Reader Review: Royce da 5'9" - Street Hop (October 20, 2009)

(For today's post, Rex tackles the most recent album from Royce da 5'9”, Street Hop. This was one of those discs that I had been meaning to get to, but shit kept getting in the way, so at least someone was able to write it up. Leave some messages for Rex below.)


Royce da 5'9” was on the verge of being forgotten. During the late 1990s and the early millennium, Ryan Montgomery was poised to emerge as one of the best newcomers in hip hop, especially after making a guest appearance on Eminem's quadruple-platinum debut The Slim Shady LP and writing several tracks for Dr. Dre's 2001. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out that way: Dre fired him after his manager began talking recklessly about Royce's contributions, and by the time his own debut album, Rock City, leaked to the Interweb, confidence in the man was at an all-time low, leading to a (now-squashed) beef with Em and his D-12 crew and severs bouts with depression and alcoholism. These demons all merged together to help him craft a terrific sophomore album, Death Is Certain, but he even squandered that goodwill with Independent's Day, an overly awful album that should have ended his career.


However, after taking control of his own life, things started changing for the better. He dropped two volumes in his critically acclaimed The Bar Exam mixtape series (the third chapter hit blogs earlier this year), and he aligned himself with the like-minded Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and Joe Budden to form the supergroup Slaughterhouse. He followed this with Street Hop, his fourth full-length album (released shortly after The Revival EP previewed some of the tracks) Executive produced by the one and only DJ Premier, Street Hop features cameos from his Slaughterhouse brethren (although Joey only makes one appearance while the other two have twice as much – that just makes me laugh, like when Joey was left off of the Eminem collaboration) and other big names such as Busta Rhymes, Phonte, Bun B, and, um, Trick-Trick; production was handled by the likes of Emile, Nottz, Mr. Porter, Carlos “6 July” Brody, StreetRunner, and Primo himself.


Royce seemingly pulled out all the stops to make Street Hop his best album, as he wanted to be held in such high regard as bigger names such as Eminem and Nas (who was once rumored to have signed Ryan to a Def Jam contract at one point). Without further ado, here's the review.


1. GUN HARMONIZING (FEAT CROOKED I)
This track originally appeared on The Revival EP, although this time around it includes an assist from Crooked I. While Emile provides a good beat and both artists come through with decent verses, the chorus, which features Ryan imitating the sound of gunshots, is sooooooo annoying. The hook ruins what is otherwise a good song.


2. COUNT FOR NOTHING
Also from The Revival EP, but this time around, Royce simply reuses the original song. Although that seems pretty dumb from a business point of view, this shit still knocks. Producer Nottz brings a heater for Royce to shit all over, and the way he uses the vocal sample of Public Enemy's Chuck D counting from one to nine (not unlike how DJ Premier used the same sample on Biggie's “Ten Crack Commandments”) to kick off his bars was pretty great.


3. SOLDIER (FEAT KID VISHIS & IYANA DEAN)
Frequency's beat is too poppy for me, and the hook isn't all that great, but Royce's playful threats and fucked up insults lift this track above mediocrity. Royce's brother Kid Vishis is alright too, I suppose.


4. SOMETHING 2 RIDE 2 (FEAT PHONTE)
My first reaction to reading the album credits went along the lines of this: “Phonte! OMG!!!!!” Then I realized that the emcee (formerly of Little Brother) only provides a part of the chorus. Oh well. The beat isn't that good, but it serves its purpose. (You'll be especially disappointed to find that DJ Premier provided the instrumental.) Royce doesn't do anything special, either. Skip.


5. DINNER TIME (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
Quincey Tones (Yeah, I don't know who he is either) supplies exactly the right type of beat for Royce to tear the fuck apart with some great lyrics that he delivers as only he can. Busta Rhymes plays the role of hypeman before supplying a decent verse of his own. Easily the best track on Street Hop so far.


6. FAR AWAY
This beat from Emile is highly commercial, but it somehow works regardless. The hook is garbage, though. Ryan manages to save the track with some goofy bars and his typical gangsta shit-talking. However, this won't be to everyone's tastes.


7. WARRIORS (FEAT SLAUGHTERHOUSE & MELANIE RUTHERFORD)
Another addition from The Revival EP, the best one thus far. StreetRunner brings the heat with some cinematic horns and opera vocals crooning in the background. Each Slaughterhouse member gets two verses, and all four of them straight up rip shit. Appropriately enough, Royce truly bodies the beat, with Crooked not far behind.


8. ...A BRIEF INTERMISSION (SKIT)
Funny the first time around, but you won't ever need to hear it again. (I'm more intrigued by the fact that the Interweb seems to believe that this skit was produced by David Cross, of Mr. Show and Arrested Development fame. Any truth to this rumor? Let me know.)


9. NEW MONEY
And StreetRunner does it again. This beat is the perfect foil to Royce's shit talking, and the Beastie Boys sample gives the track a nice charm. Also, the chorus isn't awful. This was pretty great.


