As promised, Royce Da 5’9 has delivered The Allegory, his follow-up to 2018’s Book Of Ryan.
Boasting 22 tracks, the project includes contributions from Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, CyHI The Prynce, T.I., Vince Staples and G Perico, among others.
Nickle Nine opened up about the project in a recent interview with the Metro Times.
“This is the first album that has ever happened to me,” Royce said. “After Book of Ryan, I didn’t have anything that I really just needed to say. I would come in here and watch TV, play around — it happened really organically.”
The project kicks off with a conversation between motivational speaker/author Derrick Grace who is talking to his daughter about financial responsibility. It then tackles the topic of freedom on each track that follows.
The Breakdown | Is Royce Da 5'9 The Greatest Lyricist In The Game?
Royce, who produced every song on the album, added, “I hope that it starts a narrative and a conversation that it’s OK to be smart, it’s OK to be Hip Hop. It’s OK to have balance.”
Check out the album stream, cover art and tracklist below.
1. Mr. Grace (Intro)
2. Dope Man f. Emanny & Cedric The Entertainer
3. I Don’t Age
4. Pendulum’ f. Ashley Sorrell
5. I Play Forever f. Grafh
6. Ice Cream (Interlude)
7. On The Block f. Oswin Benjamin & DJ Premier
8. Generation Is Broken
9. Overcomer f. WestSide Gunn
10. Mrs. Grace (Interlude)
11. Thou Shall f. Kid Vishis
12. FUBU f. Conway The Machine
13. A Black Man Favorite Shoe (Skit)
14. Upside Down f. Ashley Sorrell & Benny The Butcher
15. Perspective (Skit)
16. Tricked f. KXNG Crooked
17. Black People In America
18. Black Savage f. Sy Ari Da Kid, White Gold, CyHi The Prynce & T.I.
19. Rhinestone Doo Rag
20. Young World f. Vince Staples & G Perico
21. My People Free f. Ashley Sorrell
22. Hero f. White Gold
[This article has been updated. The following was published on January 17, 2020.]
Royce Da 5’9 is firing on all cylinders. In addition to delivering the “Overcomer” single featuring Westside Gunn on Thursday (January 16), he also contributed to three songs on Eminem’s surprise album Music To Be Murdered By — “Yah Yah” featuring Black Thought, Q-Tip and Denaun Porter, “You Gon’ Learn” with White Gold and “I Will” featuring KXNG Crooked and Joell Ortiz.
Now, the Slaughterhouse vet is back with details about his forthcoming album The Allegory and a new visual for the aforementioned “Overcomer” single. Directed by Cricket, the visual questions the decisions people make in life and the repercussions that follow.
Nickel Nine is also embroiled in a current beef with Yelawolf, who he calls out on “Overcomer.” He refers to the Alabama-born rapper as a “punk ass” and “pundit vulture.” Although Yelawolf initially responded on Instagram, he quickly deleted his post — but Royce didn’t let that slide.
The Allegory is expected to arrive on February 21 via eOne/Heaven Studios, Inc. In the meantime, check out the “Overcomer” single up top and The Allegory cover art and tracklist below.
1. Mr. Grace (Intro)
2. Dope Man f. Emanny & Cedric The Entertainer
3. I Don’t Age
4. Pendulum’ f. Ashley Sorrell
5. I Play Forever f. Grafh
6. Ice Cream (Interlude)
7. On The Block f. Oswin Benjamin & DJ Premier
8. Generation Is Broken
9. Overcomer f. WestSide Gunn
10. Mrs. Grace (Interlude)
11. Thou Shall f. Kid Vishis
12. FUBU f. Conway The Machine
13. A Black Man Favorite Shoe (Skit)
14. Upside Down f. Ashley Sorrell & Benny The Butcher
15. Perspective (Skit)
16. Tricked f. KXNG Crooked
17. Black People In America
18. Black Savage f. Sy Ari Da Kid, White Gold, CyHi The Prynce & T.I.
19. Rhinestone Doo Rag
20. Young World f. Vince Staples & G Perico
21. My People Free f. Ashley Sorrell
22. Hero f. White Gold
He sure cashed in his griselda features..lol.
So Royce is desperate for attention so he wants to beef with Yelawolf based off his friendship with Kid Rock. Hell, he might as well beef with Wonderbread and Cotton balls because their white…. can’t forget vanilla ice cream and milk too… You’re too old to be doing this, Royce.
Delete this
Delete yourself then, moron.
Just the fact he is refered to as the slaughter house vet is a joke haha ooo a “super” group of a buncha egotisical bitches that couldnt even get to a 2nd album cause they got their own dicks in their mouths fuck royce and fuck slaughterhouse aka the black eminem wannabe quintuplets with that slaughter house shit
Im sure you’d keep that same energy in their presence. Calling them bitches to their face and what not. And yes, they have egos, what greats dont? You’re a f**k**g herb.
