Rob Markman: What's up, Geniuses.
Welcome back to For The Record.
I'm your host Rob Markman.
Now, today's guest, to me, is an enigma, is
a rarity in hip hop, came into the game about
20 years ago, and when he came into the game,
he was considered an elite lyricist, a deadly
lyricist.
And, somehow, about 20 years in his career,
the man continues to get better and better
and better and elevate the bar.
He's here, today.
He has a new single out.
"Black Savage" is the new single, so I feel
like something is cooking.
I wanted to get into his business: Royce da
5'9", man.
Royce da 5'9": My brother, how you doin',
man?
Rob Markman: I'm doin' good, man.
Welcome to For the Record.
How you doin'?
Royce da 5'9": Thank you, I'm good.
I'm good.
Much smaller room.
Rob Markman: Little bit.
It looks bigger on TV.
I say this ... I'ma start out right here
and put all my cards on the table.
We often argue on social media, amongst ourselves,
in group chat, on forums like this about the
best rappers.
I think you're the best rapper breathing.
It's just my opinion.
In terms of, I think, the way you put words
together, the way you've been able to get
better throughout your career from albums
like the 'PRhyme' albums to ... ‘Layers’
was a dope album.
‘The Book of Ryan’ was a super dope album.
Is that important to you?
I've also seen things where you said on your
social media not to let other opinions validate
you as an artist and MC.
How much do you get into that believing in
yourself versus what other people say about
you?
Royce da 5'9": That's a good question.
I really believe on some levels that it's
mind over matter.
It's really difficult.
I've been going through this thing where I
kind of study people.
I don't know if it's something I got from
my dad or what, but when you get into the
intentions of people and the motive and you're
not so accepting of just some, I call them,
anecdotal facts, the facts that float around
that everybody's reading or repeating, when
you start thinking about the agenda of certain
media outlets and you look deeper in everybody's
top 50 list, you know what I mean, everybody's
top 50 list, you can find something, find
a reason why this artist is here and this
artist is here.
It's like, why even let it control me like
that?
Why go on a rant and go through all of that
stuff when, at the end of the day, that doesn't
really matter?
Rob Markman: Because it's all bias.
It's all opinion.
Royce da 5'9": Bias, that's the right word
I'm looking for, bias.
Rob Markman: Because there's no ... and even
in sports, there's a sports bias.
But, in sports, there's a record.
There's a free-throw percentage and a field
goal percentage, the three point ... there's
some mathematical fact that you can kind of
point to at least to aid these arguments and
you're still going to argue LeBron versus
MJ all day.
Royce da 5'9": You know what, it's like I'm
sure if Michael Jordan told Steph Curry he
was the best, it would mean something.
You telling me, it means something, you know
what I mean, because, I know you're an MC
first of all.
I fell in love with doing it at the open mic.
We started out impressing each other.
You know, Redman telling me that he thinks
that I'm great meant everything to me.
That's kind of little what I equate success
with, stuff like that.
Rob Markman: And, we often argue.
I want to give respect, too, because sometimes
I do flip-flop between you and Black Thought.
Royce da 5'9": Me, too.
Rob Markman: And, it's about whoever puts
something out, whoever was the last person
to put something out, you know what I'm saying?
Black Thought drops a Flex freestyle, it's
like, "Ah, this guy's the best."
Royce drops a PRyhme album, it's like, "Yo,
this guy is killing it."
Jay is up there, I think.
Jay is the GOAT.
We're talking about top tier, so you can't
go wrong.
Yeah, but I always wondered how much that
really mattered to you.
Rob Markman: And then, I also said in the
intro you've been getting better as an MC.
It's an opinion that I have.
I've seen a lot of people say that.
I think these last couple of albums, I've
learned things about you.
