Detroit, MI—“I feel like Nas before he dropped “Ether.” After shattering expectations for his massively bootlegged 2002 debut, Rock City (which was refurbished, re-titled and officially released Stateside as Rock City V.2.0) and on the heels of two buzz-setting mix tapes, Build & Destroy and M.I.C. Mixtape Vol.1, Royce Da 5’9” returns with his highly-anticipated “true” sophomore LP, Death Is Certain — slated for release on February 24, 2004.
In the ever-changing landscape of Hiphop, only a few things remain a constant with one of them being our unwavering love for the underdog. And through a turbulent roller-coaster ride of personal trials and label changes Royce has proven that he is a true survivor. Fueled by his passion for Hiphop and a yearning to once and for all shed light on the events and circumstances that have caused so much turmoil (including a well-publicized beef with pop music’s biggest “Shady” sensation), with Death Is Certain, Royce draws back the curtain and lets down his guard for one of the most revealing and honest LP’s bound to resonate from your speakers. Where else are you going to hear an emcee apologize to fans for his attempts to gain commercial acceptance? Or as Royce offers on “Regardless,” “I played myself for radio play/I never dance/but the skill itself is a second chance.”
Due to the fact that Royces’ subject matter is so personal, there are no outside guest appearances on Death Is Certain (in fact, the album was so personal that he found it impossible to find songs to put other emcees on including his very own crew, D-Elite) but he does bring along some familiar names; as Royce refreshes his chemistry with DJ Premier (the pair previously collaborated on “Boom” and “My Friend”) for the LP’s lead-single, “Hiphop,” where Royce comments, “me and Preme/both names go together like they ain’t supposed to be separate/like D&D.” Though Royce flaunts his sick double-time flow on the bouncy Ty Fyffe produced Mixtape favorite, “Throwback”, the majority of the LP’s production is handled exclusively by Carlos “Six July” Broady who is better known for being a former member of P. Diddy’s production team—The Hitmen. Broady chips in on eight tracks, including three that were originally recorded for the late Notorious B.I.G. (including an update of B.I.G.’s classic “What’s Beef” now appropriately re-dubbed “Beef”). “Me and Los really just wanted to remind people where he came from and what to expect from us as a team and ‘What’s Beef’ was such a classic for him and B.I.G. that we felt like it had to be done again).”
Royce offers, “I feel this album is showing the world what I’m capable of as an artist and emcee.” On “I & Me” Royce laments “How can I go from rocking with Dre to falling out with Shady/to popping my glock on the block/to dropping on Koch.” While there are still many lingering questions that need to be answered, for now, with Death Is Certain, Royce has delivered what he feels amounts to be in the infamous words of Tupac Shakur “the realest shit he ever wrote.”
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