Royce 5’9” has released his much anticipated The Heaven Experience EP in partnership with Passage. The 6-tracks EP includes guest appearances from Redman, Courtney Bell and Traxx Sanders and productions from DJ Pain One, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and S.T.R.E.E.T.R.U.N.N.E.R.
Royce namedrops Eminem in two tracks from the EP. In the third verse of “Look At This” Royce raps: “I don’t need millions / I just hope Eminem know how I’m feelin / Cause workin with him is / Certainly an honor and privilege / First he got me my / deal then / Then my label just dropped me / I believe that was timing / Shady came back and signed me.”
In the second verse of “Grown A– Man” he raps: “This rap s–t’s designed to take all your confidence / The only genre you can fake all your accomplishments / Black music where calling you old is an insult / But if them same rappers happen to show up at a Jay-Z or Eminem show / They still gotta show a credential / I’ve never seen a young fighter punk Tyson…”
Royce 5’9” releases The Heaven Experience EP in partnership with Passage, which offers exclusive opportunities to connect with Royce throughout 2023.
The Heaven Experience passholders will benefit from connecting directly to Royce and his team, real-time engagement with the community and artists, and access to exclusive songs, performances, interviews, VIP events, meetups, apparel, and more. Passes for the virtual world are available on April 4th.
The new 6-tracks EP includes guest appearances from Redman, Courtney Bell and Traxx Sanders with productions from DJ Pain One, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and S.T.R.E.E.T.R.U.N.N.E.R.
In advance of his March 31st, 2023 release of The Heaven Experience EP, Detroit’s own Royce 5’9″ releases visual for “Signs (Freestyle)” single, the first offering from the six-song EP which will be available on all DSPs and for sale on iTunes via Heaven Studios Inc. in partnership with The Orchard.
Giving fans a sneak peek into Royce’s virtual platform, The Heaven Experience, the visual for “Signs (Freestyle),” a high-energy freestyle that displays Royce’s virtuoso on the mic, is built inside a Web3 world that finds Royce forging the path of the unique creation of music videos in Web3.
In partnership with Passage, The Heaven Experience offers exclusive opportunities to connect with Royce throughout 2023.
The Heaven Experience passholders will benefit from connecting directly to Royce and his team, real-time engagement with the community and artists, and access to exclusive songs, performances, interviews, VIP events, meetups, apparel, and more. Passes for the virtual world are available on April 4th.
Royce 5’9″, a lyrical master critically acclaimed as a rapper and considered one of the best in his craft, offers a rare invitation for fans to experience tracks safely tucked away in his vault. The six-song never-heard-before offering has one feature by Royce’s mentee and Detroit native, Courtney Bell, and was produced almost entirely by DJ Pain One, who also created the Redman-assisted “Royce & Reggie,” multi-Platinum-selling producers J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League on “Look At This,” and long-time collaborator S.T.R.E.E.T.R.U.N.N.E.R. on “Signs Of Slowing Up.”
1. Signs (Freestyle) – Produced By S.T.R.E.E.T.R.U.N.N.E.R
2. Out The Barrell – Produced By DJ Pain One
3. Look At This (Uncle Joe) – Produced By JUSTICE League
4. Grown Ass Man – Produced By DJ Pain One
5. Royce & Reggie – Produced By DJ Pain One
6. Ion Wanna” featuring Courtney Bell – Produced By DJ Pain One
Cash Kidd has recently sat down with No Jumper where the Detroit rapper talked about hopping on a song with Eminem and Royce 5’9″ on Big Sean’s “Friday Night Cypher” from Detroit 2 album which also features Kash Doll, Payroll Giovanni, Sada Baby, Drego, Boldy James, 42 Dugg and Tee Grizzley.
In a similar fashion to how Em united with six Detroiter rappers on “Detroit vs. Everybody,” Big Sean went further on “Friday Night Cypher” and brought together fourteen Detroit natives — eleven rappers and three producers, including Cash Kidd. Part of the song is also produced by Detroit 2’s executive producer Hit-Boy, who is the only artist on this song who doesn’t hail from Detroit.
In rap, a “cypher” refers to a gathering of rappers, usually taking turns freestyling. “Friday Night Cypher” runs through seven beat switches and brings together rappers with very different styles over a nearly ten-minute run-time. It is notable for uniting individuals who have previously had disagreements, notably Eminem, Royce and Tee Grizzley.
“I brag about that with everybody. We were all in the studio together. Everybody was in there. I wish I was in the studio with Eminem. Everyone was there besides Eminem and Royce 5’9″. Sean was there too. Tee Grizzley was there.” said Cash Kidd.
Then he continues: “Eminem man, I got a song with Eminem. My homeboy in jail called me, he had been there for like 10 years and s–t. He could not believe it. I’m in motherf–kin line in store and my phone keep bolwin’ up. I picked it up and I hear my dude be like ‘MAN, YOU GOT A SONG WITH EMINEM?! WHAT A F–K NI–A. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS S–T. I’M GOING CRAZY! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT BRO. Eminem bro. Still can’t believe it right now. Eminem! That’s crazy. That s–t meant the world to me. That s–t was lit as hell. Best thing in my career. I appreciate everybody that make that s–t happen.”
You can watch No Jumper’s interview with Cash Kidd below:
Royce 5’9″ announces his partnership with Passage for the launch of a new virtual world, The Heaven Experience, in advance of his upcoming EP project, The Heaven Experience: Lost Sessions, which drops on Friday, March 31. In order to commemorate the 313 Day, Royce took the stage at halftime during the Detroit Pistons’ game and revealed his collaboration with Passage.
Fans can participate by buying the Heaven Experience Pass on April 4, which will offer exclusive opportunities to connect with Royce 5’9″ throughout 2023. The EP can be found across all streaming platforms and on sale on iTunes through Heaven Studios Inc. in partnership with The Orchard.
“I have been searching for a better way to connect with my community for a while, but existing platforms haven’t lived up to my expectations. Passage delivers on all fronts.” says Royce.
Heaven Experience passholders will benefit from connecting directly to Royce and his team, real-time engagement with the community and artists, and access to exclusive songs, performances, interviews, VIP events, meetups, apparel, and more.
The Heaven Experience doubles down on Royce 5’9″‘s commitment to community, offering a unique, immersive space to authentically engage with fans, artists, and the community. The initiative follows a successful sixty-second sell-out of his first NFT offering, which gave fans a percentage of streaming royalties from the critically acclaimed single, “Caterpillar,” ft. Eminem and King Green.
By allowing creators to connect directly with their audience in immersive, 3D virtual settings, Passage is empowering artists and brands to forge deeper relationships with their supporters and engage in ways that aren’t possible with existing social platforms.
For more details, visit RPNewsWire and watch the trailer below:
One of the hip-hop pioneers, Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash, has recently done an interview with The Art Of Dialogue where he shared his thoughts about Eminem being in the Top 5 rappers of all time list by Billboard/Vibe magazine.
“Obviously, he’s a capable rapper. If we talk about sales and he sold more than everybody, okay, if we talk about rhyme style, okay, he got a rhyme style. But he is white! He is white! If Eminem was just another ni–a like the rest of us, would he be top 5 on that list when a ni–a can rhyme just as good as him is 35?! They had records and all that.” said Melle Mel.
Then he continues: “The point is, if I was white, ni–a, I’d be greater than Elvis. Ni–as be like, Melle Mel is greater than Elvis! Melle Mel is the greatest white man that ever lived. He’s the part of the culture that changed the whole world. That is great a– white man right there! But I’m not white, I’m one of the ni–as.”
“I heard one of the dudes that’s down with him, Royce 5’9″, I heard he’s just as good as Eminem, why ain’t he as big as Eminem? Because he’s black! That ain’t hard to figure out. Eminem gets top spot because he’s white. Like I said, If I was white, they’d be comparing me to Elvis. They’d be like ‘that ni–a Melle Mel is pretty as Elvis!’ If he was a black rapper he would not even make a list. He would not make a list, probably.”
“Busta Rhymes, who I’d say is the number one, he can rap just as good as Eminem. Eminem, he really got nice tricky gimmick style, the way he puts the words together, I’m not gonna say its unique, but he does it. If he was just another brother…It’s just not true.” Melle Mel added.