“Tabernacle,” I think, is one of the most
... just as a story rhyme goes and just revealing
of your favorite artists, it's just one of
those songs that you get those every few years
when you talk about how the universe works
and being in the hospital, and the fifth floor,
your grandmother's passing away, and on the
ninth floor, your son is being born and your
name is Royce da 5'9" and your height is actually
5'9" and how the universe puts all this stuff
in front of you.
I think that was a great record, ‘Book of
Ryan.’
I think “Cocaine” was a super important
record, a super powerful record.
Do you feel like you're getting better?
Royce da 5'9": I hope so.
I mean, that's what I strive for?
I try to just stay on my own frequency.
I don't do the normal things that you get
told to do, pay attention to what's going
on and all of that, I don't do that.
I don't put what's going on in my head.
I study me.
To me, knowledge of self is the way to improve,
knowledge of self and practice.
I practice all the time.
I don't mind practicing.
It's fun.
And then, when it stops getting fun, you just
move onto something else.
There's always other passions.
Right now, MCing is still just a passion of
mine.
I feel like as long as I'm still interested
in it, I should be able to get better at it.
Rob Markman: A song like “Cocaine,” I
remember calling you with ... just on that
whole ‘Book of Ryan,’ you talked a little
bit about your family.
I think as a culture, coming from the households
that we come from, that you're kind of taught
not to put family business out there boy.
Don't talk about this family business.
You put your family business out there.
It's part of your story, as well, and I remember
calling you as an artist like, "Where do you
find ..." there's a lot of things that maybe
I feel like I can't say publicly because I
love my mom.
I love my dad.
I love my brothers and my sisters ... put
that out there.
How do you reconcile with that as an artist
talking about your father's addictions and
the ups and downs your family went through?
Royce da 5'9": Well, I'm just like you.
I'm just like you.
I feel the exact same way and I feel like
it has to be done within the parameters of
who you are, you know what I mean?
My line that I'm crossing may be a little
further than yours, and yours may change,
so it's just about keeping it you.
If I step outside of that, then I'm going
too far, but if I stay within the confines
of just who I am as a person, it's good, and
I put most of my focus on trying to make sure
that, at least to me, it felt like I kept
it super respectful, because the intention
wasn't to offend anybody.
It was just to tell my story.
Rob Markman: Does Thanksgiving get awkward
after that?
Royce da 5'9": Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, but,
we had some moments, you know what I mean?
Not moments, moments, but just some things
got said.
I heard comments here and there, but that's
what art does.
It kind of forces you to look at things sometimes.
Rob Markman: Dope.
So, where are you now with it?
And, again, you have a whole discography of
shit, but I talk about “Layers.”
I talk about ‘Book of Ryan.’
To me, “Layers,” there was a sharp ... I
don't know what dimension you entered, and ‘Book
of Ryan’ where it was like, "Oh, he's in
a new level of his career, a new zone in his
career."
With Black Savage out now, it features CyHi
da Prynce, features T.I.
B works is a part of that.
Royce da 5'9": White Gold, yep.
Rob Markman: White Gold, yep, shout to the
homie.
Sy Ari Da Kid is a part of the record.
Talk to me about that record and what's signifying
what's to come.
Royce da 5'9": Well, “Black Savage,” we
did that record; I started it out.
It's just basically: everybody's throwing
the term “savage” around right now, and
it's a way to take a word that normally has
a negative connotation to it and just kind
of adding a positive to it, but still...like
gangster.
Royce da 5'9": It's like if I said, "That's
gangster, Rob."
It doesn't mean you just went and killed somebody.
It just means you did something good.
You're a good father.
I feel like those types of things aren't put
up on a pedestal, enough.
Like, rap itself is associated with negativity,
maybe a little too much sometimes.
I feel like the artists who are able to speak
and cut through clear, people can understand
what they're saying.
Sometimes we have to be able to look at that
and see that and provide that balance and
do our part, you know?
So, I try to find very clear prolific artists,
put them all together and just make something.
Rob Markman: Right.
It's a dope record.
I think it's always fun when you put a couple
of MCs on.
