Been a huge 5'9 fan since City but and I'm one of the few in my area (MD) that knows what actually good rap or rather hip hop is. While everyone is sweating both Wayne and Jay who I think are the MOST OVERRATED rappers ever. I've stuck with Royce throughout the drought of good rap. Alot of rappers have come and gone and some are still doing the same stuff they did years ago but yet people are still praising them for whatever reason. And then there are ones that are straight up racist like Kanye but people still listen to him. Don't believe me, go listen to any of his albums or just look at how he degrades anybody that isn't of his genre. Then there are those that deliberately put down Jesus and GOD in their lyrics but again people are to oblivious to seeing this or just don't care. This is why the music industry is terrible and why I don't listen to radio, unless it's classic rock or something that doesn't sound like absolute C-Rap. People are just so easily manipulated and misguided listening to she males like GooGooGaga and whatever other pop BS is out there like BEYAWNCE.....anyways, I pretty much don't listen to anything that doesn't have actual guitars, bass and drums with actually lyrics to relate to which pretty much declares my disgust for the music industry since there are so many ACTUAL artists (5'9 being one of them) that don't get the recognition they deserve. I'm pretty sure now that the Bad Meets Evil Sequel album is out even though it's referred to as an EP. Anything that has more than 8 songs are it is and actual album, if you hear otherwise, it's wrong plain and simple. When I heard this was coming out, I was ecstatic cause finally one of the very few rappers I've been looking forward to hearing is dropping another album. I can say now that my expectations were to high. I say that cause just about every other one that came out before those were really good to the point of almost being great, not to mention both Bar Exam mixtapes were very very good. I haven't listened to The Bar Exam 3 but I'm pretty sure it's alot better than this. I can dare say that all his mixtapes/compilation albums are as good if not better than his actual albums. I don't know what it is but it seems that he was saving his best lyrics and style for the Bad Meets Evil album. Maybe it could be looked at the same way for his mixtapes cds. There are maybe 5 or 6 songs total I like on this. It's not his best work and not even a good one which should be since he's put out so many really good ones out in the past. Heck even The Album which came out before this was alot better. Still nothing can come close to his Bad Meets Evil stuff from before and now. The best song which which is one of his best that features another rapper is Dinner Time with Busta. Now he's had ALOT of different rappers he has featuring in one song or another on all his stuff and as mentioned the BME when I feel he's at his best. Although he and Em are as good as the other when they are together, I can say that his one song with Busta is great. His timing and just the song makes up for most of the stuff that isn't on here. This along with the last 5 are fine examples of how this should have sounded like in the first place. It's just alittle upsetting to know that Royce IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT IS ON HERE. One last thing I can say is that his next album comes out in August which already has a song with Em called Writer's Block which already sounds better than most of this album. He's going to the exposure he should with the BME Sequel and maybe just maybe it could be what he needed to make his next one Success Is Certain twice or even 3x better than this. I HIGHLY recommend you wait for that before picking this up.

The only thing i can say is that Royce has finally become a true MC. He found his voice after a couple of months in jail and his made a truly good album. There are songs that aren't as good as others but, there are some good hits. If you followed Royce during the whole mixtape scene then you'll like this album

Overall it's a good CD but please listen to me and do not buy the actual CD. Download the songs each for a dollar here because if you get the actual CD then every song sounds like its being played out of a tin can. Someone obviously messed up the final mix of this CD but if u download the songs from here they sound perfect so I'm not sure what happened... Overall it's a real decent CD I just can't believe there hasn't been a formal apology from Royce in regards to the quality of the CD. I actually bought a second one from a different store because I thought I had gotten a faulty disc.

I was happy with this album. Royce the 5'9" is rapping harder then I ever heard him before. He has always bragged about being such a great rapper but I never really saw it before. This time he impressed me and is showing that potential now. He is better lyrically than in the past. The production is good. There are definitely a handful of great songs on here and really everything else is pretty descent. If you liked Royce the 5'9" at all before, get this one cus this is him at his best.

