First historic collaborative album between Detroit rapper Ryan "Royce da 5'9"" Montgomery and New York (Houston native) producer Christopher "DJ Premier" Martin. The first already part of Slaughterhouse, among others, the second already part of Gang Starr: both legends of the underground. The two artists have already collaborated together several times in the past, in particular, Premier has repeatedly given the best rhythm in Royce's solo albums. It remembers, better than the others, the '99 underground hit "Boom", one of the best works of the Michigan MC on a fantastic untouchable loop. DJ Premier's production features samples from Adrian Younge's music throughout the album.
Premier opens with a lively and frantic drum, coupled with a slow drum, deep piano key, cymbal struck. Great intro by Royce, Method Man sample, wonderful, then Royce enters definitively, fluid, deeply flowing, unstoppable on a wonderful midtempo production. The bridge on the Preemo hook is amazing. Nickel Nine delivers two more stanzas of a piece that is hard not to consider strong. It follows "Dat Sound Good". Compelling sample, honest midtempo drum, tribute to Joell Ortiz, confident, clean, crisp, smooth delivery by Royce, sounds at his best in these 57 minutes. Good flow of Ab-Soul, excellent delivery, it closes MacMiller, effortlessly. Track number three is "U Looz": homage to 50 Cent, very good samples, dominant, dry, hard, tight drum machine, Royce's only verse. It would be a "normal" song, whatever you think is "normal" a great cut of PRhyme, the icing on the cake is Preemo's few rap lines, which closes with scratches and tributes to G Rap, Royce and Blaq Poet.
We arrive at one of the best moments of the album, the single "You Should Know": wonderful sample from "True Love" by Adrian Younge & The Delfonics, dry drum, hard, midtempo, the song is blessed with a perfect production. Royce delivers calm, smooth, silky, flawless. Dwele's soul hook is simple, functional, comes correct, nothing to say; Premier joins it with tributes to Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Fat Joe and Nas, from "Nastradamus" (perhaps, from the only good cut of that disastrous album, "Come Get Me"). The MC delivers the second verse offering much like the best AZ, in the style of "Life's a Bitch", albeit with less-quality lyrics (actually, it pays homage directly to Nas using his lyrics from "Nas Is Like"), after the third verse the cut is closed by an extract from Malcolm X. "Courtesy" is the first single on the album, rightly so, being the most catchy track. Dry, hard, dusty drum machine, midtempo, dominant organ, two stanzas, simple hook with tributes to Really Doe and Jay-Z. Great cut, he's Royce's last solo before collaborations.
"Wishin'" boasts the fourth guest, third collaborative song, but it's the first of a long series. Beautiful loop by DJ Premier, Royce delivers bars with bright, slow, fluid, hardcore style. Sudden switch beat, dirty dusty tight drum, hard, excellent sample, the Detroit MC accelerates, still flawless. Premo slows the rhythm back to the previous one to welcome Common, confident, slow, fluid, calm, good flow. Then, Royce still hardcore on the second beat, and hardcore also on the first, closing with the fourth verse of the song: "Preme in his prime, I'm in my prime". Nothing truer. Track number seven. Haunting loop, and in a certain sense enveloping, envelops you in a blanket of darkness and paranoia, with dry, hard, midtempo, distant drum. Intro, the MC enters hardcore, confident, spectacular. Venice Dawn sample for the hook, bridge (twice) for Royce hook, then he continues with the second verse, calm, flowing, focused. Hook before Jay Electronica: he pulls down an excellent verse and does it effortlessly, with impressive clarity and one of the best flows of the season.
The rhythm that Primo brings to "Underground Kings" is rough and crude, it's the rustiest of the tape, the drum hits hard without stopping. Nickel Nine hardcore, great flow, simple hook with scratches and Run-DMC homage, it follows Schoolboy Q at its finest, raw, hardcore, focused. Third verse to Killer Mike killing the cut with unstoppable delivery and evil flow. DJ Premier closes the album in style. Heavy hard dry drum machine, melodic loop, tribute to Suga (how much respect for the game does this guy have? Infinity). Suga's voice is beautiful. For the first time since the beginning of the disc, a guest has the privilege of having the first verse. This honor goes to Crooked I: the guy delivers confident, aggressive, hardcore, with great flow, tight. Royce flows in the wake of Crooked's brutal verse, then Joell Ortiz. The magic of Premier allows even Joe Budden to look like a rapper.
The album is finished. It would be over. But I prefer to go and deal with the deluxe edition of PRhyme, which came out a year after the original, at the end of 2015. It features four other bonus tracks. "Golden Era". Dry hard dusty midtempo drum, engaging and enveloping loop. Royce's hardcore, flowing, punctual intro and verse, simple hook. Second verse, Joey Badass closes with an excellent flow that compensates for a forgettable lyricism. "Wishin' (Remix)" boasts a laid-back, beautiful rhythm, with distant downtempo drum and distant organ. Intro by DJ Premier. Black Thought destroys the cut, delivering on a haunting and amazing loop, distant dry drum dominated by Philadelphia MC's rap. It's the second time Royce leaves the first verse to the guest, and it's the first time he leaves the second verse to the guest as well. The Roots rapper continues the song on the switch beat: gripping and gloomy loop, dry, hard, tight drum machine, hardcore delivery, lively, unstoppable by Black Thought, which scrambles the track. Royce delivers with a calm, fluid, dynamic style, great flow. Switch beat for him too and delivery with a hardcore style, fast, flowing. Dope cut. "Highs and Lows" opens with a hook sung by Royce, minimal drum, dry, lean, elegant loop, good samples. Smooth, calm, slow delivery of the Detroit MC, follows the sudden and brilliant entry of MF DOOM making a memorable contribution, with one of his top flow, fantastic. Royce hardcore in verse number three, then MF DOOM excellent returns, Phonte closes, in the wake of Dumile's last verse, then sample from track nine for the outro. DJ Premier pulls out a dry hard and sparse drum, and he carves an excellent loop in its simplicity for the last track: over this soundscape Royce and Logic exchange verses endlessly in a seven-minute marathon with silk flows, bad bars, dozens of quotables and wild punchlines. Worthy closure of the album compared to the original version.
Published by PRhyme Records and distributed by INgrooves, an independent label linked to Universal, the album achieved good commercial success, reaching the top 60 of the pop chart and the top ten of rap and independent records. The album is critically acclaimed, however, it seems to have only been noticed by professional reviewers specializing in the hip-hop industry and a few others. A fortune, certainly, because in this way, the collaborative debut of Royce & Preemo remains a pearl known almost exclusively by fans. Personally one of my favorites, DJ Premier is at his best after many years and Royce signs what is arguably his greatest document: for much of the time, the album is great and has rare flaws, more in the choice of guests (Common, the Slaughterhouse blogger) that in the musical choices or in the lyricism, even if there's an excess of misogyny easily avoidable and an excess of references to that thing. 9/10.
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