I dont give a fuck who they are i got guns like any man if ya wanna go that way and not afraid to use them LEGALY unlike them and im not afraid to throw hands have been throwing them since before i was even 10 i could give a fuck who you are ill call you a bitch to your face and if i do get my ass whooped oh fuckin well wouldnt be the first ass whoopin ive ever took or handed out for that matter better than being a bitch yourself and biting your tongue its people like you who give men a bad name pussy
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA keyboard warrior!!!
Uh huh? did i threaten them? Not really just stating i could careless if im in someones face or behind a keyboard its going to be the same i dont make threats over the internet and any shit i say hear will be said to your face thats a promise but you keep laughing at nothin pussy
Rrright you’ll get ko’d and labeled a dumb hater, like if you really see Royce you’re just gonna start throwing insults like a crazy crackhead out of nowhere, if that’s the case you are just a dumb jealous crackhead and no different from any other crackhead rambling in the street at random people, and shut up about the guns cause now you’re gonna shoot royce too? Wow what a clown you are lol
They didn’t get to their third album yamean dickhead… Clearly just follows mainstream.
Ooo sorry 2 albums and sorry to burst your bubble dipshit but slaughter house and ANYTHING associated with eminem is NOT underground haha fuckin clown they even had eminem presents slaughter house as their selling slogan for their bullshit and their two most popular songs have eminem in them and the other yelawolf yep super underground
ANYTHING associated?? I’m pretty sure Joell Ortiz is pretty underground. I don’t think you really know what your talking about
-hurt
Y royce even tearing up YELAWOLF? He a could kill anyone on the mic in the game yela must of pissed him off crazy royce can fight wild too figured he could of stepped to his sour mash ass and tested his whiskey jaw and them griselda boys would annihilate any wolves in person or in the booth. Shit that track list looks fire
Go outside
Best shit I’ve seen here all day
Y is Em takin the hit here???
Good old E-One Entertainment
Baller label lol
Entertainment One Ltd., also known as eOne, is a Canadian multinational entertainment company and a subsidiary of American toy manufacturer Hasbro. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films, music, and television series.
Royce is a beast…not only will he destroy Em lyrically but will murder yelawolf in every conceivable way…yall little stans have no clue how long Royce’s reach is in Detroit…he can have the Fillmore surrounded in a matter of minutes….yela better be smart about this one…but then again…he is a dumb cracka from alabama
Wrong ‘blakk’ Way wrong. Slumerican is deeper than you are giving it credit. Much bigger following. Lyrically yes wolf would lose. But you are trying to make it more than that. And you will lose.
Serial number on the bill R 59
No
Where is mm? He doesn’t show up for hip hop albums. MM is shady!
Hes on a 2 min skit idiot
This album is FIRE!!!! If you’re not feeling it you’ve been too dumbed down by the radio. Royce da GOAT!!
The best lyricist at the moment, period!!!
So that’s why this nut sucker was trying to get publicity by disrespecting Yelawolf, makin up all kinds of bullshit stories about dude.. All this time this loser was about to release some half ass album that won’t sell shit, so he wanted promotion and thought he would get some by being a cry baby about Yelawolf
Because Yelawolf is such a huge star, right? Shut up. He sells about the same numbers as Royce when he drops. Love Story I think went gold but that’s it. Royce has a gold album and contributed to multiple platinum albums. That diss was based on principles.
Got a song where ya got yelawolfs dick in your mouth for attention and album sales?
-has Royces dick in his mouth for online attention
Great album, but not half as good as Book Of Ryan. The lyrics are dope and the features are amazing. BUT the production suffers a lot imo. A lot of the tracks have some really boring and uninspiring beats unfortunately. A couple stands out. He’s using too much of similar beats on the project. I like the album, but there’s a lot of numbers I’ll skip on the next listen.. unfortunately. Love Royce he’s in my top 5 without a doubt and I can’t wait to see what he does next!
Royce is killing it
I know royce is pretty talented, but something about his sound I just could never enjoy… Its not just about lyrics, but sound itself too, which is why old-school eminem was so amazing, and newschool eminem is terrible.
I’m just glad this many ppl are talking about Royce in this thread, good or bad. For years ppl really didn’t know or listen to him. He was really just that guy known as Eminem’s friend. Very smart album that a lot of casual Hip-Hop fans probably won’t like. I think it’s dope. Extremely skilled wordsmith.
Been a Nickle fan and supporter since like 20 years ago but the last 18 months since Jamar called him Eminems house slave or whatever he’s been on some bs anti white pro black agenda like he’s now trying to prove his blackness, it’s corny as fuck. None of his music the last 2 decades has been focused on dumb shit like dividing people and defining them based on race. It makes his music blah as fuck, which is what this album is.
Agreed. Make good music for everybody.
Exactly. For everybody. That goes for blacks, whites, and homosexuals like myself.
The 1# rule in marketing and the #1 rule when creating art: it absolutely CANNOT be for everybody.
Pretending to be me and then pretending to be gay only highlights your homophobia and bigotry, I don’t give a fuck what people think I am playboy.
