Royce Da 5’9” & DJ Premier Explain Eminem’s “PRhyme” Absence

by MITCHELL STEINFELD

The duo behind PRhyme discuss the proper mix elements for a good song.

In Part 2 of HardKnocks.TV interview with Hip Hop duo PRhyme, emcee Royce Da 5’9 discusses the collaborative process with producer DJ Premier.

“We mixed a lot of elements,” Royce says in the interview. “I wanted to stay in that mind frame where I’m emceeing. Where I’m taking it back to where I was when I was going to the Ebony showcase; when it was just about the bars. It was just about the lyrics. It wasn’t even as much about the content, it was more so about my style versus your style. That’s when I initially fell in love with Hip Hop. I wanted that element and I wanted everything to be different.”

Royce Da 5’9” and DJ Premier linked for a joint album PRhyme that debuted late October.

Royce said the lack of Eminem feature was part of staying unexpected.

“This is the first thing I’ve done since the joint project with Marshall, “ Royce Da 5’9 says. “It’s like, I’m coming off of that. I don’t want to necessarily do the expected at this point in my career. I do feel like a Royce and Marshall on a Preem beat would be something unexpected…but it’s gotta be vintage Preem.”

The artists who released the video for their single “PRhyme” last week, discussed their ambitions to make music that existed beyond the club.

“Music is supposed to be the soundtrack to your life,” Royce Da 5'9 says in the video interview. “Music shouldn’t just be made to go to the fucking nightclub. You know what I mean? How many hours are you in the nightclub? You know what I mean? You go there, you listen to music. What are you doing the rest of the day? ”

DJ Premier talked about the completeness of the sonic picture he paints with the samples he chose for the PRhyme project.

“It still has to sound like a complete circle once the album’s done.,” DJ Premier says in the video. “This was supposed to be an EP and then it became an album. ‘Just one more Preem’ and that one turned into another. All the artists that were gonna be on the album, Royce didn’t tell me, he kept it a surprise. And I don’t like surprises…I don’t like birthday surprises. I don’t like anything. “

In part 1 of the HardKnocks.TV interview Royce and Preem discuss the inspiration behind their collaborative effort.

"We've accomplished a lot and we've been around for a minute long enough to where things that we do now should be a contribution [against] something we just throw at the wall and see if it sticks," Royce says in part 1.