When you talk about these top-tier level lyricists.
Royce da 5'9": Like my favorite thing to do.
Rob Markman: How do you rhyme ... CyHi, again,
is one of those guys that I remember he went
on his last album run and ‘No Church on
Sunday’ which was a dope album.
He had a freestyle for every radio station
that he hit, and it was like 48 bars, incredible
lyricist.
Do you ever ... when you know you're going
to be on a track with a CyHi or a T.I., does
it force you or does it lead you to write
different or are you just always on your Royce
da 5'9" shit with those guys?
Royce da 5'9": Man, hell yeah.
It's like I'm not sending nothing, nuh-uh.
It just depends on what it is.
I've written things before and started it
and felt like, "Yo, it would be dope to put
such and such on this," but if I'm think of
a name like CyHi da Prynce, I'm making sure
I got my shit together first, you know what
I'm saying, if it's T.I.
I don't have a problem sending my verse.
A lot of guys do.
I don't have a problem sending my verse, but
if I have something that's just like a start,
I prefer to do that just because it's like:
a guy like CyHi, T.I., if they hear your verse
first, they're going to top it.
It's no way around it.
Rob Markman: Right.
And, it's not even like they're studying.
They're listening.
No, they're studying it.
Royce da 5'9": No they’re studying it.
Yes they are.
Yes they are.
Rob Markman: Okay.
This is the bar.
They're rewinding it.
Okay.
Royce da 5'9": Don't let nobody tell you that.
Me and Crook had a long conversation about
this because I do it, too.
If you send me your verse, I'm going to top
your verse.
Rob Markman: You're studying it.
Royce da 5'9": That's going to be my job for
the song.
The Slaughterhouse, they did it to me all
the time, all the time.
They sat, listened to my verse, and then they
kicked my ass, and then we ... but, we made
a good song.
Rob Markman: T.I. just, "Rewind that.
Bring that back."
Nah, man, that's funny.
So, it gets that competitive.
I ain't going to lie.
Has there ever been a record in particular
where you feel like, "Yeah, they done got
me at my own shit.
They done heard my shit, picked me apart and
just destroyed me."
Royce da 5'9": Nah.
Rob Markman: Or, not destroyed.
Destroyed is a strong word, but-
Royce da 5'9": There's been a record.
There's one that sticks out in my head all
the time where I just got murdered where I
didn't intend to get murdered where I didn't
feel like it was fair, Black Thought.
It was a Statik Selektah record.
He didn't tell me Thought was going to be
on it, and I did that thing that we do where
it's like, "I got to hurry up because I got
to get it to him.
Static been asking me.
I got to get it to him.
I just got to get it over," and I sent him
a cool verse, and then, when it came out,
it was me, Black Thought and Action Bronson,
and Bronson's verse was cool.
His verse was about the same length as mine,
and then Thought was at the end going for
like, five minutes.
Rob Markman: I kind of felt that way with
“Summer On Lock” I think was the record,
on ‘Book of Ryan’ with Fab right?
I said, "Whatever happened, Fab dropped his
verse last."
I feel like he had literally the last verse,
but I felt like he had something to prove.
Royce da 5'9": Fab just could go.
I mean, that's-
Rob Markman: I mean, Fab could definitely
go, but sometimes-
Royce da 5'9": If you do a song with somebody
like Fab, if you sending it to him, you might
as well send it to him with the song kind
of structured for him to be the killer.
We did this in Slaughterhouse all the time
with Crook.
We would set it up to where his job on the
song would be to just murder the song.
To compete with Fab on a song where we're
just rapping and he's one of the greatest
punchline rappers ever is just to stress yourself
out.
Rob Markman: It's hard though.
It does make for dope rap music, you know
what I'm saying?
Talk about, too, how much, man ... congratulations.
I get happy every time I see you.
I feel like the date ... forgive me if I'm
wrong.
