Dec 23, 2020

Royce Da 5’9” and Eminem are long-time collaborators, but the pair’s partnership moved up a whole new level when The Allegory rapper made his producer debut on Eminem’s revered studio album Music To Be Murdered By — a process which he labelled “a level of stress that’s fun.”

In a recent interview, Royce Da 5’9”, who produced “You Gon’ Learn” and Em’s lead MTBMB lead single “Darkness,” revealed that his work on his Bad Meets Evil collaborator’s solo studio albums relies on Eminem’s headspace. ”It’s always a new dynamic, because you never know what he’s gonna be on,” he said. “It all depends on what headspace he’s in, you know? You can do so many things and like, whatever he chooses to do, he’s going to be great at it. He’s going to strive to put his best foot forward. The competition level of just what you have to put into it in order to be able to coexist from a competitive perspective is distressing. I mean, that’s pretty much what my experience is like whenever I’m working with him. I’m a new producer, so having to — producing his first single is stressful, because, like, it’s on the same album as a Dr. Dre beat.”

“So it’s just a level of stress that’s fun,” he continued, adding, “And I’m up for that challenge. But it’s definitely on a different mind frame. And then like, with those beasts that I gave him for that album, that was my first time working with somebody where when I come around, I have to find out where I fit, and occupy that space, and not go past that. You know? Because that’s his ship. I’m just here to help. So I’m just here to do my part. Actually, I didn’t even get summoned here to help. I’m just here as a friend. And I’m playing him stuff, and he’s liking it. So like, now I got to just adapt to that.”