With the Royce/D-12 beef at its peak, Royce and his camp wisely jumped on the mixtape wagon and made the most of it. After some exclusive online distribution and a spot at your local bodega the first time around, the popular set has been re-released with some more emphasize.
The double album (one disk of ‘building,’ one of ‘destroying’), is a collection of rare tracks and a few new heaters. Encompassed in the 38 track set is nearly every song Royce has done outside his commercial releases. From his banished classics penned for Dr. Dre (“The Way I Be Pimpin,” “The Throne Is Mine”) to his Bad Meets Evil duets with Em (“Nuttin’ To Do,” “She’s The One,” “Renegades (original)”) and mp3 favorites (“King of Kings,” “I Won’t Be,” “I’m the King”); this album is about as comprehensive as it gets.
The frequent appearances of Royce’s former partner only makes their deteriorated relationship that much more disappointing as they vibe together so well. Eminem is addressed directly on “We Riding,” with lines like, “now he famous/’bout as down to Earth as Uranus.” Em certainly does not catch the verbal beatdown that his crew does on the various songs aimed at the Dirty Dozen, “Malcolm X,” “What We Do,” “Death Day,” and “Shit On U.” Bizarre in particular, gets ripped to shreds.
Despite its mixtape status, Royce employs the talents of some considerable production talents; Dr. Dre, Alchemist, Jay Dee, Neptunes, Kanye West, and Just Blaze. One of the albums exclusive new tracks, “Heartbeat,” is the best of the bunch with standard Royce skills and lovely production from Kanye. “Life Goes On” is another nice selection as Royce rides Jay Dee’s thumps effortlessly. The album’s two bonus tracks, are actually two of the best. “The Way I Be Pimpin'” is the infamous song Royce wrote (and sang the hook) for Dre’s “2001,” only to be replaced by “Xplosive” after Royce’s manager told Vibe Royce was ghostwriting for Dre. The other is “The Throne Is Mine,” another royalty themed classic from Royce over a vintage Dre beat.
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As he continues his path to stardom, “Build & Destroy” is the best representation of Royce to date. Despite lots of old material that is available elsewhere, this is a very well put together and incredibly comprehensive look at Royce’s career thus far. A look that will leave you looking forward to the rest of his career.