Despite hailing from Detroit, Michigan myself, I feel no desire to represent for Detroit artists purely because they're from Detroit. If I'm going to represent them, it will be because they have impressed me with lyrical talent. Royce da 5'9" has been in the rap game for well over a decade (appearing on early Eminem works such as Bad Meets Evil) and has consistently impressed with his raw lyrical ability and delivery on his solo albums, mixtapes such as The Bar Exam and collaborative works with Slaughterhouse and his latest release, Street Hop, is no exception. The album starts off strong with the dark and somewhat moody Gun Harmonizing, featuring strong performances from both Royce himself and fellow Slaughterhouse member, Crooked I. Royce flexes his storytelling muscles quite a bit on the tracks Part of Me and Murder and also takes things to a more personal level with the introspective track Shake This. While it's highly likely that Royce will remain highly underrated, I think it's time people woke up and started listening to this Detroit emcee.

Favorite Tracks - Gun Harmonizing, Part of Me, Shake This, Warriors

This album is chock full of great beats and excellent delivery (explained by other reviewers well), but lacks in two critical areas. The first, which is not a direct fault of Royce's at all, is the sound quality (or lack thereof). This album sounds like the sound engineer forgot (or intentionally did not) mix the lead vocals to form a center soundstage. Thus, Royce sounds very strange given that he is mixed in with the musical "background." The sound engineer of this album should be hung, as I have no interest in listenting to mix tape sound quality when I paid for a CD.

The second issue is content. Admitedly you do not buy Royce thinking he is going to sing kumbaya and heal the world, but how often can you listen to someone talk about being gangsta?? That being said, Royce reminds me very much of Biggie: a gifted rapper and story teller who never embraces something more than the 'hood (at least on this album at least). The album is great production wise, and though I do wish for more assorted subject matter, Royce's delivery makes it hard to complain about the lack of it.

Album is simply stunning. The head of Slaughterhouse once again wows with his lyrical ferocity over great Premo beats. The album also shows his maturity after his release from jail. This album, along with the Slaughterhouse debut is a must have.

Royce put a lot on here, I didn't to as much as I did with this free kidz in the hall album, put it's still good from the beginning and to the end. He goes after each track like his life was depended on it, the storytelling is solid. There's barely a weak track on this album so please buy, I did and regret nothing about it.

Simply put this is a good album. Except for a few songs, the album has nice replay value and a song for any mood. Buy it.

Now, I already copped Slaughterhouse's album, and it was str8 FIRE, so I thought this would continue the heat. WRONG. Sorry to say it but it seems like Royce NEEDS competition to spit for real. Amongst his Slaughterhouse brethren, he was a beast on the mic. Their tactic seemed to be outshining each other (friendly competition) and bringing the best out of each other. IMHO Royce released this because his fans were waiting so long. Seriously, half the album is mediocre and the other half is just good. The Slaughterhouse track wasn't even all that. The MAIN reason I copped this is because the beats were executive produced by PREMO, so I thought Royce was gonna bring the heat. I mean, he's had years to prepare right?

LEMME BREAK IT DOWN...

-The good thing about this album is that the beats are excellent. Hard, thumping CRAZY beats, some of which should've been on Slaughtahouse. Beatwise, this album delivers, and then some.

-I brought my copy BRAND NEW from FYE and the sound quality is BAD. YES A CD'S QUALITY SOUNDS LIKE THE TREMBLE HAS BEEN TURNED WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY UP.

-Royce's violent braggadacio can get annoying mid-song (some of his lines are corny), ruining a lot of the songs.

-A few good songs (Shake This, New Money, Gun Harmonizing, Part Of Me (CRAZY story!)

-Royce sounds like he's trying to get commercial attention (YES HE USES AUTO-TUNE), so he may drop a line here or there that a commercial artist would say.

-Overall, it sounds like a mixtape. If you liked the mixtape "The Album" AKA "Bar Exam 2", you will like this perhaps. I HATED Bar Exam 2, so there's a lil insight into the kind of Royce I prefer. I prefer the dope Slaughterhouse Royce and the Death Is Certain Royce.

THE FINAL VERDICT...

Not good Royce. This album is not garbage, but it's not a top album of 2009 in any way lyrically. Major dissapointment. DO NOT BUY. Download first, and then buy if you like club friendly underground (yeah, its an odd category, i kno).