It's somewhere in September, but your sobriety,
you know what I'm saying?
What are we going on, seven years?
Royce da 5'9": Mm-hmm.
Well, we seven.
We at seven.
It'll be eight.
Rob Markman: Seven years sober, man, congratulations
on that.
How much of your sobriety play into just,
I feel like, your ability to get better as
an MC?
Royce da 5'9": Everything.
It's everything.
That's what it is.
When you said that turning point before “Layers,”
that's what it was, just stopping drinking,
man.
I couldn't do it like everybody else, so it's
just I need to be clicking on all cylinders
all day to be able to do what I want to do
and take care of the things that I need to
take care of and be able to learn more things
about myself, apply those things in the areas
of my life that I feel like need to improve,
you know, being a father, being a good friend,
being a good husband.
All these things, if I'm drinking all day,
it's just kind of impeding my judgment.
Then I get little wild and crazy.
I start doing crazy shit.
The crazy shit just wasn't working for me.
Rob Markman: It wasn't working for you.
Look, man, drugs, alcohol, I think, addiction
to vices, sex, drugs and rock & roll has been
a part of hip hop with each generation, right?
And, I wanted to ask you: things like the
loss of Mac Miller, who I know was a friend
of yours, lost Lil Peep, Fredo Santana, most
recently Juice WRLD, who we're still watching
the details unfold.
We don't know exactly what was going on here
but he talked about his addiction.
You think we could ever have the music and
the lifestyle without the addiction or do
you feel like it goes hand-in-hand?
Royce da 5'9": You mean, as a whole?
Rob Markman: As a whole.
Royce da 5'9": Oh, no, there'll never be a
time where it's not music and addiction.
It's not a part of music; it's a part of us.
It's embedded in our fabric.
It's just what it is, just like communication
is an issue, just like there's no such thing
as therapy in the black community.
It's always going to be that way.
It's always going to be that way.
There's always going to be young black kids
in the ghetto growing up in a house where
there's no communication, suppressed feelings.
There's always going to be that until we start
passing down some of these amenities to the
next generation.
Therapy is an amenity.
It’s something we turn our backs on and
we say, "Nah, we don't want to do that because
we hear stuff about it."
We hear the wrong information about it.
We have the wrong idea of what that is.
We have no idea how helpful it is.
Rob Markman: It kind of goes back to that
thing I said in the beginning at the stigma
of even not talking about family business.
Royce da 5'9": Mm-hmm.
Rob Markman: To anybody, the things that bother
us things that plague us.
What do you say to young artists when it comes
to that?
Because, I know one of the things that goes
unsung about you is that you mentor a lot.
You got the studio now in Detroit, Heaven.
I know a lot of artists, that becomes a hub,
not just a home base for yourself, but I know
a lot of young artists-
Royce da 5'9": They think I'm crazy over there.
They think I'm crazy.
Rob Markman: Why is that?
Royce da 5'9": Because I'm always yelling.
I'm always yelling.
I will not, not let anybody go crazy on my
watch and you will not do the normal, "This
is what I'm supposed to do," rapper stuff,
not on my watch.
Rob Markman: So, in the case of drugs, but
outside of that, as well?
Royce da 5'9": Yeah, that, everything.
You're definitely not doing no drugs in front
of me.
They smoke weed and stuff.
I don't ... whatever, but popping pills and
sniffing lines and all of that shit, you won't
do that in my studio, nah, you'll see.
Rob Markman: What are some of the things.
That's one that I think is interesting because
there's two ways to go about this.
And, a lot of times, when we sense tragedy
with the younger generation, it's the older
veterans. Some choose to talk down as if they
didn't go through the same struggles.
And then, there's what I call, like a real
mentorship.
And, like I said, I've seen that with you.
What are some of the other things outside
of the drugs that you see with young rappers
in your circle that you try to walk them through?
Royce da 5'9": Well, one of the first things,
I think one of the biggest things is just
like with anything else: it's a confidence
thing.
