Royce 5’9 has always made it cool to be a top-notch lyricist and on “Digest,” the bonus track from his new mixtape, “Tabernacle: Trust the Shooter,” he shows us how it is done. At the start of the song, Denaun Porter, the track’s producer and longtime friend/collaborator calls Royce a {lyrical} beast, and rightly so, as 5’9” effortlessly bodies Porter’s energetic, bouncy, dizzying beat with lines like:
Call this Inception, Shawshank Redemption /
This is my movie, pardon my special effects/
I’m sittin’ in my Jacuzzi/
Blessings on blessings, one of us eating/
One can’t digest shit/
I let you pull my chain, I might as well let you come take my necklace
https://youtu.be/9CKslME-IUc
His lyrics are timeless and delivered with a confident and relaxed cadence that speaks to where Royce is currently at in his career: somewhere near the top of the food chain of great lyricists munching on other little rappers.
Tiara, a female rapper who has worked extensively with Mr. Porter, rounds out this group of talented Detroiters with dagger sharp lines like,
They fuel off my aggression, I kill shit, /
that’s my profession/
You try to come bum my spot, better think twice/
Yes, use your discretion/
I eat, sleep, breathe my passion for music, this my obsession
The sonic qualities, the slap, the knock, the bounce, as well as how fitting a beat it is for Royce all prove why Mr. Porter is a monster on production in all aspects and is always in high demand by talented artists. Check out this track and the rest of Nickel’s “Trust the Shooter”: some fresh heat for the Spring which happens to be only the prelude to his upcoming solo effort, “Layers” dropping mid April.