As it seems the legendary hip-hop artist is not a big fan of Eminem, unlike Slim Shady, who gave a shout out to
New York City-born rapper during his Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction speech.
Logic has recently sat down with DJ WHOO KID on WHOO’s HOUSE podcast where the two talked about many things, including how the song “Homicide” came about and what was his first reaction when he first saw Royce 5’9″, Eminem and The Alchemist during their tour in Hawaii.
“I had that beat and I just started rapping…I was just like, man, that was good. Paul was president of Def Jam at that time and I was like ‘let’s pull some strings’. I sent him a record and he got it to Em and obviously I didn’t expect then I got the call saying ‘he likes the song he’s gonna do the song.’ and I was like ‘oh, my god, it’s crazy.'” said Logic.
Then he continues: “And then a week later, I got a call ‘yo, Em wants you to go open up for him in Hawaii at the stadium. I’m like ‘OH, S–T,’ so I got out there. I’m nervous. I’m like ‘oh my god.’ I’m so hyped. I’mma meet him! OH MY GOD. You don’t understand bro, my sister used to put Forgot About Dre from the radio to cassette on side A and she would put back and forth all the way outside A and all the way outside B and I was rapping over it. That is like the first real memory consuming hip-hop and it was him [Eminem] and Dre.”
From there, Logic continues talking about Hawaii tour: “So I get there, all the securities are there, guards, they all nice. I walk in and see Royce 5’9″ who is the hommie. Wearing his glasses and s–t. I see Alchemist. I dab them all and here comes the f–king Eminem with this beard that’s new at that time I’m like ‘woah this is crazy.’ He was so f–king cool bro. He was so humble! He’s the biggest rap nerd.”
“Em says, I got something and this motherf–ker pulls out the CD and his CD player and in the green room he plays the song and as he plays, I was like ‘Oh my god, is my verse on this?!’ And he KILLED IT. It was a dream come true and absolutely amazing.” Logic added.
Brand Nubian’s Lord Jamar has recently appeared on MRecktv’s “Backstories” podcast where he talked about Eminem and Royce 5’9″.
“Royce came on my show. Matter of fact, shout out to Royce. He just hit my out of the blue last week and he was like ‘hey, peace, I’m just checking on brother.’ I was like ‘man, I appreciate you. Thank you’. We gotta do another live. He was like ‘whenever you are ready.’ I was like ‘peace.’ I felt good about that too. That was nice. Out of f–king nowhere. Little s–t that you can do in people’s lives that doesn’t cost money, where you can really bring light to somebody’s day and that was it. Shout out to Royce. So, yes, we did rectify.” said Lord Jamar.
Then he continues: “Eminem is his hommie. What I said was not about Eminem. It’s more about what Kanye is saying right now. This is just about… us as black people, who are the creators of the hip-hop, this is about us deciding who is who and what is what. That’s all it ever was about. It was never about any hatred towards Eminem. Don’t know him personally. It was just about saying ‘you all can’t tall me who the king of hip-hop is based on whatever criteria you say.’ We as black people decide who is the king. And it might not be based on how many records they sold. That’s it. But then you get all the kick back, you know, people wanna backtalk me, and then I had to say s–t like ‘well, if you keep it real, no shade, we was not even listening to Eminem like that. I don’t wanna get back in this cause this will sound controversial but I’m just saying he didn’t have same impact on our culture than others. So, how you gonna call him a king? I don’t care how many records he sells. That’s it. Nothing against him.”
“There was never beef on my side and he made a song and all that. He hit me on the verse but it was nothing. It was like, it almost proved my point! NO, I didn’t respond. You know why? It was not like Drake hit Meek Mill. He said ‘you just got bodied by RnB ni–a.’ That’s done in our world. They played that in the clubs! Meek Mill had to go into the club and hear that! You think I went one club? one cook-out? Anywhere where they played that diss song? Do you think I had to hear that anywhere? And be like, ‘oh s–t, let me get outta here, they playing that song.’ NO! That never happened. Proving exactly what I was saying. I never even felt the sting cause there was no sting to feel. ‘Buhuhuuhhu, go fix the remote.’ That’s not even worth of response. No matter what I did. I could say the illest s–t and all his fans would say he is the illest ni–a. So it would not even matter.” – Lord Jamar added.
