Detroit rapper Royce Da 5′ 9″ is the latest artist to take on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series, using the occasion to mark his eighth year of sobriety.
Royce’s instalment of series aired on Friday (September 10), consciously coinciding with National Recovery Month in the US.
The Grammy-nominated rapper was joined by vocalist Ashley Sorrell, backing singers and a band. They worked their way through ‘God Speed’ and ‘Anything/Everything’ from 2018’s ‘Book Of Ryan’, as well as 2016’s ‘Dead President Heads’ and 2001’s ‘Boom’.
Watch the performance below.
“This is a special moment for me,” Royce said. “This is the world-famous Tiny Desk, at the world-famous Heaven Studios. This is my sanctuary, this is where I spend all my time.”
Recommended
“I’m also celebrating eight years of sobriety. I decided that I didn’t want the game to chew me up and spit me out. I made a promise to myself; that I was going to leave this motherfucker with everything I came with.”
Royce released his latest album ‘The Allegory’ last year, which NME awarded four stars in a review.
“Royce’s 2018 album ‘Book of Ryan’ was always going to be a tough act to follow, but ‘The Allegory’ stands up as an accomplished body of work, packed full of poetic intricacies and life lessons, soundtracked by the sound of Detroit; it will likely end up on the majority of 2020 end-of-year rap lists,” said NME.
In addition to his solo work, the rapper is known for his work with Eminem as duo Bad Meets Evil, his project PRhyme with DJ Premier and rap supergroup Slaughterhouse, alongside Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Kxng Crooked.