Happy 10th Anniversary to PRhyme’s eponymous debut album PRhyme, originally released December 9, 2014.
It’s always been clear that Ryan “Royce Da 5’9”” Montgomery is an extremely talented emcee. But for a myriad of reasons, the Detroit rapper had trouble truly capitalizing on his many gifts in the early phases of his recording career. Hence, it took a full decade-and-a-half after his career began for him to release an album that maximized his potential.
Ten years ago, Royce collaborated with super-producer Chris “DJ Premier” Martin to form the duo PRhyme and released their eponymous debut album. It is likely still the best album that Royce was a part of, one of the best albums of 2014, and one of the best albums of the 2010s.
The first 15 years or so of Royce’s career were characterized by flashes of brilliance mixed with missteps. He first broke through with the co-sign of Eminem, who was then forging his own path to super stardom. Royce appeared on Eminem’s breakthrough album The Slim Shady LP (1999) on the track “Bad Meets Evil,” and then the pair formed a duo of the same name. They put out a well-regarded 12” on the Game Recordings Indie label.
In the subsequent years, Royce came close to blowing up numerous times, but things didn’t work. He turned down a deal with Aftermath, a decision he regretted. He signed a lucrative recording contract with Tommy Boy, only for the label to fold. He signed another deal with Columbia Records, releasing Rock City 2.0 (a reworked version of his debut with Game), but didn’t find much success.
For Royce, much of the ’00s were filled with messy beefs, substance abuse issues, and a year’s incarceration in jail for DUI. But there were peaks as well, as he formed the group Slaughterhouse with Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I, a collection of misfit lyricists and out-sized personalities.
But Royce’s biggest triumphs came with his selected work with DJ Premier. Royce and Preemo have had unbelievable chemistry, first collaborating in 1999 when Royce was putting together an album for Tommy Boy. That chemistry carried over into “Boom!,” which was released as a single on Game in 2000. That track was one of the first to delve into Royce’s massive potential as an artist. Almost a decade afterwards, Preemo would executive produce Street Hop (2009), a decent project, along with other loosey songs that appeared on various albums and mixtapes.
Their alchemy hit its peak on PRhyme. Premier is of course best known as one half of Gang Starr (R.I.P. Guru), one of the definitive hip-hop groups. Though this is the second group that Premier is a part of, there are no attempts to position PRhyme as Gang Starr 2.0. Both he and Royce definitively establish that PRhyme is a completely different animal throughout the album.
Listen to the Album:
The project was originally conceived as a Slaughterhouse EP, where the group would work with a producer to sample tracks exclusively from the renowned musician/composer Adrian Younge. They brought in Preemo, who was mostly unfamiliar with Younge’s body of work. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts and other complications, many of the members of Slaughterhouse were unable to commit to the EP. But Royce was still interested in recording, so he and Premier decided to commit to a full-length project as a group.
The usage of Younge’s catalogue as the central musical palette is an inspired one. As Premier explained in many interviews, Younge’s sound has the vintage quality that evokes the late 1960s/early 1970s “golden era of recording,” projecting a unified sound. Preemo took to the catalogue quickly, mostly making use of the Something About April album (2012) and the Black Dynamite score (2009) as the primary sample source material. He expertly navigates the tracks, often chopping and resequencing them in ways that blew Younge’s mind.
PRhyme features Royce’s strongest overall performance on an album to that point in his career. He’s more world weary and chastened by his early lapses. His alcoholism and commitment to sobriety loom large over the project, informing much of the thoughts and worldview that he expresses. But overall, Royce sounds comfortable with who he is and where he is in his career. And he demonstrates a level of lyrical prowess and mastery that is equaled by few.
The duo fittingly start the album with the title track, a deliberately paced endeavor which finds Royce contemplating his career. Looking back at the path he’s taken, Royce doesn’t candy-coat things, well-aware of the mistakes he’s made along the way and how his bad habits have prevented him from reaching his potential. “Marshall said that I'd be a problem if I get my shit right,” he raps. “That ‘if’ is probably the biggest ‘if’ I ever live by / Which is why I'm known as a underachiever, I just skip by / I needed to be inebriated to prevent me from getting shy.” But overall, Royce conveys confidence, positing that he was hitting his stride as an artist.
