You’ve gotta feel for Royce Da 5’9. Here was a man that was poised as “next to blow”, not only from being Eminem’s right-hand man, but also being more talented than anyone in D12 not named Marshall. He even got the chance to pen a few tracks for Dr. Dre’s 2001 LP, but after his manager revealed this in Vibe Magazine, the relationship began to sour. Call it bad timing, call it a series of bad choices or record deals, but Royce Da 5’9 missed his easy shot into the big leagues, and has been forced to go the independent route ever since. However, on his last album, Death Is Certain, Royce’s hard times have inspired his greatest work of art – an incredibly honest album that revealed his true feelings, not afraid to admit where he failed. Despite critical acclaim, like most indy records, Death Is Certain did not scratch the surface sales-wise of what he could have done with the push of a major label. He put it into words best on the album: “I’m spittin’ the kind of murder that Koch don’t deserve.”

     Curiously, Royce is no longer rolling with Koch, but now is strictly going for dolo, hence the title of his new LP, Independent’s Day. However after the apologetic Death Is Certain, Royce takes a somewhat different direction with his new record, as he reveals on the ridiculous Carlos Broady helmed jump off, “I Owe”. “I’m about to touch on every style you could think of / on this album from the streets to the bounce to singles / from the niggas to the bitches to the chickens to the killas to the lyrics niggas feel me, I’m the purest in the business”. Touch upon every style he does, but not flawlessly. Distancing himself completely from his one-time Shady / Aftermath affiliation, Royce uses Independent’s Day as a “clean slate”, so to speak, however one that struggles to find it’s audience with a hodgepodge of different styles and sounds. 

      Unfortuantely, as Royce dips in and out of different regional sounds in hopes to nail down a new set of fans, in turn he alienates some of his longtime followers. After blowing the door open with the aforementioned “I Owe You”, the payout unfortunately then comes like a $100 in pennies. Sure, Royce really isn’t missing a step lyrically, but the Mike Jones-esque production of “Ride”, or the syrupy Lil’ Jon/Jazze Pha inspired “Wet My Whistle” both get the album off to a bad start, despite the high hopes set up with it’s first track. And while both of the harder edged “Looking At My Dog” and “Right Back” allow Royce to get loose over some aggressive production, heavy guest appearances from Yo Gotti, Juan, and Kid Vishis help the listener lose interest in these tracks fast. Things take a turn for the worst on a pair of god-awful K.I.D.D. produced tracks, the embarrassingly dated “Chips On Pistons” (which features a laughable verse from Blade Icewood) and the turbo booty-shakin’ “Fuck My Brains Out”, where Royce and June reveal their fantasies to Ingrid Smalls. Its tracks like these that directly contradict everything that was accomplished on Death Is Certain. 

     Regardless, despite a handful of poor tracks on Independents Day, there are actually quite a few diamonds in the rough. Problem is, many of Royce’s fans will be so turned off at the crossover attempts on this LP, they might not even give the better tracks a chance. The Nottz-helmed “Politics” is a bluesy, piano driven joint that not only spotlights Royce’s God-given lyrical talent, but also a dope solo from Cee-Lo Green. Nottz also chimes in on “Blow Dat”, an obvious homage to “Don’t Believe The Hype”, ripe with Public Enemy references and a traditional, minimalist beat. Slept-on talent Carlos Broady is also responsible for much of the album’s heat, lending a total of five tracks to the album, virtually all of which impress. The hypnotic “Meeting Of The Bosses” is a dark, brooding Broady banger with perfectly executed 808 thump, while “Independent’s Day” finds Royce back in his element: hardcore lyrics and cinematic production. Just as he starts things off with “I Owe You”, Broady also helps close the album out with “Yeah”, a triumphant, braggadocios outro for an otherwise uneven LP. 

      “This album is like the median between Death Is Certain and Rock City” claims Royce on the title track. If by that statement he meant that it was half good and half bad, he definitely hit the nail on the head. By no means does this cancel out what he’s accomplished thus far, however a few more missteps like this, Royce could be in trouble with his core audience.