Royce da 5'9"

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Royce da 5'9"

Background information
Birth name	Ryan Montgomery
Also known as	Nickel-Nine, King of Detroit
Born	July 5, 1977 (1977-07-05) (age 30)
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	1998 – present
Label(s)	Tommy Boy, Game Recordings, Columbia, Koch, M.I.C Records
Associated acts	Bad Meets Evil Eminem DJ Premier DJ Stretch Armstrong Statik Selektah Canibus Chino XL
Website	MySpace

Ryan Montgomery (born July 5, 1977) is an MC known by his stage name Royce da 5'9". He is known for his early association with Detroit hip hop luminary Eminem and subsequent solo career, during which he has released 3 studio albums as well as mixtapes.

1 Biography
2 Disputes
3 Discography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career

Ryan Montgomery, born and raised on the West Side of Detroit, Michigan, moved to Oak Park, Michigan when he was 10 years old, later acquiring the nickname "Royce" during highschool after wearing a Turkish link chain with an R pendant resembling the Rolls Royce symbol. Royce and his best friend Jah Da 5'9" (also known as June or June Bug) began rapping at 18, and were the two shortest players on the basketball team, both standing at 5 feet and 9 inches tall.

Royce signed his first deal in 1998 with Tommy Boy Records, who was to release his much anticipated debut album Rock City. Royce left Tommy Boy Records, citing creative differences. During that time he worked with Game Recordings, an independent label who helped him to negotiate a deal with Columbia Records. Columbia repeatedly delayed the release of Rock City, which was subsequently heavily bootlegged. Despite this, Columbia released Rock City, which quickly went out of print once Royce left the label. After leaving Columbia, Rock City was edited and re-released through Koch / Game Recordings as Rock City (Version 2.0). The album credits Eminem as executive producer, though his vocals were only featured on the title track "Rock City", both in the chorus and ad libbing. Before the release of Version 2.0, Royce built hype with his successful underground hit "Boom", produced by DJ Premier.

A helpful boost to his career came when Rockstar Games hired the Game Recordings label on for the rap music radio station "Game FM" in Grand Theft Auto III. Several artists from the Label, and artists that were not signed to Game Recordings including Agallah, Sean Price, Pretty Ugly, JoJo Pellegrino, Nature, Red Spyda, Rush and Black Rob as well as Royce Da 5'9" were featured on "Game FM", a radio station inside the game itself. Royce himself contributed three singles: "We're Live (Danger)", "Spit Game" (with Pretty Ugly), and "I'm The King", the latter of which was edited specifically for the game.

Royce formed a crew in the late 1990s called D-Elite which included himself, Tre' Little, Billy Nix, Jah Da 5'9" (now known as June), Cut Throat/Cutty Mack, and Cha Cha, who is the only female of the group. The group appeared together on the original version of the album Rock City on a song titled "D-Elite Part 2". This was the groups only commercial release as a whole.

[edit] Bad Meets Evil

Royce Da 5'9" benefited from his association with fellow Detroit MC, Eminem, which existed prior to Eminem signing his deal with Interscope/Aftermath Entertainment. Royce was introduced to Eminem by his manager, Kino Childrey at an Usher concert, where Eminem was selling copies of his Slim Shady EP. The two formed a duo called Bad Meets Evil (with Royce occupying the 'Bad' half, and Eminem the 'Evil' half). Bad Meets Evil produced a number of tracks including "Scary Movies", "Nuttin' to Do", "She's the One", "Renegades" [Original Version] and "See You In Hell", which appeared on Eminem's album The Slim Shady LP, titled "Bad Meets Evil". Communication between the pair deteriorated as Eminem's career enjoyed increased success and a series of circumstances led to the emergence of conflict.

Royce and Eminem were mutual friends with Proof. Royce gives Proof a shout-out on "Nickel Nine Is...", from Rock City. Royce however had beef with D12 member, Bizarre, originating from a freestyle battle with Royce's brother. Due to a breakdown of communication, this beef developed to include all the members of D12.

Royce and Eminem have recently ended their feud over the phone, and will be making another Bad Meets Evil record together (supposedly over a DJ Premier beat) in the near future.

[edit] Recently

After the release of his 2005 album Independent's Day, Royce has kept a low profile even though he had promised a second album in December of that year, produced by Nottz. Royce recently went on tour with Mobb Deep, and ghostwrote the song "Tell Me" ft. Christina Aguilera for Diddy's new album, Press Play. He also does touring rounds to promote his new crew the M.I.C. (Make It Count), and is scheduled to make an appearance on Canibus' next album. ' Royce made a guest appearance on Canadian rapper Classified's 2006 album Boy-Cott-In The Industry on the track "Unexplainable Hunger", along with Canadian rapper Choclair.