You mean, all music should appeal to all people all the time? That’s ridiculous.
So you missed all of his pro black lyrics his whole career but you’re a fan. I mean including when they beefed with each other when he had some pro black lyrics in that beef, but yeah, you sound like you’re really a fan, lol. Royce been spitting this shit since 99. He just has gotten better at it.
Bullshit, I’ve got every single Royce project he ever put out, including collars with fucking random MCs you’ve never even fucking heard of. Royce has never had a project with every track containing multiple racial references, or with multiple track titles focused on race. It’s not growth to once see all as equal to then start dividing based on race. That’s the fucking opposite of growth.
Bullshit. You said that he just got on this pro black tip to appease Lord Jamar when if you were a fan you’d know that he’s been spitting shit like that his whole career. Stop trying to make it about the specific album. Dude dissed Em and called him the master as in slave master once upon a time. That lyric wasn’t in a song in the last 18 months. If you’re such a big fan, you’d know that though. So GFOH with that shit about now he is pro black and wah, that’s turning me off because you sound mad suspect. Bottom line is does he spit,and he spits. Nobody is doing it better right now.
Jamar called him a house nigga in 2019, Royce has NEVER been on this pro black shit, never.
Name any album or songs pre 2017 that are on this racial bullshit. I’ll fucking wait.
Lyrics about pro black shit all throughout Royce’s catalog. Jamar got at the dude and said I ain’t beefing with you, but yeah, he’s trying to prove something to him. It’s between him and Em. Come on bruh, do your homework before saying shit that is easily verifiable. If you’re a butt hurt white person, stop listening. The shit ain’t for you. The rest of us will survive without your ears. Royce been spitting about the inequalities of being black in this country since he first got on the mike. That’s your fault that you never noticed before because you probably started listening to him because he was on an Eminem feature or some shit one day and liked him.
HUNDREDS DO IT BETTER RIGHT NOW.
BLACK THOUGHT DOES IT A BILLION TIMES BETTER RIGHT NOW.
This guy has never been hot and will stay consistent
Royce is in my top 5… not sure about this album yet. might just need some time to cook I guess. sounds ultra 70’s to me and that might have been what he was going for
Yea I’m sure it’s the album he wanted to make for himself, it’s not for me, but he didn’t make the album for me so all good.
Agree… the lyrics are there but the beats are awful. There are some good tracks in there 2 but the majority are hard to listen to.
The album is good got a classic 90 sound anyone born after 98 might not like it. Overall this album doesn’t disappoint wish he had more push behind mainstream like the J.cole and Kendrick.
+20 tracks?? It’s not ’93 anymore and the No Limit days are over. Pass.
For an old head you sure bitch like a youngster.
You mad cuz its too long? The only thing you got to say about a music album is that its too long? Hahahaha you ain’t no old head, stop frontin. If you were you’d actually miss the thing we used to have called hiphop, where the music was good and you couldn’t get enough of it. But you gotta get to your next TikTok video so you ain’t got time to listen to an actual album…Did you try that skullbreaker shit yet?
Of course, you guys don’t have attentions spans long enough for 22 tracks. Gone somewhere and listen to pop a glock in a sandwich lock in autotune for 25 minutes like you’re used to
JUST LISTENED TO THIS ALBUM THIS MORNING. I FEEL THIS WOULD SOUND GREAT ON VINYL.
This sh!+is fire
If you’re complaint is 20 tracks your IQ is low. This album is deep. Not your basic dance music album. This album should have a warning label for pure substance. Intro was from a YouTube clip opens up poetically. This album has a jazz sound and take you on a trip with African drums. Also a sample from GarageBand sample. This album is needed for the culture! 5/5 ..every album from him gets better ,and peep the Eminem interview snippet about black people created unity in music.
this album is straight up trash
Listened 2 it twice this album is Sick badass hiphop I LOVE this album some real lines hear bangin this in southern Cali playa dam every track the whole album is put together perfect. Put down the wayne and the em album now this is the 3 album rotation 4 the year so far.. gets better with every listen thanks Royce da game needed this especially the old heads u know favorite album so far this year..waiting 4 that jada album 2 drop on the 28th…hiphop message behind the message listen 2 what they saying dnt just Bob your head 2 to the beat….lyrics..lol corny ass radio liked buy john Stamos hahahah
GOAT
What is this fucking racist, anti-vaxxer crap??? Royce is too influential, too talented, and too intelligent to be doing the SAME FUCKING THING every other “woke” black rapper is doing. No originality here at all. The anti-vaxxer lines were the nail in the coffin for me. No one in Royce’s position should be peddling such dangerous and blatantly incorrect ideas as he did he with the anti-vaxxer bullshit. All he’s doing is setting the black community back further by breeding even more mistrust in the very things that demonstrably decrease transmission rates of infectious disease. You can do better Royce, so do it. Book of Ryan was amazing. The only thing good about this album was the rapping, which Royce never disappoints on.