It's very important just to be ... you got
to believe in yourself before you can convince
anybody else, and just the things that you
can do, the way ... the sky's the limit on
how you can elevate if you just believe, you
know what I mean, so that's the first thing,
especially with my son.
My son is a singer and a producer, and one
day I saw him beating on the table, just making
a beat on the table, and I was like, "Hey!
You're going to go to Guitar Center with that,"
so I snatched him up and we went to the Guitar
Center and I got him everything, machine,
everything.
So, it sat in boxes in the basement for like
a year, maybe two years, and the first thing
he started doing was just like he would be
recording something on GarageBand on his phone.
And then, eventually, I started hearing snares,
and I was like, "Oh, he must be down there."
So, now, he's producing whole projects, but
anything that he's ever done that he's ever
came and played, I told him was great.
Rob Markman: Okay.
Royce da 5'9": No criticism.
Rob Markman: What's the benefit of that?
Royce da 5'9": Well, what's the benefit of
criticism?
Think about it.
Now, have you ever listened to anything that
you did as a teenager, now that you're as
good as you are, have you ever listened back
and thought it was good?
Rob Markman: When I was back then, yeah.
Royce da 5'9": Back then, but I'm talking
about-
Rob Markman: Now?
Royce da 5'9": In retrospect.
Rob Markman: Absolutely not, terrible.
Royce da 5'9": Of course, so what difference
does it make?
Rob Markman: Terrible.
Royce da 5'9": you know what I'm saying?
It's no way.
It's impossible, so what's the purpose.
Rob Markman: So he has to get the terrible
stuff out.
He has to to grow.
Royce da 5'9": You have to.
It's like sparring.
You got to go get punched in the face.
It's the only way to learn.
I can tell you.
We can hit pads all day.
We can put the gloves on.
You can shadowbox, but until you get punched
in the face, you have no idea.
It's the only way to get better, so just got
to ... it all comes in practice.
The musical inclination is there.
He's blessed with that, so we put that aside.
Just practice.
Rob Markman: You picked up production recently
as well.
I bumped into Premier and he said he had heard
some stuff, heard of a project from you that
you were working on.
And you know when Premier lights up.
He lit up about the production that he heard
from you.
What's up with you, with Royce da 5'9" the
producer, now?
Royce da 5'9": After I did ‘Book of Ryan,’
I was going to the studio and I ain't really
have nothing to say, so it was just like I'm
at a point where I ain't want to rap just
to be rapping, you know, doing a lot of studying,
reading a lot of things, and I was writing
16s.
I felt they were cool, but I wasn't getting
that fulfillment that I get.
You ever go for the fulfillment thing with
rap?
Rob Markman: Yeah, absolutely.
Royce da 5'9": Somebody'll come in and they'll
tell you, "Yeah, that's dope," but then, it's
not like a, "That's dope!"
It's more of a just, "That's dope," and there
ain't nothing wrong with it.
Rob Markman: You kind of feel like they're
only half-listening anyway.
Royce da 5'9": Yeah, but it's like: you know
those raps where it's not crazy, but there
ain't nothing wrong with it?
It's just existing.
So, I was just like, "Those are cool, I guess,
whatever," so that's what I was doing.
I was not knowing what I wanted to talk about
so I was just chilling, watching TV.
And then, one day, somebody said something
about making beats and I just was like, "You
know what, man, that's what I should do.
I should just start messing with an MPC or
something like that just to learn," so I went
and start buying equipment.
And, as I started to learn stuff, I had people
giving me sounds and all type of stuff, and
I went overseas.
I think I was doing some shows with Marshall
overseas, and I sat on FaceTime with Preem
one night for like, three hours, and he was
just walking me through how to use the MPC.
Royce da 5'9": And, he taught me how to use
it so I went down a rabbit hole with it, just
making whack beats, whack drum loops after
whack drum loop after whack drum loop.