The pair pick up the tempo on “U Looz,” while keeping things short and sweet. Portions of the track were first released as the teaser for the project a few months before it hit the shelves. Royce drops a quick verse to the expertly chopped string and horn heavy track, declaring that “[t]his is for the real hip-hop n****s who will never, ever, ever ask me am I here to replace Guru.” This song also features one of the rarest of occurrences, as Preemo actually raps a pair of bars. By his own admission, it was the first time he decided to rhyme on a track without the threat of assault by members of M.O.P.
In terms of pure lyrical exhibitions, Royce is in his best form on “Courtesy,” PRhyme’s first single. He swaggers over gothic organs, comfortable with giving a middle finger to industry sycophants. “Nowadays, chances are that if you see me throw the match,” he raps. “It ain’t to lose the fight, it's to walk away from a burning bridge.” He later displays syllable-bending dexterity and breath control, letting loose lines like, “How you looking like beef jerky? / Beefing in every verse, but never beefing in person? / Randy Savage, you wouldn't snap a Slim Jim / You wouldn’t rip a wrapping on Christmas in Santa's attic.”
Royce enlists a whole host of guest emcees to share mic time with him throughout PRhyme. The roster is an excellent balance of future stars and established and crafty veterans. Ab-Soul and Mac Miller join Royce on “Sounds Good,” while Schoolboy Q and Killer Mike give energetic performances on “Underground Kings.” “To Me, To You,” featuring the enigmatic Jay Electronica, stands out, especially due to Royce’s absolute contempt for fakeness in the music industry. “Miss me with your mollies and your Tyrese wisdom,” he sneers. “I don’t connect with y’all and these antics / Today you give your life to the game / Tomorrow you be posing in pictures, looking like Steve Francis.”
“Wishin’” is one of the most musically creative entries on PRhyme, as Preemo constantly shifts the time of the track, allowing Royce and guest Common to showcase numerous styles and deliveries. The track was originally intended to be a “duet” with Royce and Black Thought, but the Philly emcee had to drop out due to the death of Richard Nichols, the longtime manager and producer for The Roots. Later, Black Thought would record his verses for the lyrical remix “Wishin’ II,” which would appear on the PRhyme Deluxe Version, which was released about a year later. Thought’s two verses on the sequel are awe-inspiring in their executions, the track reflecting an alliance of lyrical and musical titans on the top of their games.
The original edition of PRhyme ends with “Microphone Preem,” featuring all of Slaughterhouse. The track is an informal sequel to the group’s song “Microphone,” from their self-titled debut, as well as a tribute to Eric B. and Rakim’s “Microphone Fiend.” Over haunting keys and a distinctive drum track that suggests the original composition, all four give suitably hyped performances. In particular, Royce comes correct, rapping, “Before police was interrogating, I was living the story of my life and Morgan Freeman was narrating.”
The aforementioned expanded version of the album features more collaborations with other top shelf emcees. Joey Bad@$$ joins the fray on “Golden Era,” PRhyme’s salute to early 1990s hip-hop. Meanwhile, MF DOOM and Phonte contribute memorable verses to ”Highs and Lows.”
“Mode II” (As in “Beat Mode”), a team-up between PRhyme and Logic, stands out as an unexpected highlight. It’s a sequel/expansion of a song that they recorded for the Southpaw soundtrack (2015) and features extra verses from each emcee. I’m not a particularly big fan of Logic, but I must admit that he holds his own here, rhyming with ferocity and keeping pace with Royce through the entire six-minute-plus track.
PRhyme did prove to be the prelude for greater things for Royce, as his output over the last decade has been a marked improvement over what came before. He’s excelled as both a member of PRhyme (2018’s PRhyme II is a worthy sequel) and as a solo artist, putting together quality projects like Layers (2016), Book of Ryan (2018), and The Allegory (2020).
Working with one of the greatest producers to ever live brought out the best in Royce as an artist and gave him the confidence to build even further on his legacy. He’s an example of an artist who learned from his errors, using them as fuel to get even better with time.
Listen: