I Got Some Insider Information From Someone Who Attended Royce Da 5'9's Book Of Ryan Listening Session; Here's What To Expect (Interview)

Earlier yesterday, Detroit wordsmith Royce Da 5'9 held a listening session at sneaker store Burn Rubber in Detroit for his long talked about, highly anticipated next studio album, Book Of Ryan. Although it's set for a May 4th release, lucky fans got a chance to hang out with Royce, check out some dope sneakers, and listen to the album. I spoke with @Rakabash on Twitter, who is from Detroit, and got the exciting chance to attend the session, and listen to the album first hand.


How many people would you say were in attendance?

"I'd say 50-60 people were in attendance."


Can you give an account of what it was like meeting Royce/how it was when he showed up?

"I was at Burn Rubber before it opened. Royce showed up an hour and a half late. He came through the back entrance because we were anticipating him coming through the front. All of a sudden, I hear thunderous applause, and Royce is standing in front of the sales counter holding a microphone. The sales counter became a makeshift podium to address the fans. When he arrived, he was very friendly and talkative. Kino (Royce's manager) was also there. Royce wore a big ass encrusted watch that was sparkling!"

Does the album, from what you heard, hold any general theme?  Since many speculate with a title like Book Of Ryan, it will be autobiographical in a sense.

"It does have an autobiographical theme. Royce pays tribute to his father by both talking about him at his worst as a cocaine addict and praising him for committing himself to rehab to kick his addiction and address the domestic abuse he committed to Royce's mother. "Strong Friend" is the song that is most emotionally gripping. He talks about the person who you think is the most headstrong because they are the breadwinner should be checked on just as much as a person who is emotionally fragile. Royce's honesty, sometimes brutally, is reminiscent of Death Is Certain. His vulnerability on so many songs is fascinating as well. He admits to being a womanizer, an alcoholic, arrogant, etc. You understand the motivations behind his actions.

That's amazing, they say music can be therapeutic, and it sounds like Royce used this album as a crutch of sorts. So let's talk about the production; you said it was very musical, in a sense where instruments of all matter play a huge part in it, not just some synthesizers and 808s of course. Did he discuss who handled production on most/all of the album?  Was it the usual in house producers like Mr. Porter, or did he reach further out for broader sounds?

"Streetrunner did 'Summer On Lock', Key Wane produced 'Woke'. He mentioned DJ Khalil, although I don't know which songs he produced. He mentioned Mr. Porter as an executive producer, he did produce a song for Book Of Ryan, possibly more than one."

That's great about Mr. Porter, he deserves his shine.  Jay Elec didn't call him the greatest producer of all time for nothing. So you talked a little earlier about the Eminem feature, titled "Caterpillar". What should people expect from that one? The vicious one two punch of Bad Meets Evil going back and forth?  Competitive bars?  Any highlights?

"Royce has the first and second verse. Em spits a long ass verse but it sounds like the equivalent of Em having 2 verses combined. It sounds like it was recorded after Revival was released and reviews were in. The beat is straight boom bap, it's very "hip hop" to the core.

Very interesting, so in a sense, was Em attacking criticism as he was recently on the "Chloraseptic Remix", or did he have a different agenda to his verse?

"He was lyrically shitting on people disrespecting his style and wanted to show people where so many got their style from. It wasn't really aimed at Joe (Budden, who many people believed the "Chloraseptic Remix" was originally aimed at for his criticism of Revival), but at rival emcees who forgot that Em is the caterpillar- meaning he made his mark on music. I didn't get the sense that he was defensive about the flack from Revival like he was on the 'Chloraseptic Remix'".

Okay, one last question, and I'll let you get out of here. Do you believe Book Of Ryan furthers and promotes Royce's longevity as an emcee, as well as an artist, and not just in the rhyming aspect, but in terms of making great music with replay value?

