PRhyme – The Full-Lenght Album from Royce Da 5’9″ & DJ Premier

On Monday 9-15-2014 an ambiguous video showcasing DJ Premier and Royce Da 5’9″ visiting Adrian Younge’s record store was leaked and in it, a small clip of what sounded like a new DJ Premier and Royce Da 5’9″ track resonated and Royce brought the trailer to a close with the following lyric “This is for the real hip-hop niggas who would never ever, ever ask me am I here to replace Guru.”
Immediately, the discussions and debate began—what are Preemo and Royce cooking up? Are they working on a joint project together? Why is Adrian Younge also in the video?
Well, the foreshadowing is now over; PRhyme (their collaborative alter-ego), is the first official full-length collaboration from two of Hip-Hop’s most respected artists. The album also marks the first time that DJ Premier has been part of a group since being ½ of the legendary Gang Starr.
“I want people to appreciate the fact that we didn’t compromise in lieu of the environment. In order to try to change the way that people digest music, we had to take a leap of faith,” says Royce. Enlisting the likes of Killer Mike, Jay Electronica, Common, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Slaughterhouse, Mac Miller and Dwele for the album Royce and Preemo are looking to make a huge statement with this project.
“The bar has to be high. For this album to be another body of work and another chapter for both of our lives,” remarks Premier. With PRhyme, Royce and DJ Premier forever cement their names in Hip-Hop’s concrete. All the music for PRhyme is produced by DJ Premier, who decided to take a new approach this time by only sampling the work of musician Adrian Younge.
Like the perfectionist he is, Preemo was initially skeptical about the idea. “I’ve never sampled just one artist, I’m known for my reputation and my creativity. I wanted it to be my traditional thing where I sample everything I find, but I am really proud how the project came out and Royce is one hell of a pusher.” Ultimately, Royce was able to convince Preemo to embrace the idea. “I started going through Adrian’s catalog and it was just making me a fan of his,” Royce explains. “It was really inspiring me to want to make music. As Premier started sending me music and I started writing, it was falling into place. It was making me excited about going into the studio.”