M.I.C. (Not to be confused with MF Grimm's group) is also the name of his independent record label. The M.I.C. members are as follows: Royce, Kid Vishis (Royce's younger brother),and June.

In a September 2006 interview with Elemental Magazine, Royce stated that, contrary to rumors, DJ Premier will not be producing the entirety of his upcoming album, but will be overseeing the project as Executive Producer, handpicking all of the beats. The Premier-produced track "Ding Ding" will be included, as well as four more beats from the producer.

Diddy not only recognized Royce's pen, the mogul also expressed interest in signing the lyricist to Bad Boy.^[1] Nas has also stated that he would like to sign Royce to his new recording label, The Jones Experience, through Def Jam.^[2]

Royce recently recorded a new single for Esham's new album Sacrificial Lambs, and is also preparing to release The Bar Exam 2 (Mix Tape) along with two albums entitled The Revival and Street Hop. Royce has also released several freestyles over the internet over beats from many mainstream songs such as "Blue Magic", "Gossip", "Can't Tell Me nothin", "Success" and others. ^[3]

[edit] Jail

Royce Da 5'9" was sentenced to jail on September 19, 2006 for violation of his probation. He went to court for a driving under the influence (DUI) offense which resulted in violation of his probation. The Oakland County judge subsequently sentenced Royce to one year imprisonment in Oakland County Jail, Pontiac, Michigan. He was in the process of making a new album with DJ Premier at the time of the arrest. However, on January 9, 2007, www.hiphopgame.com reported that Royce had been freed after his judge agreed to give him a work-release.

In May 2007 Royce Da 5'9" has recently finished and released the mixtape The Bar Exam which features DJ Premier and Statik Selektah on the wheels of steel.^[4] ^[5]

[edit] Disputes

[edit] Dr. Dre

Eminem called Royce to the studio to participate in Dr Dre's 2001 project as a ghostwriter. He contributed tracks including "The Message", "The Throne Is Mine", "Stay In Your Place" and the original version of "Xxplosive" titled "The Way I Be Pimpin'". The latter featured verses rapped by Dr. Dre about pimping and getting money, with Royce singing the hook. The songs "The Throne Is Mine" and "Stay In Your Place" were supposed to have Dr. Dre rapping in place of Royce. On the "The Throne Is Mine Royce raps as if he were Dr. Dre, "I don't care what you gotta say behind us, just remember me Dr. Dre your highness". At the end of the song Royce says "We got you surrounded, the chronic 2000". The Throne Is Mine has been released on Pretox and as a bonus track on Royce's Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions Part 1 mixtape.

This led to speculation that Royce was to be signed to Aftermath Entertainment. However, Royce's association with Dr. Dre ended when Royce's manager, Kino Childrey mis-spoke to a reporter about Eminem and Dr. Dre in the studio. When Royce refused to dismiss Kino, who was a long-time friend, his ties with Dre were severed and "Xxplosive" was retouched to its current state. Despite "The Message" being released on 2001, Royce was never paid for his efforts. He references this in "What I Know", from Death is Certain: "Who could raise me / after I been amazed by Dre / — and N.W.A. — / and you couldn't pay me / to back the staff for free. / I will believe it ain't nothin' Shady in the Aftermath."

[edit] Eminem/D12

In 2002, Royce would call Eminem and ask to be signed to Shady Records. Busy with his movie 8 Mile at the time, Eminem refused, but about a week later signed 50 Cent. Royce took this in stride, agreeing to do the Anger Management Tour with his crew D-Elite. While on tour, D12 took offense to a line Royce had written for the tour: "Fuck Anger Management, I need someone to manage my anger."

They took the line to Eminem, and from there a series of misunderstandings escalated the argument. A barfight between D12 and D-Elite culminated in Eminem and Royce not speaking, and a rekindled disagreement between Royce and all of D12, including Proof.

Detroit's radio stations were alive with the controversy, playing diss tracks back and forth which included "Smack Down" (D12 minus Eminem over 50 Cent's "Back Down" beat). The track opens with an audio clip from an interview where Royce disses D12, calling them "the worst rap group ever". It attacks Royce's street credibility and alleges that D12 made his career possible. Proof recorded "Many Men" (over 50 Cent's "Many Men" beat), which addressed false rumors that Royce had ordered a hit on Proof.

Royce released several diss tracks including "Shit on U" (over D12's "Shit on You" beat), which was mostly aimed at Bizarre. This track ridicules Bizarre's limited ability as a rapper and his suffering from a speech impediment. Royce also recorded "We Ridin'" and "Death Day" (over 50 Cent's "In da Club" beat). Royce Da 5'9' later recorded "Malcolm X" (over Capone-N-Noreaga's "Bang Bang" beat), featuring Tre Little of D-Elite which ended up being an instant Detroit classic. Royce and Eminem have also released many subliminal tracks regarding the beef (but not necessarily dissing each other) Such as Royce's "We Ridin" and Eminem's verse in D12's "How Come". ^[6]

While Royce and Eminem never directly dissed each other, the rap world focused on their relationship, mostly overlooking the beef between Royce and Proof, who were also close friends. The feud continued for two years, during which Royce suffered from a severe drinking problem, but released some of his most recognized material. For instance, his dark second LP Death Is Certain, which garnered favorable reviews from many publications and critics. (See links section for reference.)