"Absolutely. a lot of people might be taken aback by how much he sings on this album, however, the themes on so many songs on this album are mature and sophisticated, and go beyond the cookie cutter usually associated with rappers who sing. Because it's an independent release, it's not going to get the push that it deserves, but this is Grammy album of the year material. Much of the album owes a lot to Symbolic 1 and Denaun Porter. Book Of Ryan will make inroads towards showing people he's more than the guy who knows Eminem. He's the guy who can write a collection of songs that draws from his own demons that will be inspirational in to those who hear it."

Sounds like Royce's demons are going to need some help hiding again after we get to finally hear Book Of Ryan. You can go to Rakabash's Instagram (@Rakabash) to see Instagram live videos from the listening session, and in case you missed it, Royce released a bonus track off of Book Of Ryan featuring new Shady signee Boogie, which you can listen to below. Book Of Ryan releases officially on May 4th.


(*I do not own this audio, the image, or any rights to either*)  

     

      

 

 

   

    

    






 
















     

Observations From J. Cole's KOD

Another second year, another album drop for the emcee from Fayetteville, North Carolina. I say second year because in the last 4 years, Cole has dropped 3 albums including the recently released KOD, starting with 2014 Forest Hills Drive in 2014, then 4 Your Eyez Only in 2016. It seems as if every project Cole releases has an underlying message that isn't necessarily caught off of the first listen, and if the abbreviations for the album's title mean anything (KOD- Kids On Drugs, King Overdosed, and Killing Our Demons) then the rest of hip hop was in for a rude awakening in the subject matter. But did they awaken rudely?  You might be able to say that those who make a certain subgenre of rap were. Did Cole come with that "real shit" again to spark the rap game back into the great state that it was previously?  Cole is usually one to boast the MHHGA saying more than most (make hip hop great again).  BUT DID COLE COME WITH NO FEATURES?!  Let's discuss in my observations of Cole's KOD below.


Tackling Drug Use Like No One In Hip Hop Today Is Doing
J. Cole - Once An Addict
(*Since listening to the Cole album isn't allowed on YouTube without a YouTube Red subscription, I'll have to post the Apple Music song links, so bear with me y'all*)

When so often today drug use is glorified and used to promote a good time among other rappers (most with "lil" in their name), Cole took this concept and flipped it on it's ear. The cover of KOD (mostly the writing at the top, though the cover art serves it's own purpose as well) serves as a disclaimer to listeners diving in to the album; "this album is in no way intended to glorify addiction." While this may seem alarming at first, and it should, the subject matter throughout most songs remains to be the struggle with addiction and drugs through not only Cole's life and career, but hip hop as well. Songs like 'The Cut Off" sound almost exactly like a description of hip hop's youth today, with "kiLL edward" (who is almost certainly Cole himself, used as a representation of today's hip hop landscape) singing the literally carefree hook; "gimme drink, gimme smoke, get me high, let me float, I'm a cloud, coming down, put me down, gentle now, gimme drink, gimme dope, bottom line, I can't cope, if I die, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know." The intimately personal "Once An Addict (Interlude)" details Cole growing up with addiction in the household with his mother's battle with alcoholism, and Cole's fear for letting his mother know his real thoughts on the matter. If an intervention could be put into song form, then "Once An Addict" is that cry for help for Cole's mother's case. He uses songs throughout KOD not to glorify drug and alcohol addiction, but to shed a light on the matters and just maybe; see what it's like to live a day in the shoes of an addict.


Discussing The Obsessions Of Today's Hip Hop Youth
ATM - J. Cole

While Cole's album comes with most of the qualities that the average Cole album would, it's unique in the aspect that Cole approaches the subject matter almost as a parody. On songs like "ATM" and "Motiv8", Cole steals the stapled "Migos flow" (for lack of a better term, also considering that's what it's become known as today) and uses it almost as research to set the example for what hip hop's standards are for music today. "Photograph" is comical in the idea that it's subject matter is actually true, while the repetitive "motivate" hook on the song with the same title ("Motiv8") almost seems to make a mockery of other hooks made by other rappers made today, using background adlibs to stress the "get money" part of the equation, plus the bridge's lyrics (or, "post" bridge, since it's right after the hook) can be interpreted as shots at today's landscape as well; "too many times, I swallowed my pride, I'm crackin' a smile, I'm dying inside, my demons are close, I'm tryin' to hide, I'm poppin' a pill, I'm feelin alive, I'm feelin alive, I'm feelin alive, I'm feelin alive, I'm feelin alive, I'm feeling alive, I'm feelin alive, I'm feelin alive, I'm feelin alive, I'm...". It's as if Cole was so intrigued by today's hip hop landscape and what the hotter artists discussed in their lyrics that he is using it as either "motivation" to help the record sell, or he was using it as research; a wake up call to show other rappers what they are sounding like, and I don't believe Cole has ever cared about selling records.

