Tag: Royce Da 5-9

audio review : Layers ( album ) … Royce Da 5-9

audio review : Layers ( album ) ... Royce Da 5-9

He says he ain’t leaving here without a classic. If “here” means the universe and “classic” refers to an album, I doubt that’s true. He promised not to lie on any verse, but I guess that was just the first song. It’s all opinion, of course, and in mine, Royce Da 5-9 is (still) one of the best popular rappers ever. It’s his persona that’s annoying, not to mention all the “God” nonsense, and his lack of skills when it comes to composing songs that hold this album back from greatness like every other album of his.

The Hard hook is uncharacteristically catchy. A lot of rappers consider it soft to sing during the breaks. A lot of rappers are stupid. Every other song that has a chorus; the title track sounds exquisite without one; leaves a lot to be desired. That represents the album’s, and rap music’s, biggest flaw. Layers would also do better if it were skit-free and stripped down to, say, the best twelve songs. Interesting start though. Tabernacle tells the story of what Royce considers the most significant day of his life.

my rating : 3 of 5

2016

audio review : PRhyme ( album ) … PRhyme

audio review : PRhyme ( album ) ... PRhyme

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

audio review : Shady XV

audio review : Shady XV

If there were any doubt, you need not go further than the first song on this set to establish the fact that Eminem can still rap his ass off. He’s rarely as great as he once was; his last classic verse was probably from 2011’s BET Cypher; but this title track, which consists of one long verse over a sparse rock beat, trumps all of his pop peers. That includes his own artists, which Shady XV; a very needless 15-year Shady Records celebration; is designed to showcase.

The concept is reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s History; one half new songs, one half old songs; though that comes via an awkward 12/15 split. I also question the oddly-sequenced tracklist, which, as far as the old songs go, ignores whole albums; namely every Eminem solo; in favor of double dips. The new songs also miss the mark musically. Eminem peaks early with that first song. The rest represents his label for all the mediocrity its released over the years.

The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, Devil’s Night, Relapse; all good albums. Most of the rest are just okay. So while Eminem remains my favorite rapper, it has little to do with albums or songs. My Band and Purple Pills are funny, but the new “D-12” song, which doesn’t even feature Em, is a joke. There are solid beats here, but no noteworthy hooks. Skylar Grey and Kobe are seemingly talentless. He should stop featuring them on his songs.

Not that Sia does any better. Shady foolishly bashes his own We Made You single, from his aforementioned Relapse album, but that song, at least the beat and chorus, trumps everything (new) here. I’ll say for the third time that the Shady XV theme track is a lyrical triumph, but the self-proclaimed Rap God is generally rapping too fast these days. His new verbose style, which crams so many words in a verse that it often makes him sound off-beat, is annoying.

my rating : 3 of 5

2014