In early 2020, Royce Da 5'9" delivered his self-produced album The Allegory, a project that found the Detroit lyricist reflecting on sociopolitical themes more than ever before. Since then, Nickel has continued to hone his craft behind the boards, keeping busy in his Heaven Studios and compiling a folder of unreleased material.
Today, Royce was clearly in a generous mood, taking to Instagram to unleash up to seven new snippets. And while he didn't exactly confirm that a new album is on the way, it stands to reason that this material will wind up landing somewhere -- why not an official studio follow-up to The Allegory?
D Dipasupil/Getty Images
One track, presumably produced by S1, finds Royce penning a love letter to hip-hop over a bouncy banger. Another, seemingly titled "Holy Moly Moly Moly," finds Royce getting melodic over a soulful piano-driven instrumental; on this one, it seems as if he's experimenting with potential hooks and bridges. Another, which may be titled "Black Man," finds Royce firing off machine-gun bars over a dark staccato banger produced by Olympick Knox, as well as Aftermath alumnus Focus and Dem Jointz.
The second batch features a complete track, in which he pays homage to the late Sean Price and salutes his longtime collaborator Eminem over a percussive beat. The next is somewhat of a hard-hitting gothic banger, tentatively titled "I Do What I Do" -- rest assured, Royce is absolutely snapping on this one. Another is seemingly produced by Denaun Porter, who played a pivotal role in helping develop Royce's own beat-making skills in the early stages.
"Not exactly a pandemic bullet point but…Just varying layers," captions Royce, alongside yet another snippet. "The ideologies of a black man changes with the season." Last but not least, he queues up an eerie instrumental with the caption "Spooky Times," in which he tackles themes of crime and punishment over a minimalist build-up. Based on the entire collection, it seems as if Royce has the foundation for something incredible, as he appears to be at the top of his game on a technical level.
Check out the previews now, and sound off if you're liking the sound of what Royce has been cooking up in the studio.