Mixtape; No Rating Given.

     Royce has had a string of bad luck throughout the course of his career. He’s rolled in all of the right circles, first being introduced by Eminem, who later landed him a ghostwriting gig for Dr. Dre’s 2001 LP. When word got out that he was advocating the Doc’s lyric sheets, he quickly got The Game treatment, and was more or less blackballed from the camp. After hooking up with producers like DJ Premier and Carlos “Six July” Broady, Royce kept a healthy fan-base in the underground, but just as things were beginning to look up, he got arrested for a DUI charge. 

     While his last LP, Independence Day, didn’t live up to the precedent set on his Death Is Certain LP, Royce’s unforeseen prison stint gave him the necessary down time to perfect his craft and get back the hunger he needed. He must had spent a lot of time scribbling away in his notepad while locked up, because with The Bar Exam, Royce 5’9 is back with a vengeance. 

      Mixed by Statik Selektah and co-signed by DJ Premier, The Bar Exam is a compilation of half new songs, and half freestyles over classic beats. Preem introduces the CD - Gang Starr style - and then Royce proceeds to “Hit ?Em” with a banging new Premier produced track, which finds the rejuvenated emcee bobbing and weaving around the beat. This continues into an award tour of freestyles over classic DJ Premier beats on “Royce Is Like” (a nod to “Nas Is Like”), “Gorilla Pimp”, and “A Million More” (a cover of “A Million & One Questions”).  After re-heating classic beats from Jay-Z (“Feelin’ It ’07) and Alchemist (“Who Want It”), he ends the first round of tracks with “Ding Ding”, the Premier produced banger that heated up Shade 45 last year, just before he took an up north trip. 

      In the second act, he proves that he doesn’t necessarily need classic beats or well known producers to back him, as he does fine crafting new songs such as “I’m Strapped”, “As Live As It Gets”, and “Keep and Pushin’”. A current crop of “hot” beats from 50 Cent, MIMS, and Young Jeezy also give Royce the bar exam, which he passes with flying colors. 

     Mixtape albums don’t get ratings on this site, but if we did, this one would get the highest honor. It’s easily the best one to come along this year, or even in the last few years, per say.  Royce’s brand of street hop flawlessly treads the line between backpack and gangster rap sounds, with what he dubs “the humorous side of violence”. With rumored bidding wars with Nas and Diddy, it’s only a matter of time before Royce is back on top again. Cop this without delay.