And then, I got home, and Mr. Porter's right
next door in the room next door, so he comes
walking in the room like, "What is that?"
I'm like, "Yo, I made this."
He's like, "Yo, that's ..." so, he was able
to explain to me why it was good what I was
going, like, "You're not supposed to be able
to do this this quick."
He'd point out little nuances, and it helped
me progress, you know what I mean.
He showed me how to use Logic, and once that
happened, I fell in love with that because
the whole format looks like Pro Tools, and
I knew Pro Tools already.
Rob Markman: You know Pro Tools, yeah.
It's all like line editing.
Royce da 5'9": Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it just
made more sense to me, the language, you know,
what I was looking at.
I just started practicing from there and one
thing led to another.
Me and Kino talk every day.
We was talking about doing the EP, so I was
just trying to work on that.
And, of course, I couldn't figure out how
to make three, four songs exist with each
other, so it turned into more songs and more
songs and more songs, and then I start really
wanting to talk about certain things, and
it just turned into an album, so this is the
first album that I've ever done that happened
to me as opposed to me.
Rob Markman: How much of the production did
you do on the album?
Royce da 5'9": Whole thing.
Rob Markman: Whole thing, so, top to bottom.
Royce da 5'9": Top to bottom.
Rob Markman: So, you DJ Premier now, if Premier
could rap.
Royce da 5'9": No, sir, no siree.
See, that's the thing I was worried about.
At the very beginning, it was like, "Man,
you will not hear anything from me that sounds
like I'm trying to compete with my masterful
beat maker friends.
There's no way."
Rob Markman: Right, but it works for you.
Royce da 5'9": See, it works for anybody if
they're of the understanding that producing
is way different than making beats.
It's not about making the best beat.
It's about making the right beat.
So, as long as you understand that, as long
as you're not making beats and then calling
AraabMuzik up and saying, "Let me hear what
you got.
Listen to what I got," you'll never be happy."
How can I top that?
Rob Markman: No, I get it.
I heard you was in New York.
I know the single is out and I invited you
up here.
Really, I wanted to get in your business.
I feel like if there's a single coming, there's
an avalanche coming behind it.
Is there an album coming?
Royce da 5'9": Yes, yes.
It's called ‘The Allegory.’
It's called ‘The Allegory’ and it's produced
solely by me, the whole thing.
Rob Markman: Nah, man, I look forward to hearing
it, for sure.
You got to come back when it's out.
I'm sure there's going to be a lot of stuff
to break down, analyze.
I want to get into the shits real quick with
you, though, you know what I'm saying?
Did you hear that new Nick Cannon record,
my brother, featuring Suge Knight?
Rob Markman: I feel like you started this,
man, because you-
Royce da 5'9": I started it?
Rob Markman: Yeah.
Royce da 5'9": What I do?
Rob Markman: You're the one who hooked Marshall
up with Fat Joe to do the record.
Royce da 5'9": Oh, yeah, oh, yeah.
I mean, you know, Joe is like one of my idols.
I look up to him and I just called him one
day because I was thinking about ... and,
that's another one of those things we were
talking about.
We have that kind of admiration for each other;
we need to hear that.
We like to hear that, so I just called him
and tell him he was great.
Rob Markman: I get killed for that by some
of the other commentators, pundits, for the
admiration that I give.
It makes people-
Royce da 5'9": That's ridiculous.
Rob Markman: Uncomfortable.
It's laughable to me because-
Royce da 5'9": That's ridiculous.
That's ridiculous.
Rob Markman: I feel like then when one of
us passes away-
Royce da 5'9": They'll be the greatest of
all time.
Rob Markman: They'll be the first one with
the RIP post.
I seen it with Combat Jack.
I seen other journalists kick his back in
and jump over him for an interview.
Cut his throat for an interview.
Reggie wasn't here no more, it was RIP, Reggie
and all of this.
I didn't get it, sorry.
Royce da 5'9": Nah, it's all good.
