Royce Da 5’9 is set to release his new album, Layers, in the middle of next month, but in the meantime he has decided to give fans a special treat by dropping a brand new mixtape to sate their appetites, titled Tabernacle: Trust The Shooter.
In the past two weeks, Royce has released a few tracks from the mixtape, which made fans who were already excited for Layers even more so. If these dope tracks were the ones not considered for the album, then the album should be something worth watching out for.
The mixtape features 12 new records and guest appearances from Smoke DZA, Styles P, Tiara, Westside Gunn, and more. The production side of things is handled by DJ Premier, Jahlil Beats, Araabmuzik, Nottz, Jake One, and Mr Porter.
In the track Which is Cool, Royce potentially takes a stab at Drake: “If you don’t write your own rhymes get offended, this is for you.” Royce recently spoke to XX, saying Drake having a ghostwriter took him out of the conversation as a top lyricist, but the reactions surprised him.
“Looking back at it in retrospect, it’s a new way of creating. I guess hip-hop is evolving a little slower than other genres and if this is what it’s evolving into, I accept it. I choose not to work like that. There’s a certain fulfilment I get from writing myself but I do understand going out and partying, staying in tune with what’s going on outside the booth while people are working inside the studio then coming back and A&R’ing the whole shit and producing the song, that’s a beastly ass way of working. I just get fulfilment out of writing.”
It’s clear Royce Da 5’9 has spent some time writing songs. Tabernacle: Trust The Shooter is available for free download via Datpiff.com “world premier” (I have to say it every time, I feel like DJ Khaled) and streaming below. Layers is registered to drop April 15 and is available for pre order via iTunes. The album is Royce’s first solo album since Success is Certain nearly five years.
Image: Datpiff