As you might already know, after continuously discrediting Eminem in the interviews, Slim Shady responded Lord Jamar in a song “Fall” from Kamikaze where he raps: “And far as Lord Jamar, you better leave me the hell alone / Or I’ll show you an Elvis clone / Walk up in this house you own / Thrust my pelvic bone / Use your telephone, then go fetch me the remote / Put my feet up and just make myself at home / I belong here, clown! / Don’t tell me ’bout the culture / I inspire the Hopsins, the Logics, the Coles, the / Seans, the K-Dots, the 5’9″s, and oh / Brought the world 50 Cent, you did squat / Piss and moan, but I’m not gonna fall, b—h!”
Legendary rapper MC Serch, who is a former member of 3rd Bass and Non Phixion hip-hop collectives, has recently appeared on Math Hoffa’s “My Expert Opinion” podcast hosted by Mr. Mecc, Sean Bigga and Champ.
During his three-hour long interview, the New York City’s golden age rapper revealed the reason Trick Trick stared no-fly zone in Detroit.
“You can ask anybody in Detroit, I killed radio. That no-fly zone s–t, that happened on my show. That happened on my show and I’m gonna tell the truth. So, here is what happened: Trick Trick did a record called ‘Welcome 2 Detroit City’ with Eminem. That was A BANGER. I go to LA, I go to visit Power 106. I’m looking at the playlist and ‘Welcome 2 Detroit’ is number two on Power 106, Hot 97 in LA, number two! They were rotating the record for 57 times a week. Every 43 minutes.” said MC Serch.
Then he continues: “Then…I’m in the car. I’m on my way to Roscoe’s and I hit the record and it’s Em’s verse only. Originally, Em started the verse and then it was Trick Trick. And then it’s Em’s verse again. And that’s it. So I said. Wait, maybe because its morning or the afternoon. Okay. Trick got little greasy, whatever. NO! They rotated that record ‘Welcome 2 Detroit City’ with two Eminem’s verses.”
“So, I came home. And Royce 5’9” and Trick come to visit me. And I said, congratulations on the success of your record but do you know what’s going on out there in the streets, outside of this city?! And I explained to him that I polled radio stations and all they are playing is Eminem’s verse twice. And Trick spazzed out! He said ‘this day forward, it is Detroit is no-fly zone!’ I was doing Serchlite Saturdays at Radio 1 station and he said it’s a no-fly zone and he meant that s–t! And the first person to touch down, that week, Rick Ross. Second guy to touch-down, YoungBerg and what I remember about that, cause I was in the hotel watching him walk in, they mopped him up there and I felt terrible for that kid.” MC Serch added.
The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inducted its 2022 class on November 5, with Eminem, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and more joining the prestigious group of musicians.
Legendary producer Dr. Dre, who signed Eminem in 1998, inducted the Detroit emcee into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame with a speech in which the hip-hop mogul reflected on his relationship with Slim Shady.
“Over 20 years ago, Jimmy Iovine, who is also one of tonight’s inductees and one of my best friends, played a demo tape for me from a guy who called himself Eminem. The first thing I said when I heard it was, ‘What the f__k did he just say?’ I loved it so much that I couldn’t stop listening to it.” said Dre.
“A few days later, Jimmy called me and said, ‘You know he’s a White guy, right?’ F____d me up! Looking back, I don’t know why it didn’t cross my mind. He certainly didn’t sound like a Black rapper, especially because of what he was saying. I guess it was my ignorance at the time, thinking that if you’re a really good rapper, you must be Black.” Dre continued.
Following Dre’s induction speech, Eminem delivered a fiery performance with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler (Sing For The Moment) and Ed Sheeran (Stan). Additionally, Em performed “My Name Is,” “Forever,” “Rap God,” and “Not Afraid.”