Rob Markman: You struck a chord, but, so you're
giving Joe the flowers.
Royce da 5'9": It's all good.
It's all relevant.
Yeah, so I called Joe.
I reached out to him.
I got him on the phone.
I was like, "Yo, man, listen, I don't want
nothing.
I just called you to tell you that you're
great.
I think everything you're doing is great.
I was listening to the Flow Joe album and
I was like, "Yo, bro, that was 1993, was it?
1993, you was rhymin' Judie with Booty."
I was like, "Yo, the what you're able to do
at your age, man, the way you keep getting
better, I think it's phenomenal.
I just wanted to let you know that," so we
talked like hours.
We talked about Pun, Big L, had a great conversation.
Rob Markman: People forgot, by the way, real
quick, he had the “Where I'm From” sample
before Jay-Z on that Flow Joe album, man.
Nah, Joe was a little ahead of his time.
But, yeah, we digress.
Royce da 5'9": So, we didn't even talk about
that in that conversation, Em, in that conversation,
so he ended up calling ... actually, Dre,
called me.
Dre from Kool Dre called me.
I love Dre.
So, he called me.
He was like, "Yo, man."
He just asked me how I felt about it, if I
felt like it was possible, and I was like,
"I can give it to him and see what he says."
So, I called Marshall, and I told him about
the whole conversation and he was like, "You
know what, man, I was just listening to the
Flow Joe album."
He said, "I just went down a Fat Joe rabbithole
a couple days ago."
I was like, "Wow, that's crazy," so, I sent
him the record.
He took it with him on the plane.
He wrote it on the plane, called me back like,
"Yeah, I think I got something," so I was
like, "Well, can I let them know?"
He was like, yeah, so I hit them back.
I was like, "Yeah, he going to do it."
That was it.
He didn't say nothing to me about Nick Cannon.
Rob Markman: You didn't know Nick Cannon was
going to get jabbed again.
Royce da 5'9": I didn't know.
Rob Markman: What do you make of that?
I'm looking at this like it's funny to me.
I can't see this.
Royce da 5'9": Yeah, it's funny.
It has funny moments.
It's entertaining, I guess.
Rob Markman: What is it ... I think Em is
a lightning rod and I think people, at this
point, extremely love him or don't, right?
And, you're super close to him.
A lot of times, even you take bullets.
A lot of times, how I say I take bullets for
giving people flowers, you take bullets for
standing up for your guy.
Royce da 5'9": Which is ridiculous.
Rob Markman: For your friend.
What is it that people don't understand about
him, or that you think people get fucked up
about?
Royce da 5'9": He sits in that space where
people associate that space with all things
bad, you know?
They don't hear from him.
He's not so vocal all the time.
He's not doing tons of interviews, so people
are very presumptuous and people really want
to know everybody's business, and I think
that shield, I guess you could call it, between
him and the people, it leaves room for people
to just create their own narrative and picture.
And then, you also got other guys that choose
to trash him for whatever reason.
It makes it easier for them to control the
narrative and make it seem a certain way,
and unless he's going to come down and clarify
what's being said or go against what's being
said, then it's just like-
Rob Markman: I'll tell you what, from a media
perspective; any time you put Eminem in the
headline, you getting clicks.
Royce da 5'9": Yep.
Rob Markman: No matter.... it's just the truth.
People could say what they want and have their
own opinion but it's funny that you mention
how he was listening to Fat Joe and you're
listening to Fat Joe without knowing, right,
cut from the same cloth.
That's a guy that, every time I see him go
up to take an award, he mentions a bunch of
rappers, thanks them.
Royce da 5'9": He does it.
Rob Markman: A bunch of rappers who never
get thanked.
Royce da 5'9": He does his part.
He does his part.
It's real easy for people to be like, "No,
he doesn't do his part," because it's like
the people that's on that level are like pop,
pop people.
That's like the opposite of hip hop, you know
what I mean?