Political Views & Ideas That Could Push The Agenda            
Window Pain (Outro) - J. Cole

Now from the looks of social media and people's opinions about Cole, nobody wants to hear Cole get political, but Cole has never shied away from doing so while speaking his mind and getting things off of his chest. Discussions of the mass shootings that have plagued the U.S. ("Window Pain [Outro]"), as well as addiction and what it does to people throughout the entire album ("The Cut Off", "Once An Addict", "FRIENDS", etc.) are the kinds of things that keep Cole at the top of the list of relevancy, and top of the list of rappers who fight for what is right; this is why everything Cole drops is a breath of fresh air whilst the rest of hip hop (most of the music getting promoted anyways) is struggling to keep it's head above alcoholic and promethazine filled waters. Now to step away from the "preachy" aspect of the music; though the themes and messages throughout can be depressing and dark, Cole's album is delightfully fresh in that it presents (in a way) solutions to the problems that it also brings to the table with just as much, if not more force. In every raw song's problem also lies it's solution, or at least, steps towards those solutions, and though the road looks bleak for some going ahead, there is still hope towards Killing Our Demons, with those Kids On Drugs. Unless, of course, the King Overdosed, then... we might just be doomed.      

Kanye Announces He's Producing Nas' Next Album, Dropping In June

About an hour and a half ago, Kanye took to Twitter again to announce some more news about what is sounding to be like an amazing year for him and his G.O.O.D Music crew.

Kanye announced around 7:30 EST all of the album he would be helming this coming June; the previously announced Kids See Ghosts joint album with Kid Cudi, as well as Teyana Taylor and Pusha T's next solo albums, but he then announced the next album that he would be executive producing; the long awaited Nas album. Nas' last album of course was 2012's Life Is Good, which dropped over 6 years ago. Nas has yet to comment on Kanye's claims, so we will see if Kanye's claims hold true. If true, it's looking to be a huge year for G.O.O.D Music.

Who's excited for new Nas?  Fingers crossed for this one!    

So... It's Kind Of Been A CRAZY Week In Hip Hop So Far (News, Thoughts, Speculation, And More)

In case you've some how been living under a rock for the last 3 or 4 days, this week has been absolutely crazy concerning hip hop, and some of the biggest names involved in it today. And because there is so much to tackle in so little time, I'll save y'all the introduction and get right to the good stuff. First thing's first (rest in peace Uncle Phil... just kidding, but we'll get to that guy in a sec)...

Kendrick Lamar Wins Hip Hop's First Ever Pulitzer

                             (Photo credited via The Pulitzer Prizes Twitter [@PulitzerPrizes])

Where's a Ron Burgundy meme when you need one?  Because this is kind of a big fucking deal. This last Monday (April 16th), Kendrick Lamar was announced as the first EVER hip hop act to win the acclaimed and highly coveted Pulitzer Prize Award, which if you don't know, Huffington Post describes/defines as an award "for distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year."  Kendrick is recognized as the first "non-classical or jazz artist" to win the award, but lets not beat around the bush here; Kendrick is the first HIP HOP artist to win the prestigious award EVER. Period. Although some would argue that TPAB is far more deserving of the award (like me) because of it's outstanding concept as an overall body of work and the important reoccurring themes, some (like me as well) are exuberant in the fact that Kendrick Lamar is the first ever hip hop artist to win an award of such importance. When Kendrick wins, hip hop wins.

Kyle Supposedly Dropping "Debut" Album?