Eminem received congratulating messages from his peers, family and friends. The list includes Busta Rhymes, Swizz Beatz, Lazarus, D12’s Kuniva and Bizarre and more. You can check them out below:
Congratulations to my brother, friend and musical collaborator. Thank you for lettin me be part of your amazing legacy. Hall of Fame Gang! @Eminempic.twitter.com/dTOK5KrXsl
When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame reached out and asked if they could use portions of my interview with Em on their program I felt like Crooks Corner is doing it’s job. Providing high level Hip Hop/Rap conversations 🤝🏾 A little piece here #CrooksCornerpic.twitter.com/GuhqlzXeeh
Last night, Eminem was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame by his mentor and long-time friend, a legendary producer, Dr. Dre.
Slim Shady was accompanied by his daughter Hailie and performed some of his greatest hits alongside Denaun Porter and The Alchemist with special guests, including Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler (“Sing For The Moment”) and Ed Sheeran (“Stan”).
While fans have been expecting 50 Cent and Royce 5’9″ to be beside Eminem on this special night, they were both absent. Fifty is currently on his world tour and was performing in Finland on the same night as Rock Hall ceremony. As far as Nickel, he looks heavily involved in Marshall Mathers Foundation. As you might know, Royce is the director of community engagement and social justice initiative, since 2020.
Royce 5’9″ has recently shared a screenshot of the tweet that says: “Royce 5’9″ would murder Eminem in a freestyle battle. I’m not starting nothing. That’s just how I feel.”
In his Instagram post’s caption, The Detroit emcee wrote: “Hahahahhahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaahahahahhahahahahahahaha Thank you so much for the high praise but I had to laugh at that one… Love man… Hahahaha… My brother said “Freestyle” battle… I remember I tried to play with him on some freestyle s**t in the studio when we were kids… Let’s just say, I never tried that again… lol.”
Eminem and Royce released “Hell: The Sequel” extended play back in 2011, as a hip-hop duo called Bad Meets Evil. Since then, fans have been waiting for the duo to release another joint project but the two Detroit legends don’t seem to find a time to make fans wishes come true. Even, under Royce’s “freestyle battle” post, Detroit rapper Lazarus commented: “We need “Bad Meets Evil” Part 2.”
Check Royce’s post and the screenshot of the Lazarus’ comment below:
Earlier this month, the hip-hop world was shocked by the news from Fairfax as battle rapper Pat Stay was stabbed to death in Nova Scotia.
The stabbing occurred at 12:36 AM on the 1600 block of Lower Water Street, according to reports. Stay was then taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries at just 36 years old. While Halifax Regional Police hadn’t publicly identified Stay as the victim of the stabbing, his brother, Peter, came forward to confirm his passing to CBS News.
Eminem paid tribute to the late Pat Stay on social media, calling him one of the greatest of all time. While Royce highlighted his personality. “Hip Hop lost one of the best battlers of all time. RIP Pat Stay … KINGS NEVER DIE!!” wrote Eminem on Twitter. “R.I.P. Pat Stay. He was a GREAT man…” said Royce.
About an hour ago Classified Hiphop shared a new video clip of Eminem and Royce 5’9” sending condolences to Pat’s family and friends with the caption: “Wanna give a big thanks to Royce Da 5’9″ and Eminem for sending us these two videos to play at Patstay’s Benefit today. We all knew Pat was the Best at what he did but when you hear it from two legends like this it just makes you even more proud. I really wish Pat was here to see the outpouring of love he has been getting. I wish I could talk to Pat and see the reaction on his face after seeing the love he has been getting from guys he’s looked up to for so long. Rip.”
In the video clip, Eminem says: “Yo I just wanna send out my condolences out to Pat Stay’s family and friends. Bro, I know we never got a chance to meet but I’ve been huge fan of yours for years and the level that you rap to is like a pinnacle to battle rap. It does not get any higher than a level that you rapped at. I just wanna say that we gonna miss you bro. Hip-hop is gonna miss you. We lost a legend.”
“I just want to take the opportunity to say my deepest condolences to the Pat Stay’s family. I don’t even know if I could put in words how great of a man that I felt he was. Aside from being an amazing rapper I had an honor and privilege to be able to be in somewhat personal relationship with the man. That’s pretty rare to be able to do this in business, especially when you do two different things as a person. The way they kinda used to split up battle rappers versus ‘industry rappers’.” said Royce.
