Royce da 5’9″ on Getting Gonged at Hip Hop Shop in Front of Eminem, Proof and Elzhi, + More

Hard Knock Tv’s Nick Huff Barili sits down with Royce da 5’9″ for in-depth interview about Royce’s life and new album Book of Ryan. The conversation starts with Royce describing what his childhood was like growing up in Detroit, including performing LL Cool J’s “Im Bad” around the house. Royce goes on to describe the first time he battled at the legendary Hip Hop Shop in front of Eminem, Elzhi and Proof (RIP) only to get gonged by the DJ while he was rapping. Royce built he confidence and craft by performing weekly at open mic night at Ebony Showcase which had less focus on battling and more on performing. It was while he was performing there that he started to realize that he wanted to Rap as a career. Part 1 of the interview ends with Royce breaking down the events that inspired him to write the song Tabernacle. In the same day that Royce went to the hospital for the birth of his first son he found out that his grandma was also in the hospital fighting for her life after an accident. Royce had to leave the hospital because he had a show that night which is when he met Eminem. After coming back to the hospital to find out his grandma had passed, while his son was born, Royce says that he learned that night that “God giveth and God taketh away”. Make sure to subscribe to www.youtube.com/hardknocktv to be the first to be notified when part 2 of Royce’s and Nick’s conversation goes live. For those of you that are always asking what equipment do we use, you can find it all here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hardknocktv