                         (The supposed cover for Kyle's debut album, titled Light Of Mine)

In more exciting hip hop news, goofy Ventura, California rapper Kyle announced that his debut album, Light Of Mine, will be dropping on his 25th birthday, May 18th of this year. The first two singles ('To The Moon" and "Playinwitme" featuring the wonderful Kehlani) have been pretty well received from fans so far, but knowing Kyle and his ever-changing style, the first 2 singles give no inclination or evidence as to what the album will sound like as a whole. It's too hard to tell what the album's title could mean, and based on Kyle's ability to out bar your favorite rapper on one song then sing them to sleep on the next, it's too early to tell what kind of sound we'll be receiving from him.

Drake Dropping New Album Scorpion In June

After the release of the Scary Hours EP which included the wildly successful hit "God's Plan", Drake followed it up with an even bigger smash hit anthem for the ladies, "Nice For What", which many have said is Drake's best song in years (it was me... I said it). "God's Plan" spent a staggering record 11 weeks atop Billboard's number 1 spot, but that's not even the craziest part; with the number 1 debut of 'Nice For What" on Billboard, Drake actually became the first hip hop artist in history to REPLACE HIMSELF for the number 1 spot with another song. So leads us into the anticipation for Drake's new album, which in case you missed, is called Scorpion and will be arriving in June, though no official date has been given just yet. Knowing Drake's history of pre-released songs right before albums, "God's Plan", "Diplomatic Immunity", and "Nice For What" will give us absolutely no idea of what the album will sound like as a whole, so what are your expectations for Scorpion?  Do we think Drake keeps with his R&B roots and drops more ballads for the women?  Or do we think Drake attacks again with more aggressive bars aimed at everybody who even mentions his name?  Personally, I believe a name like Scorpion doesn't exactly call for cute filtered Snap Chats and Instagram captions, and am really hoping Drake is coming for people's throats in the rapping aspect again (how amazing would it be to get another "A.M" song added to the list?)  No, scorpion's do not take Snap Chat selfies or Instagram pictures of themselves for likes... They sting. It's in their nature.

J. Cole Drops KOD Out Of Nowhere And It's The Album Old Heads Have Been Waiting For

In case you somehow missed Twitter trending topics and the Internet absolutely blowing up over the last 18 hours or so, J. Cole released his surprise album KOD at midnight last night, and boy does it not disappoint. In case you have yet to listen to it, I won't give too many details away, although I have to say that this extra voice that Cole is adding certainly makes for an interesting concept, and almost makes for "hip hop parody" if you will (no Weird Al, not THAT kind of parody). Be sure to check that out if you haven't already, it's very good, but you guys already know I don't need to vouch for Cole. Also, regular viewers, expect an "Observations" review article coming from me with a week or so!

Kanye Tweets/Album Rumors?

Kanye has also been going H.A.M. on Twitter as of late. Over the last week or so, Kanye has been tweeting inspirational messages to his followers, but the inspirational messages are not what people are choosing to direct their attention at (though the tweets have hundreds of thousands of retweets and likes). The most noticeable tweets are the ones above; not only did Kanye announce that his album would be coming on June 1st, he also announced that a mere week later (June 8th) he would be dropping a collaborative project with Kid Cudi, titled after him and Cudi's supposed collaborative group name, Kids See Ghosts (everybody just STAY CALM!). But that's not even the last of it; Kanye also went on to tweet release dates for G.O.O.D. Music label mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor's albums!  Now it's too early to tell if Kanye is for real or if he's just blowing smoke, so until anything comes out, I wouldn't get your hopes up, 'Ye fans, although the tweeting is a start. If it continues, maybe it starts a huge promo run for G.O.O.D Music?


I shouldn't say that's ALL for this week (because holy overwhelming that's a lot to take in), but it's almost safe to say that this week in hip hop can't get much bigger... knock on wood.     








    



















        

TDE Announces "The Championship Tour" With Hilarious New Promo Video

Earlier this afternoon, TDE posted a new video to their YouTube channel which announced a HUGE tour that includes every artist signed to their label.

Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, SiR, SZA and Lance Skiiiwalker will all be hitting the road starting this May, for a total of 30 shows that will hit 29 different cities, including 2  dates in Canada (Vancouver on May 4th and Toronto on June 12th). The tour seems to be hitting primarily the west coast, including 3 shows in Texas and 4 shows in California (where the Ohio dates at y'all?!), though there are multiple dates set for New York as well. How else could Kendrick keep his King Of New York title *(Cue angry west coast hip hop heads)*?  Check out this hilarious 80's work out montage style video below, which shows all the dates at the very end of the clip. Is TDE coming to your city this summer?


(*I do not own this video, or the rights to it*)      

J. Cole Announce New Album "K.O.D.", Dropping April 20th

Earlier today, J. Cole cleared his entire Instagram page to share a whole page of purple artwork. He then returned to Twitter a mere couple of hours ago (4 PM EST) to make some huge announcements, the first being his holding a special event in NYC, which many speculated was an intimate listening session for some new music. And as it turns out, the speculation was correct...

(View images below)

Sources on Twitter who attended the special event say Cole held a listening session in NYC for what appeared to be 10-12 brand new Cole songs, with one source saying the album's supposed title, KOD, has 3 different meanings; Kids On Drugs, King Overdosed, and Killing our Demons. Cole also announced the albums release date for this Friday, April 20th.

A few other lucky people who attended the event also shared that Cole's new music featured a certain song that aims at a certain type of rapper, though no other information was given. Could Cole be back to aim at mumble rappers?  Is Cole attacking the current landscape of hip hop once again?  Time will only tell, and it won't be much longer until we get to find out.      

 

Royce Da 5'9 Drops First Book Of Ryan Single, "Stay Woke"

After riding the success of PRhyme 2 for a mere month (not even), Royce Da 5'9 returns even hungrier than before, this time with a new single, "Stay Woke".

The song finds Royce spitting more lyrical miracles and insane metaphors and entendres ("You can't fathom thinking deep enough to sink the abyss, you think you Pac I'm thinking of sinking your Demetrius Shipp"... like WHAT?!) over some sophisticated, opera-esque production (courtesy of the monstrous Illmind and Frank Dukes), featuring Ashley Sorrell. The song will be featured on Royce's long awaited album Book Of Ryan, which now finally has a release date; May 4th. Listen to "Stay Woke" below.


(*I do not own these images, songs, or the rights to them*)


    

ICYMI: New Music: Bas - Pinball II (feat. Correy C)

A few days ago (April 10th), Queens based and Dreamville imprint rapper Bas returned with a new single, featuring Los Angles rapper Correy C. The song is titled "Pinball II", and is apparently a follow up to his 2013 record, Quarter Water Raised Me, Vol. II. The song is also apparently co-produced by J. Cole, Ced Breeze and ClickNPress, and is available now on iTunes and streaming services.

After an amazing 2016 with the release of his acclaimed Too High To Riot album, Bas went ghost in 2017, though now it seems like he could be preparing for a big release in 2018. Keep on the look out for that, and checkout the lyric video to Bas' new single below.



(*I do not own this video, or the rights to it*)

 

Rock Hop Duo THEY. Return With 2 New Tracks

In case you missed it, at about 11 (EST) this morning, Los Angeles, California duo THEY. posted a couple of new tracks, titled "Thrive", and "Ain't The Same".

The first track ("Thrive") finds the rock hop group using their greatest assets and putting their love of instrumentation to good use, with a very grind it out guitar, and some hard drums, mixed with a nice classic Three 6 "Hey" ad-lib in the background. The second track has a much different, more R&B feel to it, giving some soft lead vocals mixed with some hypnotizing drum beats and snare-claps that add an ambiance to the overall feel of the track.

What a combination it is, as it seems that there is no singular act, nor group out that does what these guys can do, or make the sort of hip hop and rocked fused sounds that they can make.

There is no word on if the tracks will live on any up and coming album from them (umm... actually it's THEY., Geff! Duh), but you can enjoy their new lively songs below.




The second song ("Ain't The Same") featured in the SoundCloud link below.

https://soundcloud.com/unofficialthey/aint-the-same
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)