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| Tuesday, May 01, 2001 |
| Royce Da 5'9" ready's album for drop |
| Royce Da 5'9" knows about doing it himself. After leaving Tommy Boy Records last year, the Detroit rapper independently released "Boom," his collaboration with DJ Premier, and the song became an instant underground hit. Fortunately for Royce, the record bubbled above surface as well. It caught the attention of Columbia Records and they decided to sign Royce, who's made a name for himself on the underground circuit with solo efforts like "Secret Wars" and his many collaborations with good friend Eminem, like "Bad VS Evil." Now the MC is putting the finishing touches on his debut album, Rock City, due July 17. "That's what they call Detroit," Royce said. Fellow Motor City rapper Eminem appears on the title track, which Royce describes as having the same hometown pride vibe as Foxy Brown's "BK Anthem." "It's like a real Detroit-felt album," he said. Royce said Slim Shady's appearance on the album should clear up the rumors of any friction between the two old chums. "The relationship is the same," Royce said. "The reason people don't see us together no more is, one we're on two different labels. Two his sh-- just exploded overnight. The reason you used to see me and him together so much was because I was his hype man. I used to tour with him, but once I signed my deal, I couldn't go on tour with him. I started recording my album." In addition to Eminem, Royce's clique Detroit native sons D-Elite will also appear on the album, as will Chicago's Twista. Producers the Neptunes, the Alchemist, Premier, Ty Fyfe and Carlos Broady have all laid tracks. "It's going to be a mixture of a lot of different stuff," Royce said. "I'm going to take a lot of people by surprise. I got the songs for the MCs, the songs for the ladies. 'Danger' is strictly to women. 'Get Your Paper' is a real club song. I got a song called 'Pain' where I'm rhyming like I'm actually in pain. If pain was a person, what would pain say? I'm trying to do a classic album with songs that people will remember and don't just die down real quick." As for "Boom," Royce said the cut will be re-serviced this time with a chorus as the lead single to the Carmen Jones soundtrack. The 23-year-old has been testing out some of his material on the current Nelly tour. Royce was recently added to 13 dates on the outing, which includes Sticky Fingaz and Alley Life. And how did he get his moniker? "I ain't the type of person who's real creative with names," said Royce, born Ryan Montgomery. "When I was in high school, my first chain was a Turkish link with a big 'R' on it. My friend started calling me 'Royce' because he said it looked like the Rolls Royce 'R'. '5'9"' comes from when I was on the basketball team. Me and my man was the only people who was 5'9" all four years." He hasn't grown an inch since.
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