Royce Da 5'9: I'm Me

From Rocky Balboa (almost) taking the belt from Apollo Creed, to the defensive line putting the unflappable Tom Brady on his back in the closing seconds in the super bowl, the plight of the underdog has been well documented. Fans and viewers are entertained by the prospect of a scrappy upstart or a skilled feisty veteran coming from behind to defeat the prematurely crowned victor. Such is the story of Royce da 5'9". The Detroit native has garnered a rabid cult following since the late 90s for his lyrical prowess and battle tested verbal onslaughts as he literally rhymes complete stanzas in one breathless swoop. Royce's affiliation with Detroit luminary Eminem almost assured that he would reach the level of super stardom that his rhyme partner has. However, several years and beefs later the two had a public falling out that saw Eminem's star to continue to rise and regulated Royce to the indie circuit and back to underdog status.

However, like all good underdog stories this one doesn't end there. While Eminem's career sky rocketed his music went from battle ready witty raps to self deprecating tortured sonnets. In the mean time, Royce continued with the battle-centric metaphor and simile style that the two came up together using. Royce had time to perfect and tweak his craft until his use of punch lines became second nature and his flow got angrier and aggressive. As Eminem has become more reclusive and hasn't released material in years Royce consistently brutalizes the mix tape circuit with bars that would have any self respecting MC a little shook to follow. On his latest conquest to own every beat in the rap game Royce takes on Lil Wayne's "I'm Me" and completely demolishes it in a virtuoso display of words that will soon have him alleviating the chains of the underdog namesake. Or at least something to keep underdog fanatics entertained until "The Bar Exam 2" drops.

Listen to the track [HERE]

Source: Hypebeast