Fresh off of his insane freestyle with Funkmaster Flex, Royce Da 5’9 is back with a new body of work with the help of DJ Premier. The two released their first duo project, PRhyme, in 2014 with features from Ab-Soul, Mac Miller, Common, Killer Mike, Slaughterhouse and the ever elusive, Jay Electronica. While the project sold less than 15,000 copies in its first week, the project received universal acclaim from critics and fans alike. Fred Thomas of AllMusic went as far as to state that “PRhyme is an instant classic, and one that sounds better and better as repeated listenings reveal more of the details hiding behind the album’s deceptively straightforward approach.”
The second installment of the series delivers more of the same. With guest appearances from Rapsody, Big K.R.I.T, 2 Chainz, Yelawolf, Roc Marciano and more, the project is the pinnacle of lyricism matched with outstanding production. In a recent interview with XXL, Royce went as far as to say that “There’s never been anything more organic in my career besides Slaughterhouse and Bad Meets Evil.”
With seventeen tracks, Royce Da 5’9 has no shortage of quotable bars. Royce shines on tracks like “Sunflower Seeds” when he raps, “Keep risin’ and soarin’, don’t put your mind on the evil. Keep your eye on the people who would kill just to be by you and beware of those who appear to be dyin’ to meet you. Let your therapy be The Bible and let yourself just be legendary and just continue to keep on helpin’ the less fortunate.”
Royce also comments on the current state of rap on “Everyday Struggle” when he says, “I had nightmares of Joe Budden arguin’ with Lil’ Yachty. Division between artists, party until we sorry that we partin’. That young man the same age my son is. He just on fire right now, same way that my gun is. They this a profession, do amateurs get rejected? When Shady made his hit record, could Canibus accept it? Nah, time just repeatin’ itself, ’97 just was reckless.”
Stream PRhyme 2 below and be on the lookout for a rumored solo project from Royce in the near future.
