When Royce Da 5'9" and DJ Premier formed the duo in 2014, and released their self-titled debut PRhyme at the end of that year, it was an unexpected yet incredible revitalization for the artists. Royce was coming down from the critical failure of Welcome To: Our House, while Premier had only recently begun attaching his name to any non-instrumental albums released, doing so in 2012 with Bumpy Knuckles for the first time since Gang Starr's last album, The Ownerz, in 2003. With PRhyme, the two created a modern-day masterpiece of rap; a true textbook definition of what classic hip-hop was and is, every element perfected and executed without flaw. Not only was Royce Da 5'9" writing the best and most clever bars of his career, but Premier had struck a gold-mine of samples. Using only composer Adrian Younge's catalog to build beats around, he constructed 9 of his finest works since, in my opinion, Gang Starr's best album, 1998's Moment Of Truth.
Over three years later, and the sequel to PRhyme has arrived. This time transposing Younge's work to instead sample entirely the works of AntMan Wonder, the change in source material has not had a major effect on the group's sound. Many songs are sonically similar to the first album, maintaining a steady, head-nodding rhythm interlaced with furious scratching and copious vocal samples from 90's hip-hop, whilst the others are more experimental from Premier's style than he usually strays, but most are equally as impressive as his safer instrumentals. Take 'W.O.W. (With Out Warning' for example, which ever so slightly begins to border on an industrial sound; drum smashes sound like two cars colliding, and the horns are ominous and sharp. 'Flirt', on the opposite end of the spectrum, is a light-hearted and easy-going rap song, a soft melody twirling away in the background. The group do both justice, neither lacking the energy or delivery come to be expected by the group, and enlist great features for both; Yelawolf on the former, 2 Chainz on the latter. One of many fantastic aspects of the original PRhyme was its feature list - jaw-dropping rap verses were contributed by Ab-Soul, Mac Miller, Common, Jay Electronica, ScHoolboy Q, Killer Mike, & Slaughterhouse. Not one guest on the album slouched, with every single one giving one of their most memorable features in years. The feature list on PRhyme 2 is far less abundant, and while most are still impressive, not all features go over as well.. Yelawolf and 2 Chainz as aforementioned both sound great on their respective songs; Rapsody and Roc Marciano also fit their respective tracks nicely; but for some reason, the Dave East & Big K.R.I.T. contributions don't gel that well, especially K.R.I.T.'s. His verse on 'Made Man' is definitely decent by itself, but sounds disconnected from Royce's presence on the track. Meanwhile, Dave East's verse lacks the punch and charisma that Royce exhibits right after him on 'Era' - while East plainly goes through a checklist of oldschool rappers to name-drop, Royce effortlessly makes a De La Soul reference sound awesome and threatening. Royce has definitely regained his confidence that made PRhyme so fantastic, and sounds every bit as such on PRhyme 2. Royce handles the heavy lifting mostly himself around the middle of the album, where the sound of PRhyme 2 recalls most heavily that of the first album. From 'Respect My Gun' all the way through to 'My Calling', the tracks without features find Royce near his peak; writing witty, comical bars, and sounding fantastic at it. "Show you exactly what goin' platinum with features mean / I am the absolute shit, I actually speak latrine, PRhyme 2", from 'Sunflower Seeds', is one example of Royce's nuance that allows him to command the ear to enjoyment with a simple yet playful lyric, and "Competition fell hard 'cause I got real bars, like barbarians" from 'Respect My Gun' is another. Royce doesn't use as many fantastic multi-Entendre's as he has in the past, however; the lyric "I'm feelin' like the Don on the permanent throne / weed like the Qu'ran, burn it, you can get stoned" from the PRhyme 2 standout 'Rock It' might be a great bar, but isn't as fantastic as the triple-Entendre from the original's 'U Looz': "Still callin' all of my bullets Expendables cause it's hard to believe I can fit all of them boys in one clip". Despite this, his raps are still a wonder to listen to, as he switches between personal, serious, introspective, and chest-beating topics with ease. His cadences are another skill that Royce has mastered, allowing him to flow like rivers around Premier's compositions, filling exactly the right spaces in a beat to make them gratifying. Aside from the final track, where Royce channels his inner Logic with full effect to spend more time to talk-rap over the beat than actually rapping on it, no song is exempt from his matured and rigorously-honed skill. Premier's beats lend themself fantastically to Royce's ability, also. Their styles compliment each other's so well; Royce has deserved production this good his entire career, as it's where he sounds best. The old-school sound Premier uses as a baseline on PRhyme 2 sounds updated to modern times, but still true to the old days, and shimmering pieces like 'My Calling' & 'Do Ya Thang' are some of his best. 'Rock It', the second single from the album, is also a great beat, building a fantastic energy with hypnotically looped pianos and wonderful horns, of course with boom-bap drums underneath. Even 'Black History', the two-year old opening track that we first heard on Royce's Trust The Shooter, blends perfectly with the surrounding album around it, sounding as great an opener as it did back in 2016. In contrast to their debut, PRhyme 2 had more room for experimentation, and as a result, more room for error. However, the album has at least as many thoroughly successful moments as it's predecessor, and the tracks that linger behind quality-wise are few. The album definitely lacks a great ending, as the final 'Gotta Love It' inconsequentially fades away as Royce checkboxes a list of friends and inspirations, leading to believe that the prior track 'Do Ya Thang' would have fit much better as the closer. The triumphant horns and accomplished tone Royce raps (and sings) with on this track is far superior. Nonetheless, PRhyme 2 is another highlight in the course of Royce Da 5'9" and DJ Premier, once again re-establishing their presence as forces to be reckoned with, decades into their respective careers. After what I considered to be a let-down with Layers, Royce has once again set the bar of expectation high for his next solo offering, Book Of Ryan, and if he delivers there like he delivered here, 2018 may just be his finest year. 86/100 |
201820162015Scores0-30 = Bad
31-49 = Sub-par 50-60 = Average 61-70 = Decent 71-80 = Good 81-89 = Great 90-99 = Incredible 100 = Perfect Archives
September 2018
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