Today, July 5, is the birthday of lyrical acrobat Royce da 5'9," who now turns 41.

This Detroit-hailing MC is revered as one of the most talented lyricists in the game. With over 20 years in the business, Royce has always been known for his close relationship with Rap God Eminem as well as ghostwriting in the industry for the likes of Dr. Dre and Diddy. Royce has worked with some of the best MCs in the game including Pusha T, Black Thought, Joe Budden and more. Royce has been known to link up with some of hip-hop biggest names for a group effort. Royce met Em in 1997 in Detroit and the two soon formed the rap duo Bad Meets Evil. After a long drawn-out beef with Em's group D12 and a stint in jail, Royce came out and joined Joe Budden, Crooked I, and Joell Ortiz to form Slaughterhouse. In recent years, he's been testing his skills against DJ Premier beats as the duo PRhyme.

Though he's a seasoned vet in hip-hop, sometimes the wordsmith doesn't get all the credit he deserves.

"One of my layers is PRhyme, another is Slaughterhouse, another is Bad Meets Evil,” Royce said of the album when talking to XXL. “All of these different styles and sides of my creativity come out in different ways and different groups, and this is basically me peeling back all the layers and giving you every side of me as Royce da 5’9” the solo artist in 2016. This is the complete artist.”

In 2018, Royce made all of his fans happy with two new albums. The first was PHryme 2, the second joint LP from himself and the legendary DJ Premier. That one dropped in March. The second was his eagerly awaited Book of Ryan, which dropped a couple months later in May.

Congratulations and Happy Born Day to Royce 5'9"!

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