In 2003, his conflict with Proof finally boiled over in a confrontation on the streets of Detroit. The two rappers' entourages gathered around them, but fled when they both drew guns. They spent a night in jail, working out differences, and eventually returned to the studio, and even went on an over-seas tour together. In the DJ Premier produced track "Ding!", Royce mentions his late friend: "Rest in peace to Proof/probably rollin over in his grave/niggas poisoning his name/the misfortunes of the fortune and the fame".

In 2008, Royce confirmed that he and Eminem have finally resolved their longstanding differences. He said, "I been talking to Em. I didn’t even really wanna tell nobody [yet]. That was kinda like a secret thing. I don't really know where it's gonna go. Right now we’re just really focusing on repairing the friendship. That’s the most important thing to me." ^[7]

Royce will be appearing on the upcoming D12 mixtape Return of the Dozen on the track "Plead for Your Life".

[edit] Mistah F.A.B.

Royce also had beef with Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B. following a freestyle battle in New York which saw Royce defeated. Subsequent radio appearances by Fab boasting of his victory several times led Royce to mention the rapper's name in his "Blue Magic" freestyle, the line being "Tell Mistah Fab get his cash when he wakes up". F.A.B. responded to Royce with the diss track "You Got Bodied". Royce's response, "Who Got Bodied" which clocks in at over seven minutes garnered considerable underground attention due to its aggressive nature and for what many commentators saw as 'overkill' and flawless victory. A subsequent rebuttal by Mistah FAB, "CIA" failed to make as large an impact as "Who Got Bodied" and although the two have since reconciled, Royce is largely percieved as the winner. Joe Budden mentioned the battle in the track "Thou Shall Not Fall", which resultewd in the rapper getting dissed by both Royce Da 5'9" and Mistah Fab in later tracks.

[edit] Ca$his

Much has been made about the video of Shady/Interscope artist Ca$his launching threats in the direction of Royce Da 5’9”. We recently broke the news that Eminem and Royce made amends on their long time friendship that turned sour over the past few years. While the world holds their collective breath to see if Royce and Eminem will get back in the studio, there is a lingering issue that needs to be addressed – Ca$his.

Although Royce said that everything is positive between he and Ca$his, the Shady emcee has yet to speak on the issue until now.

“The thing with Royce is old shit. It’s like 5 months ago and the person who found it just put it up. They should have put it up when I said it,” Ca$his explained to HipHopDX about the video. “I don’t take back what I said because he shouldn’t have disrespected my man like that.”

Ca$his continued to explain why he reacted the way he did on video.

“When you disrespect him with Eminem being the king and the don, he don’t need to be smashing on nobody. I love it. I love to go bust niggas heads and I love to prove myself. At that point that’s how I felt.”

[edit] Other

Royce had a small dispute with Ruff Ryders over the line "Royce, Reef, Double R". He also had a problem with popular producer Kanye West over an unreleased song, "Heartbeat", the beat to which Kanye produced. Kanye maintains that Royce never paid for the beat but recorded to it and released it; hearing the song, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again. In a recent freestyle Royce pays homage to Kanye's mom who just passed away.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Rock City (Version 2.0)
- Label: Koch/Game
- Released: November 26, 2002
- RIAA Certification: Gold
- R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: 29

Death is Certain
- Label: Koch
- Released: February 24, 2004
- Billboard 200 chart position: 161
- R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: 39

Independent's Day
- Label: Trouble/M.I.C. Records
- Released: June 28, 2005

[edit] Mixtapes

Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions Part 1
- Released: July 29, 2003

Build & Destroy
- Released: November 25, 2003

M.I.C. (Make It Count) Mixtape Volume 1
- Released: 2004
- Singles: "Throwback"

M.I.C. (Make It Count) Mixtape Volume 2
- Released: October 26, 2004
- Singles: "Buzzin'"/"Simon Says (Street Games)", "Fuck a Hook"/"52 Bars"

The Bar Exam (hosted by Statik Selektah & DJ Premier)^[8]
- Released: May 17, 2007
- Singles: "Who Want It?"/"The Dream", "I Run Detroit"/"Ding!"

The Bar Exam 2^[9]
- Released: Unreleased
- Singles: "Who Got Bodied? (Mistah F.A.B. Diss)"

[edit] Singles

Politics (12", Teamsta Records, 2005)
Hit'Em / Ding! (12", Game Recordings, 2007)

[edit] References

[edit] External links