Book of Ryan conveys a lot of pain, but Royce balances it with moments of nostalgia and encouragement.
Book Of Ryan continues a four-year, six-album streak of top-tier lyricism, with noted personal and artistic growth in the process.
For anyone who has been following his career since Rock City — and even those who have been following him since the Game Records days — Book of Ryan is a welcome origin story, an issue zero that leaves no stone unturned.
Through the album's 21 tracks, the 40-year-old rapper relays his life experiences—especially his low points—to his son, through masterful storytelling and lyricism that weaves heartbreaking stories peppered with wisdom, advice and reflection.
While the tracklist drags on a bit on Book of Ryan, the discussions of dysfunctional family life ("Power") and mental illness ("Strong Friend") are heavy and worthwhile topics. Royce doesn't sacrifice energy for message either.
This felt like a perfect merging of old school hip hop sounds with features that would cater to the present day rap scene. It was fun as hell to listen to and I wouldn't give up all hope on Eminem, I know Revival was terrible, but his verse on Caterpillar went hardddddddd. Also one of my favorite Logic verses ever on the remix.
By far Royce's best album. My biggest complaint is no Pusha verse. Royce gets more introspective than before and it works great.
When the best emcees since the turn of the century are discussed, the name of Royce Da 5'9" doesn't come up nearly enough. Book of Ryan is Royce's seventh solo studio album, and arguably his best yet. Production duties were taken care of by a wide array of producers, including Mr. Porter, S1, Boi-1da, Cool & Dre, DJ Khalil and Frank Dukes, among others - and the beats are dope across the board, serving as the perfect backdrop for Royce's lyrics. On Book Of Ryan, Royce is at his most ... read more
Royce's best album by some way. This is the album that I'd been expecting from Royce for all these years. a very personal album and imo should have won a grammy.
This is Eminem if he continued to quality he was at in the late 90's to early 2000s, straight bars and some incredibly touching tracks that make you wanna cry
Best: Boblo Boat, Caterpillar
Worst: none
1 | Intro 1:29 | 84 |
2 | Woke 1:32 | 90 |
3 | My Parallel (Skit) 1:09 | 91 |
4 | Caterpillar 4:43 feat. Eminem, King Green | 95 |
5 | God Speed 3:10 feat. Ashley Sorrell | 92 |
6 | Dumb 3:06 feat. WESTSIDE BOOGIE | 91 |
7 | Who Are You (Skit) 2:36 | 82 |
8 | Cocaine 3:33 | 94 |
9 | Life is Fair 2:47 | 90 |
10 | Boblo Boat 4:42 feat. J. Cole | 97 |
11 | Legendary 3:26 | 93 |
12 | Summer On Lock 3:44 | 91 |
13 | Amazing 3:44 feat. Melanie Rutherford | 93 |
14 | Outside 3:19 feat. Marsha Ambrosius, Robert Glasper | 91 |
15 | Power 6:42 | 96 |
16 | Protecting Ryan (Skit) 3:19 | 85 |
17 | Strong Friend 2:38 | 94 |
18 | Anything/Everything 2:10 | 88 |
19 | Stay Woke 3:15 feat. Ashley Sorrell | 93 |
20 | First Of The Month 4:21 feat. T-Pain, Chavis Chandler | 82 |
21 | Caterpillar (Remix) 5:11 feat. Logic, King Green | 55 |