10. SHAKE THIS
“Shake This” was released almost a full year before Street Hop, but it still sounds pretty good. Over a much better Primo beat than “Something 2 Ride 2”, Ryan dives deep into his personal problems. The flow and pace of this song reminded me of “One Mic” from Nas.


11. GANGSTA (FEAT TRICK-TRICK)
A very generic rap song title obscures a track that is much better than you would imagine. A good instrumental (provided by Raf Moses) allows Royce to discuss his life as a Detroit gangsta, while fellow Motown rapper Trick-Trick simply closes out the track with a brief monologue about how gangsta he is. Yes, it sounds redundant, but it works, although it would have been better without the guest star.


12. MINE IN THIZ (FEAR MR. PORTER)
A sex rap with a dirty ass club beat (from guest star Mr. Porter, who also helps on the hook). Royce uses this time to get buck nasty with the beat. Not the best song in the world, but a guilty pleasure nonetheless.


13. STREET HOP 2010
The fourth and final track lifted directly from The Revival EP features some Middle East-ish sound effects (courtesy of producer Nottz). It's truly a mediocre beat, but what's worse is Royce's performance, which is easily the worst on the entire album. He speaks with no clear direction, mistaking pop culture references for depth. This wasn't interesting at all, and it should have been left behind on the EP.


14. THING FOR YOUR GIRLFRIEND (FEAT K-YOUNG)
This track kicks off with a funny skit that you'll only have to listen to once. When the actual song starts, though, we get a nice soulful beat from Mr. Porter and some pleasant vocals K-Young. Royce channels his inner Isacc Hayes and spits a couple of nice verses about the pleasures of having sex with fine women (what else would he rap about?) Not bad.


15. ON THE RUN
As indirectly as it may be, this track might as well be a continuation of the Kool G. Rap classic. Royce spits about being on the run over an epic, cinematic beat from Emile, complete with some great vocals worked in. A true highlight of Street Hop.


16. MURDER
It's strange that Ryan would sequence two storytelling tracks right next to each other. It features a beat similar to “On The Run” (although Frequency's work is still pretty good) and another vital performance from our host, but the song's strength is impaired due to the proximity to the previous track.


17. BAD BOY (FEAT JUNGLE ROCK JR.)
A reggae tinged beat featuring Royce spitting with a fake Jamaican accent? Far too annoying to enjoy.


18. PART OF ME
Now this is more like it. A fantastic instrumental from (frequent collaborator) 6 July and some great attention to detail from Royce. This was really good.


19. HOOD LOVE (FEAT BUN B & JOELL ORTIZ)
While “Shake This” was Primo's best beat on Street Hop (and “Something 2 Ride 2” was just bad), “Hood Love” is merely good. The concept of each artist saluting the hood meshes well with the instrumental, making this a very organic way to cap off the evening.


Street Hop was later reworked into a “deluxe” format with three additional tracks.


20. I'M FRESH (FEAT MR. PORTER)
Mr. Porter, who actually produced all three bonus tracks (so where's that D-12 collaboration at, Royce?), supplies Royce with a interesting vehicle for his lyrics. This track absolutely should have made the final cut of Street Hop.


21. IT'S ALL ABOUT (FEAT GRAFH)
While the instrumental sounded nice, our host only remembers to bring his generic gangsta shit notepad; his guest Grafh fares much better. The hook would have probably been terrible regardless.


22. MY OWN PLANET (FEAT BIG SEAN)
Meh.


FINAL THOUGHTS: My, how high the phoenix has risen from the ashes. Royce da 5'9” has rigged Street Hop with several standout tracks that inserted him back into hip hop's conscience, perhaps this time permanently. However, it's far from perfect: some of this is pure garbage. I was also highly disappointed by the combination of DJ Premier's first contribution and Phonte being reduced to hook duties. The reggae offering was also pretty terrible, and the skits were fairly useless. However, when it comes down to it, Street Hop is Royce's best album, although far from his most consistent. (I would probably give that award to Death Is Certain.) In the end, Royce shows listeners that he still possesses tremendous talent, pissing me off even more that the Bad Meets Evil joint album never happened. Oh well.


BUY OR BURN? I recommend a purchase, as several of the songs one here are more than worth your money. You don't need to hunt down the deluxe version, though


BEST TRACKS: “It's All About”; “Hood Love”; “On the Run”; “Warriors”; “Count for Nothing”; “Shake This”; “New Money”; “Part Of Me”; “Dinner Time”; “Thing for Your Girlfriend”; “Mine In Thiz”


B-SIDE TO TRACK DOWN: “Gimme Money”: this track was the original incarnation of what ended up becoming “New Money”, which couldn't get past the sample clearance stage. Although it does have completely different lyrics and an entirely different beat, so maybe they should be looked at as separate entities. Either way, it's a good track worth hunting down.


-Rex


(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave some notes for Rex below.)