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Album Review: Royce 5'9" - Layers

John Papadopoulos
StarStarStarHalf Star

"He could have recorded this in a week and it would still make you think."

More Royce da 5'9" Royce da 5'9" Profile

Although it's true that Layers is Royce 5'9"'s (minus the "da") first full-length since 2011, he's been busier than ever since, having released albums with Eminem, DJ Premier and as one member of the rap supergroup Slaughterhouse.

Opener Tabernacle sets the tone: Royce raps about his grandmother dying as a result of a car accident in the same hospital that his first son was born in, and, tragically, on the same day. Suspicions about the tossed-off quality of some of the tracks are confirmed when he drops references to very recent events the world of rap and elsewhere, but he could have recorded this in a week and it would still make you think.