce’s own solo album wasn’t as good as these future projects (hopefully) will be.
Favorite tracks: Tabernacle (obviously), Startercoat, Wait, Flesh, Hello, Dope!, Layers
Least Favorite Track: Shine
I give it a 6/10. Not terrible, but try again Royce, I know you can do better, with a much more concise project like the Trust the Shooter EP. I just prefer Royce when’s he just going off with bars like he did on that project.
Listen to Royce Da 5'9's "Layers" here.
written by Joseph Sanker II in 2016
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Until next time! Peace out! One.
Written by Joseph Sanker II
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