Royce Da 5'9"

Rapper, songwriter, and producer Ryan Montgomery – born on July 5, 1977, in Detroit, Michigan – is better known by his stage name Royce Da 5'9". Influenced by hip-hop artists like Tupac Shakur, LL Cool J, Nas, N.W.A., Jay-Z, Redman, and The Notorious B.I.G., Royce Da 5’9” began rapping when he was 18. In 1997, he formed Bad Meets Evil, a hip-hop duo with up-and-coming rapper Eminem. Royce Da 5’9” appeared on Eminem’s debut album, The Slim Shady LP (1999), and, through his association with Eminem, he was introduced to Dr. Dre and the label Game Recordings. However, that didn’t pan out right away and he signed a lucrative deal with Tommy Boy Records in 1998. With no releases on Tommy Boy, he finally signed with Game Recordings and released his debut album, Rock City, in 2002. Two years later, his next album Death Is Certain (2004), reached Number 5 on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart. His third album, Independent's Day (2005), wasn’t a big chart success and after its release, Royce Da 5’9” was found guilty of a DUI (driving while under the influence) and sentenced to a year in jail. Once he was released, he issued the mixtapes The Bar Exam (2007) and The Bar Exam II (2008). He then returned to the charts as a member of rap supergroup Slaughterhouse with their 2009 self-titled album, which reached Number 25 on the Billboard 200 as well as Number 2 on the Rap Albums chart. He released his solo album Street Hop two months after the release of the Slaughterhouse album. In June 2011, he reunited with Eminem as Bad Meets Evil for the Number 1 charting album Hell: The Sequel. His solo album Success is Certain was released several months later and was another success. A second Slaughterhouse album, Welcome to: Our House, was released in 2012 and climbed to Number 1 on Billboard’s R&B and Rap charts. Royce Da 5’9” collaborated with DJ Premier in a new duo called PRhyme, releasing their first album in 2014. Two years later, Royce Da 5’9” released Layers, his most successful solo release yet. Layers reached Number 1 on the R&B Albums chart, Number 2 on the Rap Albums chart, and Number 22 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Further hit solo albums include Book of Ryan (2018), The Allegory (2020), and The Heaven Experience, Vol. 1 (2022). He also continued his collaboration with DJ Premier with the release of PRhyme 2 in 2018. Alongside his eight album releases, Royce Da 5’9”’s catalog also includes over 10 mixtapes and 30 singles.