''Death Is Certain'' is the second studio album by American rapper Royce da 5'9". It was released on February 24, 2004, through Koch Records. Recording sessions took place from December 2002 to January 2004 at Isolation Records, at Nation Studios in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and at MPA Studios. The majority of the album's production was handled by Carlos "6 July" Broady of

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...

production team The Hitmen. Other producers contributed to the album are Jason "Asar" Qualls, Ty Fyffe, Rob "Reef" Tewlow, Mark Bassin, and DJ Premier, who produced the album's lead single "

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

". It features guest appearances from Ingrid Smalls, 6 July, Cha Cha and Cutty Mack. The album peaked at number 161 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 39 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

Background

Released two years after his official debut '' Rock City'', Royce spent his two-year hiatus entangled in a beef with fellow Detroit natives and former allies, D12. Due in part to a battle with depression, ''Death Is Certain'' features a sound considerably darker than that heard on his debut. Royce's new sound garnered him considerable acclaim for the album, with most critics calling ''Death Is Certain'' his strongest effort. The album is also noted by many listeners to contain both

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

and The Notorious B.I.G. influences in Royce's lyrics. Later, Royce said he can't listen to the album because it takes him "to a dark place and a dark time". About the process during the production of it: "I like the fact that album happened. It taught me a lot about the creative process. I had no choice but to be honest. I didn't go into that album the way I go into albums now, where I know exactly what I need to be doing as an artist. I know not to reach for anything, to just be myself. To be honest and be transparent, that's what I like to do. That's what I feel will resonate the best. That's what I did with ''Death Is Certain'', but I didn't plan to. It was like I was stuck in that mode. I was going through so much. We actually did that album, me and Six July, we did that album in like two weeks. Six of those songs I did within the first couple of days. That was the first batch of beats he played me. I remember they went to the titty bar, and I was just writing all of them. Knocking them down real quick. It was like, so much on my mind, I don't even think I was focused on being super lyrical. aughsI was just spilling. Just spilling shit. And I was super drunk".

Critical reception

''Death Is Certain'' was met with generally positive reviews. At Album of the Year, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 70, based on four reviews.

Royce Da 5'9"'s thoughts on the album

In an interview, Royce da 5'9" shares that revisiting Death Is Certain is tough for him: "My second time, I can't listen to that at all. It takes me back to a dark place and a dark time." He emphasizes the rawness of the album, explaining, "I was just spilling shit. And I was super drunk." The album was created in a rushed, almost cathartic manner, with most of it written in just two weeks. He didn't approach it with the same level of planning he does now, stating, "I didn't go into that album the way I go into albums now, where I know exactly what I need to be doing as an artist." Despite its success, he doesn't find it frustrating that the album became so revered. Instead, he reflects, "It taught me a lot about the creative process. I had no choice but to be honest." For him, "Most of the shit I know now, I learned from making mistakes." Royce sees the album as a turning point, where his vulnerability became his strength.https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/237171-royce-da-59-talks-bad-meets-evil-chemistry-and-the-dark-legacy-of-death-is-certain-news

Track listing

;Sample credits *"Regardless" samples " Love and Happiness" by Al Green and contains re-sung elements of " Lose Yourself" by

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

*"Hip Hop" samples "Overture" by

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

*"I & Me" contains re-sung elements of "Against All Odds" by

*"T.O.D.A.Y." samples "Ike's Mood 1" by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

and contains re-sung elements of "B.I.G. Interlude" by The Notorious B.I.G. *"Beef" contains re-sung elements of "What's Beef" by The Notorious B.I.G.

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2004 albums E1 Music albums Royce da 5'9" albums Albums produced by Ty Fyffe Albums produced by DJ Premier