When you make it to that level, it's a bad
thing to a lot of people.
Rob Markman: Will there ever be another Bad
Meets Evil?
Royce da 5'9": I don't know.
I don't know.
If Nick Cannon will stop keeping him busy.
Nah, I don't know.
I don't know.
We haven't really talked about it.
We got a couple records in the tuck, but I
just been focusing on ... it took me a long
time to put this thing that I was doing together,
and I don't know what he's doing.
I went up there a couple times, but ever since
I got my studio, I haven't really been anywhere.
Rob Markman: You been consumed, really.
Royce da 5'9": Yeah, so I talk to him on the
phone all the time.
We talk on the phone more now than we ever
have since I been knowing him, so it's more
of a phone relationship.
It used to be more of a studio, kind of, traveling
relationship.
Now, I don't really travel with him as much
because I'm always trying to finish up something.
Rob Markman: That's dope.
Slaughterhouse, man, will those records ever
see the light of day?
What's up with these?
Royce da 5'9": Which records?
Rob Markman: Well, there’s Slaughterhouse
records that we haven't heard that are ... there
was a whole album.
Royce da 5'9": The album?
Rob Markman: Yeah, the whole album.
Royce da 5'9": I don't know.
I don't know.
I mean, we kind of stopped abruptly.
I don't really know.
I don’t really know.
Everybody's kind of scattered out.
Joe's doing what I think Joe was intended
to do.
This is the first time ... and, I'm so proud
of him, man, because this is the first time
I've ever seen him connected.
He's dialed in.
He's dialed in.
It seems like he's more relaxed and comfortable
in his skin than he's ever been, and it doesn't
take a lot of work for him to do what he's
doing.
It's natural, and that's when it's great,
when it's natural, when it just comes natural.
And, everybody's just doing their own thing.
The Slaughterhouse thing, to me, it was always
meant for us to come together and I knew it
wouldn't last forever.
There was a job that needed to be done in
hip hop at that time.
Rob Markman: I remember I was at XXL, at the
time when y'all first formed Slaughterhouse,
when y'all had came through to do something
with us and y'all all came through together,
Joe asked me the question.
I guess it was a ... it was almost ... it
seemed to me like y'all was coming in having
this debate and needed somebody to settle
it or another opinion, and he was like, "Man,
if Slaughterhouse ever breaks up, who you
think will be the cause of it?"
Of course, the question, I always remember
that.
I was like, "Y'all just got together.
Why are we talking about this?"
And, I was like, "You."
Royce da 5'9": Well, that's because groups
normally break up.
Groups normally break up, and then, especially
supergroups in hip hop, they never ... usually,
we don't even see an album, so we did a few
albums.
We did a few mixtapes, and no one person was
the cause.
Rob Markman: Right, okay, nah, that's good.
Man, I'm super excited.
I feel like this is the prequel to something.
I knew you was in town, so, shout out to Kino.
Royce da 5'9": Always good to see you, man.
Rob Markman: Definitely wanted, too.
Royce da 5'9": He's not even here.
He's not here.
Rob Markman: Yeah, but, definitely wanted
to get you on the set, the new set.
We hadn't done this show, yet, and just hearing
“Black Savage” and knowing that there
was an album coming, I just wanted to sit
down with you and figure out what you was
working on.
Royce da 5'9": Always a pleasure, man.
Rob Markman: Nah, man, and I appreciate you.
Good luck with the album.
I know it's going to be nothing, but heat.
Royce da 5'9": Thank you, brother.
Rob Markman: Bro, you never disappoint.
Royce da 5'9": Appreciate it.
Rob Markman: All right.
Thank you for checking us out, man.
Check out Royce da 5'9"'s new single, ‘Black
Savage’ featuring T.I., CyHi da Prynce,
White Gold and Sy Ari Da Kid.
Look out for the new album coming soon.
This is ‘For the Record,’ peace.
