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*)  

     

      

 

 

   

    

    






 
















     

Shady XV: An Exciting Year For Shady Fans

Normally I'm more of a Twitter addict than I'd like to admit, but last night I was glued to it for one reason and one reason only. You'd probably think because of the VMAs right?  Wrong. Well, half right. But it wasn't because of Beyoncé's acceptance of the Video Vanguard Award, it wasn't because of Nicki Minaj or Iggy Azalea (at least not last night), and it wasn't even because of Usher's performance (shocker). I was glued to Twitter of course because of Eminem's Shady XV!  What is Shady XV you ask?  Well now I can tell you (since last night Mr. ILikeToRelease20SecondPromoVideosButGiveNoRealDetails didn't feel like... you know, giving any details).

At first I was excited about seeing an Eminem tweet that read "Blink and you'll miss it... #VMAs #SHADYXV." But of course we should know by now that when it comes to Mr. ILikeToRelease20SecondPromoVideosButGiveNoRealDetails, that was all people were going to get. Oddly enough the real promo didn't come during the Video Music Awards, but on Twitter. Shortly after this tweet, Eminem then continued to tweet a 20 second promo video that ended with the words "SHADYXV" on the screen. Check out the promo video below.

Pretty sweet right?  Now if you think too much about these sorts of things (like me) and start to make your own theories about what this could mean, your first assumption would be that it's another sequel to a classic album. Slim Shady LP 2 possibly?  Man would that be insane!  It only makes sense right?  Following up the successful 2013 effort Marshall Mathers LP 2 with a sequel to a record that started it all?  While all of this sounds cool, to me Shady fans got something equally as cool, released in a statement exclusively from shadyrecords.com. Shady XV is a compilation album release of Shady Record's 15th anniversary of its original start in 1999. It will include the greatest hits of all Shady Records members, including the newly released "Guts Over Fear" record from Eminem and Sia that will be used as the lead single for "The Equalizer," the new movie featuring Denzel Washington.

But there is more than just a compilation album coming folks. Yes that is correct, not only will we be getting a new album of the greatest hits from these fellow Shady Records members that will include new material, we will also be getting new albums from Eminem, Slaughterhouse, Yelawolf, Bad Meets Evil, and even a new D12 record is on the way. Are you excited yet? 

So admittedly I'm pretty damn excited about what is going to be happening in the rap world in what I can only assume to be the next year. I mean it wouldn't be proper to release this 15 year anniversary album the year after the anniversary, obviously, the compilation album is set for a November 24th release date. But in the year to come?!  A HUGE year for Shady Records alone, let alone all of hip hop. I've personally been waiting for a new Slaughterhouse album since after the last one came out (knowing they can do better production-wise, and they will, with Just Blaze at the helm obviously). Only time will tell what happens up until that point. It's funny, it's almost like the calm before the storm all over again. Enjoy Eminem's new single "Guts Over Fear" below.

    

Detroit vs. Everybody: Is Revenge A Bad Move?

Detroit is a city that people travel to with caution. Not only celebrities, but every day civilians certainly stay alert and keep an eye out as well. Detroit has always been known as a city to demand its respect, and take it from people when its not given to them. The motor city has bred its fair share of established artists, whether hip hop or any other genre such as Eminem, Royce Da 5'9, Big Sean, and many more. It seems Rick Ross hasn't earned the respect of the city yet, but is it possible that one song could make the city act as brash as it has been acting?

In case you haven't heard, Rick Ross was turned away from HIS OWN concert recently in Detroit. Supposedly, Ross shows up to a crowd of over 100 Detroit residents standing outside of the venue blocking his entrance. Ross had this to say on twitter about the matter: "Luv #Detroit I wuz ready to killm 2nite, heard it wuz a peace protest wit picket signs and locked gates haa." Doesn't seem to be a very disappointed man to me, but you have to question if he had already gotten paid before the actual concert occurred. It's a win/win situation if he does, not only getting paid but not having to worry about jumping around and saving your energy for a whole performance (just kidding about the jumping around part, come on, it's Rick Ross).

But I believe there is definitely more to this, if you've seen any more extended news on this, another fellow Detroit rapper Trick Trick has made a song called "No Fly Zone" featuring Royce Da 5'9. This song basically states the anger Detroit and its artists have towards artists from other areas who have not given Detroit the respect they feel it deserves. So what does this mean for the city?  What does this mean for other big time rappers?  I question this method. If you aren't making your city available or welcome to artists originating from other areas, how do you expect to get positive recognition or better the city?

This whole situation confuses me simply due to the fact that Big Sean, a known Detroit resident and representative of Detroit rap, has collaborated with Ross multiple times on his own and Ross' songs. Big Sean has also been called out on his collaborations though, most recently by Royce Da 5'9 for not calling him or showing him any love on guest verses, as Royce says in one of his latest songs "Keep It 100" off of Slaughterhouse's "House Rules" mix tape. So maybe its safe to say Sean is doing his own thing.

I've also wondered what Eminem has to do with this whole situation or if he has any say in it. We all know he is a known affiliate of Royce Da 5'9, most notably from their rap duo Bad Meets Evil. And I hope I wouldn't have to say Eminem is rather fond of Detroit. Anyways, its not in Eminem's nature to not be involved in something that includes Detroit, or really any sort of beef or diss records. Eminem built his reputation on hard hitting diss songs, but has he grown out of making them?  Or does he really just not want to be associated with the Ross incident?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Eminem or not, it seems Detroit is still laying down the law with this "No Fly Zone" policy. Trick Trick had this to say on the incident involving Ross: "All I did was teach brothers how to stand for something without being violent. What's the problem with that?  Nobody got arrested, no bloodshed, nothing wrong happened other than some people getting disappointed in not seeing what they wanted to see. For that, I apologize. But me and that man's business, is me and that man's business."

So hopefully this doesn't turn into anything bigger than what it is. Beef in hip hop has always existed, we can go back to east coast vs. west coast, Tupac vs. Biggie in that matter, but we all know how that ended. Beef can be entertaining yes, and get loads of media coverage and recognition, but Detroit is already known too well for its problems. In the long run, Detroit bettering itself and making its city available for more collaborations and things involving the community is what's going to bring this city up to its pinnacle. Its not only the artists job, but the residents, and the fans job as well to focus on the positive, and take away the possibility of any negativity directed toward it. So its safe to say we all have things we can improve on. It doesn't take being Tupac to attempt to better your area yourself, and once we realize this, we're all in for a better tomorrow.