Royce Da 5'9"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Royce Da 5'9"
Background information
Birth name	Ryan Montgomery
Also known as	Nickel-Nine, King Royce[citation needed], King Of Detroit, Style Changer
Born	July 5, 1977
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, USA
Genre(s)	Detroit hip hop
Years active	1999–present
Label(s)	M.I.C Records

Ryan Montgomery (born July 5, 1977), is an African-American rapper known by his stage name Royce Da 5'9". He was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, and today has three studio albums and numerous mixtapes credited to his name. Royce is better known for his freestyling skills — having never lost a rap battle.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Early career 2 Bad Meets Evil 3 Today 3.1 Jail 4 Disputes 4.1 Shady Records 4.2 Other 5 Technique 6 Discography 6.1 Albums 6.2 Official mixtapes 6.3 Unofficial mixtapes 7 Trivia 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Early career

Ryan Montgomery acquired the nickname "Royce" in highchool after wearing a chain with a hanging R, mimicking 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 at that time, both standing at 5 foot and 9 inches tall.

As an underground rap artist, Royce garnered hype with his successful underground hit "Boom". The DJ Premier-produced track was later found on the artist's debut album, Rock City. Royce hit a bump when the album was heavily bootlegged, it was released in the USA and quickly taken off the shelves to then be released in the UK doing fairly in album sales. A few tracks were removed, some new ones added in, a new cover as well was added and then re-released as Rock City (Version 2.0). Despite Royce being hinted as a new protege to rap star Eminem, Em was only featured on one song of the album (Rock City), and was only in the chorus and speaking in the background. Eminem produces the original album, but not the v2.0.

A helpful boost to his career came when Rockstar Games hired the Game Records label on for the rap music radio station "Game FM" in Grand Theft Auto III. Several artists from the Label, including Agallah, Sean Price, Pretty Ugly, JoJo Pellegrino 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", 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 and is said to be Royce's little sister. 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

Most of his recognition came from his association with longtime friend and collaborator Eminem. Royce met up with Eminem at an Usher concert before Eminem was with Interscope and Aftermath records. Eminem was there selling copies of the 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 hits such as "Scary Movies", "Nuttin' to Do" and "Bad Meets Evil", the latter track appearing on Eminem's album The Slim Shady LP. Royce and Eminem, however, would prove to have a rocky relationship.

Although he and Eminem were mutual friends with Proof of Eminem's six-man D12 clique, Royce and another D12 member named Bizarre had beef early on. This however, was smoothed over.

In 1999 Royce contributed as a ghostwriter for Dr. Dre's album, 2001. He ghostwrote several tracks, including "The Message" and the original version of "Xxplosive"—titled "Way I Be Pimpin", which saw Dr. Dre rapping about pimping and getting money and Royce on the hook. But after being under Dre's wing for only a short time, his manager reportedly let slip to a reporter about the ghostwriting. When Royce refused to fire the man, who was a friend of his, his ties with Dre were severed, and "Xxplosive" was retouched to its current album version.

[edit] Today

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 P 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.

M.I.C. is also the name of his independent record label. The M.I.C. members are as follows: Royce, Juan, Kid Vishis (Royce's younger brother), June, and Cutty Mack from the old D-Elite crew.

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.

[edit] Jail

Royce Da 5'9" was sentenced to jail on September 21, 2006, for violation of his parole. He went to court for a driving under the influence (DUI) offense which resulted in failing his parole terms. The Oakland County judge subsequently sentenced Royce to one year imprisonment in Oakland County Jail, Pontiac, Michigan. Royce may be able to place an appeal within 30 days of his incarceration. He was in the process of making a new album with DJ Premier at the time of the arrest.^[1]

[edit] Disputes

[edit] Shady Records

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, and even agreed to do the Anger Management Tour with his crew D-Elite. While on tour, D12 took offense to a line Royce had written: "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 beef. A barfight between D12 and D-Elite culminated in Eminem and Royce not speaking, and a rekindled beef 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— and Royce's "Malcom X" over Capone-N-Noreaga's "Bang Bang" beat, featuring Tre Little, a member of D-Elite.

While Royce and Eminem never directly dissed each other, the rap world focused on their relationship, mostly overlooking the friction between Royce and Proof, who had been even closer friends. That beef continued for two years, during which Royce suffered from severe depression and a drinking problem, but released some of his most recognized material. For instance, his dark sophomore 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, as they spoke heatedly and brandished guns. The police arrested them, and they spent the night in neighboring cells, working out their differences. The two have since ended their beef and have been in the studio. This situation is addressed in Beef 2, the second in a series of documentaries about beef in the rap industry.

[edit] Other

Royce had a small dispute with Ruff Ryders over the line "Royce, Reef, Double R" on a song, and 1970s disco band Rose Royce, wherein they accused him of stealing their name. He 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.^[2]

[edit] Technique

Royce Da 5'9" has been noted for his structure — often two or more of his lines will rhyme exactly, beginning to end. He also has been known to move from one set of rhymes to another, then come back to the first set later in his verse. Phrasing is also a big part of his style, appearing to avoid putting things in simple or common terms.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Album cover	Album information
	Rock City (Version 2.0) Released: November 26, 2002 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #29 Singles: "Take His Life", "Boom"/"Soldier's Story", "You Can't Touch Me", "Rock City", "Mr. Baller"/"My Friend"
	Death is Certain Released: February 24, 2004 Billboard 200 chart position: #161 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #39 Singles: "Hip Hop"/"Throw Back"
	Independent's Day Released: June 28, 2005 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: "Wet My Whistle", "Politics"/"Blow Dat"
	Untitled Released: 2006–2007

[edit] Official mixtapes

Mixtape cover	Mixtape information
	Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions Part 1 Released: July 29, 2003 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles:
	The M.I.C. Official Mixtape Released: October 26, 2004 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: "Buzzin'"/"Simon Says (Street Games)", "Fuck a Hook"/"52 Bars"

[edit] Unofficial mixtapes

• M.I.C. (Make It Count) Mixtape Vol. 1
• M.I.C. Radio Vol. 1
• Hip-Hop is Certain
• Defending the Crown I
• Defending the Crown II: Kiss the Ring
• Defending the Crown III: The Coroner
• The King is Back (Hosted by Statik Selektah)
• Declaration of Independence
• Bad Meets Evil: Scary Movies
• The Bad Side
• The Other Side
• Lyrical Smackdown
• Raw Sessions Vol. 1 (Hosted by DJ Mumblez)
• Raw Sessions Vol. 2 (Hosted by DJ Mumblez)
• Bullets & Tissue

[edit] Trivia

• Royce Da 5'9" moved to Oak Park, Michigan — a Detroit suburb — when he was 10 years old.
• He had a short cameo in pop singer Willa Ford's hit single "I Wanna Be Bad" video.
• He is married and has a son named Royce.^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.rapbasement.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1908&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
2. ^ http://www.hiphopsite.com/NEWS/interviews.hhs?news_id=FEA3B39B-C571-4ACB-A096-6600549EA18B
3. ^ http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1138

[edit] External links

• Official Royce Da 5'9" website
• Official Royce Da 5'9" and M.I.C Records Message Board
• Interview with Royce Da 5'9"
• Sample review of Death Is Certain
• MySpace of Royce (No Longer Available)

Persondata
NAME	Montgomery, Ryan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Royce Da 5'9", Nickel-Nine
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American musician
DATE OF BIRTH	July 5, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH	Detroit, Michigan, USA
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH