Death Is Certain | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 24, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2002–2004 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 50:36 | |||
Label | Koch Records | |||
Producer |
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Royce da 5'9" chronology | ||||
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Singles from Death Is Certain | ||||
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Death Is Certain is the second studio album by American rapper Royce da 5'9". It was released on February 24, 2004, through Koch Records. Recording sessions took place from December 2002 to January 2004 at Isolation Records, at Nation Studios in Detroit, and at MPA Studios. The majority of the album's production was handled by Carlos "6 July" Broady of Bad Boy Records production team The Hitmen. Other producers contributed to the album are Jason "Asar" Qualls, Ty Fyffe, Rob "Reef" Tewlow, Mark Bassin, and DJ Premier, who produced the album's lead single "Hip Hop". It features guest appearances from Ingrid Smalls, 6 July, Cha Cha and Cutty Mack. The album peaked at number 161 on the Billboard 200 and number 39 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Released two years after his official debut Rock City , Royce spent his two-year hiatus entangled in a beef with fellow Detroit natives and former allies, D12. Due in part to a battle with depression, Death Is Certain features a sound considerably darker than that heard on his debut. Royce's new sound garnered him considerable acclaim for the album, with most critics calling Death Is Certain his strongest effort. The album is also noted by many listeners to contain both 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. influences in Royce's lyrics.
Later, Royce said he can't listen to the album because it takes him "to a dark place and a dark time". About the process during the production of it: "I like the fact that album happened. It taught me a lot about the creative process. I had no choice but to be honest. I didn't go into that album the way I go into albums now, where I know exactly what I need to be doing as an artist. I know not to reach for anything, to just be myself. To be honest and be transparent, that's what I like to do. That's what I feel will resonate the best. That's what I did with Death Is Certain, but I didn't plan to. It was like I was stuck in that mode. I was going through so much. We actually did that album, me and Six July, we did that album in like two weeks. Six of those songs I did within the first couple of days. That was the first batch of beats he played me. I remember they went to the titty bar, and I was just writing all of them. Knocking them down real quick. It was like, so much on my mind, I don't even think I was focused on being super lyrical. [laughs] I was just spilling. Just spilling shit. And I was super drunk". [1]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
HipHopDX | 4/5 [3] |
Prefix | 8/10 [4] |
RapReviews | 8.5/10 [5] |
Stylus Magazine | C [6] |
Vibe | 3.5/5 [7] |
Death Is Certain was met with generally positive reviews. At Album of the Year, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 70, based on four reviews. [8] About the critical acclaim, Royce said: "For the album to have that type of reaction, to resonate with people like that...It just gave me an idea-- when we come in the game, everything is trial and error. It's going to be from making mistakes. Death Is Certain was a situation where I learned from something that was successful. Most of the shit I know now, I learned from making mistakes. Most of my valuable lessons came from making mistakes". [1]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | 0:12 | ||
2. | "Regardless" |
| 6 July | 3:01 |
3. | "Throw Back" (featuring Ingrid Smalls) |
| Ty Fyffe | 4:17 |
4. | "What I Know" |
| Reef | 2:49 |
5. | "I Promise" (featuring Ingrid Smalls) |
| 6 July | 3:54 |
6. | "Call Me Never!" (Skit) | Asar | 1:59 | |
7. | "Hip Hop" |
| DJ Premier | 3:47 |
8. | "Gangsta" (featuring Cutty Mack) |
| 6 July | 4:42 |
9. | "T.O.D.A.Y" (featuring Ingrid Smalls) |
| 6 July | 3:55 |
10. | "I & Me" |
| Asar | 3:28 |
11. | "Beef" |
|
| 4:19 |
12. | "Bomb 1st" |
| Asar | 2:59 |
13. | "Everybody Goes" (featuring Ingrid Smalls) |
| 6 July | 3:05 |
14. | "Death Is Certain Pt. 2 (It Hurts)" (featuring Ingrid Smalls and Cha Cha) |
| 6 July | 4:12 |
15. | "Something's Wrong With Him" (featuring 6 July) |
| 6 July | 3:57 |
Total length: | 50:36 |
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [9] | 161 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [10] | 39 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [11] | 5 |
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [12] | 4 |
Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. A double album, it was released sixteen days after his murder. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort, Angela Winbush, D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C., R. Kelly, the Lox, and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits the Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. The album is a sequel to his first album, Ready to Die, and picks up where the last song, "Suicidal Thoughts", ends.
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Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9", is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hip hop duo, Bad Meets Evil the following year. Their 2011 single, "Lighters" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of their debut extended play (EP), Hell: The Sequel (2011). The song and its parent EP, of which debuted atop the Billboard 200, remain Montgomery's most commercially successful recordings to date.
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Hell: The Sequel is the debut extended play by Bad Meets Evil. It was released on June 13, 2011, in some countries, by Shady Records and Interscope Records and it was released on June 14, 2011, in the United States. The EP incorporates various styles such as hardcore hip hop and horrorcore. In May 2011, the album's title and artwork was revealed. The EP features the executive producers Eminem and Mr. Porter, with production handled by Bangladesh, Sid Roams, Havoc, DJ Khalil, The Smeezingtons and Supa Dups, among others.
Success Is Certain is the fifth studio album by rapper Royce da 5'9" released on August 9, 2011. The first single is "Writer's Block" featuring Eminem, which was released in March 2011. Production for the album came from DJ Premier, Mr. Porter, Eminem, Nottz, Streetrunner, The Futuristiks and The Alchemist among others. Guest appearances include Eminem, Joe Budden, Kid Vishis and Travis Barker.
13 is the third solo studio album by American rapper Havoc. The album was released on May 7, 2013 by Nature Sounds. The singles "Tell Me to My Face", "Gone" and "Life We Chose" have been released. The album features guest appearances from Styles P, Raekwon, Lloyd Banks, Masspike Miles, Royce da 5'9" and Twista.
PRhyme is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo PRhyme, consisting of Royce da 5'9" and DJ Premier. The album was released on December 9, 2014, through their own record label PRhyme Records. The album features guest appearances from rappers Killer Mike, Jay Electronica, Common, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Slaughterhouse, Mac Miller and soul singer Dwele. PRhyme features production by DJ Premier, as well as samples from psychedelic soul composer and producer Adrian Younge. The album was supported by the single "Courtesy". A sequel, PRhyme 2, was released on March 16, 2018.
Book of Ryan is the seventh studio album by American rapper Royce da 5'9". It was released on May 4, 2018 by Royce's own label Heaven Studios and eOne Music. The album features guest appearances from artists Eminem, J. Cole, Pusha T, Jadakiss, Fabolous, T-Pain, Logic, pianist Robert Glasper, Chavis Chandler, Agent Sasco, King Green, Ashley Sorrell, Melanie Rutherford, and Marsha Ambrosius. Meanwhile, the production was handled by a wide array of producers, including Mr. Porter, S1, Boi-1da, Cool & Dre, DJ Khalil and Frank Dukes, among others. Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim.
PRhyme 2 is the second studio album by American hip hop duo PRhyme, consisting of Royce da 5'9" and DJ Premier. Produced entirely by DJ Premier, the album features samples composed by producer AntMan Wonder. It was released on March 16, 2018 via their own record label PRhyme Records and INgrooves Music Group, and is a sequel to the eponymous album PRhyme. The album features guest appearances from rappers 2 Chainz, Big K.R.I.T., Dave East, Rapsody, Roc Marciano, Yelawolf, Chavis Chandler, bassist Brady Watt and singers Novel, CeeLo Green and Denaun Porter.
The Allegory is the eighth studio album by American rapper Royce da 5'9". It was released through eOne Music on February 21, 2020. It features guest appearances from Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, KXNG Crooked, Cyhi the Prynce, DJ Premier, Eminem, Grafh, Sy Ari da Kid, T.I., Vince Staples, Westside Gunn, and Cedric the Entertainer among others. Production was handled by Royce da 5'9" himself on all of the album's tracks, making it his first album to be entirely self-produced.
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