I'll help get the ball rolling.
Rock City- Great album. Hard to find around here, but much better than V. 2.0. Some straight hip hop from the D, with a good variety. Dope producer list, too. Preemo, 6 July, and Ayatollah are on there. Also, it has Boom (the original. 'Somebody better duck, or, run, somebody better watch out cause he's 'bout to blow') on it. 4.5 stars from me. Boom and Who Am I are my two favorites on there.
Rock City Version 2.0- Basically the same as above, with a few track changes (the one that really stands out is the different version of D-Elite that is absent). A little over 4 stars.
Death Is Certain- Sophomore slump? Not here. Royce's best work, IMO. Dark vibe to the album, coming from Royce's recent beef with D-12 and alcoholism. Definitely one of the better put together albums around. Lyrics about life and death, relationships with friend and foe alike, hip hop (pun intended) and that's just scratching the surface. Dope production throughout, keeping the eerie feel to the album. There is an annoying skit in there, and Gangsta is a semi-skip track to me (N3R0 likes it a lot, though). Standouts include (but are not limited to): Regardless, What I Know, Hip Hop, T.O.D.A.Y., and Something's Wrong With Him (feat. Carlos Broady) [favorite]. The best place to start if you want to check out a Royce album. 5 stars.
Independent's Day- Low point (retail album-wise) in the discography. He was definitely trying to get crossover appeal on here, and it shows through. A bunch of skips tracks, but, when it's dope, it's real dope. Cee-Lo, Yo Gotti, and Blade Icewood makes some dope appearances, and all have memorable songs. Not really much else to say. Oh yeah, Yeah is the shit. Standouts: I Owe You, Politics (feat. Cee-Lo), Lookin' At My Dog (feat. Yo Gotti), Chips On Piston (feat. Blade Icewood), Meeting Of The Bosses, Yeah [favorite]. 3.5 stars
More to come later...
Subject: Royce Da 5'9" 
Mon 23 Aug 2010, 2:01 am
