The music is provided by DJ Premier. That’s a beat check. Royce Da 5-9 also gets a verse check for his raps, though it must be said that his overdramatic vocal inflections and juvenile bravado do have the tendency to irritate. He was better when he used to just rap; his prime actually ended several years ago, shortly after his 1999 Bad Meets Evil debut; but, however diminished, his skills are decidedly better than average.

The one big flaw here, aside from the “PRhyme” concept itself, is the hooks. That’s a song-dooming weakness for most MCs and Royce; this is and should be marketed as a solo album; is no exception. Even Premier’s scratch samples come across as a stale, sometimes corny, novelty. This is vintage hip-hop for whatever that’s worth, Premier virtually guarantees it, but that’s never enough when it comes to making good songs.

my rating : 3 of 5

2014