PRhyme — PRhyme 2

It's a good thing that young Ryan Montgomery didn't have "take up a trade" or stuff like that, in retrospect. Second studio album by PRhyme, four years after the debut. DJ Premier produces the entire project using samples from the AntMan Wonder catalog. Guests are Rapsody, Roc Marciano, CeeLo Green, Denaun Porter, Dave East, Big KRIT, 2 Chainz, Yelawolf, Chavis Chandler, Novel and bassist Brady Watt. Another document in which Royce da 5'9" proves to be at the level of the best MCs of the period: he has a dynamic, technical, velvet, compelling flow, and sounds wonderfully on the production of DJ Premier.

"Black History" boasts a good first musical carpet, the second rhythm in the last half of the song is one of the best on the album. It follows an unassuming track that precedes "Era", chosen as the first single: the beat is wrong and bad, it appears as one of Preemo's rare wrong loops in his career, but continuing with the track, you realize that even when he's wrong, he's right. In any case, it's difficult to endure for over three minutes. "Respect My Gun" boasts better sound, midtempo dry drum, good samples, Royce's laid-back delivery, then Roc Marciano kills the cut. Yelawolf should have only made a hook originally, instead, he brings out one of the best performances on the record, inspired by a dry and enveloping production of Premier. The hook at the end consists of samples of Kendrick, Rakim and Xzibit.

"Rock It", the second single from the album, is a tribute to hip-hop on a spectacular and modern production. Track number ten is a clear highlight. Good beat by Preemo, few bars from Royce introduce Rapsody: the rapper performs with excellent delivery and elevates the cut. In a few bars, she pays homage to both Nas and Jay-Z — "I owe you nothing" is pronounced to mimic Ginuwine's chant in the song "Nastradamus"; while, "Said your word and your balls is alls you had", should be a tribute to a song from "The Black Album". Thousands of rappers have used this quote from the movie "Scarface", but given the Nas / Jay-Z duality, the reference should be to Carter. Probably, it's all in my mind, in any case, it's a great performance without which the song would sound a bit generic (nice bridge in the ending). DJ Premier's magic continues in "My Calling", Royce delivers crisp and smooth over a raw boom bap.

This is followed by a ballad with a simple jazzy rhythm and a forgettable contribution by the performers. "Flirt" boasts one of Preemo's most fascinating loops in the project: drum midtempo, Nickel delivers with great style, hook sung by him, 2 Chainz completes the track with a good performance, I think it's improved since the last time I listened to him. "Everyday Struggle" and "Do Ya Thing" are pretty solid cuts, the record closes in style with "Gotta Love It" which boasts Brady Watt's bass, a warm and welcoming smooth jazz rhythm, the hook of CeeLo Green and Royce's confident rap.

Published by PRhyme Records and distributed by INgrooves Music, an independent label tied to Universal, the album gets a remarkable response from the public, better than its debut in the pop chart, in Canada and among the independents (#3), but lower in the rap chart. The project is also very well received by most of the insiders, even if it receives more lukewarm reviews than the praise of several years ago. DJ Premier invents a slightly more experimental set than usual and his music works most of the time, while Royce maintains control of the record even in the traits alone with a good personality, which wasn't often the case in his previous records. PRhyme increases content and time compared to the initial chapter, which doesn't mean that it necessarily increases the quality: this is one of the few weaknesses of the edition, some songs don't feel completely essential. The cover is definitely the least successful thing on this CD. It's far from its predecessor, less regular, compact and robust, less compelling and spectacular, there aren't many fireworks: it's still an excellent boom bap album, one of the best of the hip-hop season.

Rating: 7.5/10.