Rapper Royce da 5'9" will premiere his highly-anticipated sixth studio album Layers sometime this year. So, how did the successful Slaughterhouse emcee get this far? With a little help and inspiration from hip-hop mentor, Eminem.
In a recent interview with Complex, the "Let's Grow" singer reveals that he stopped drinking alcohol thanks in large part to Slim Shady:
"That happened Sept.12, 2012. I like to call it a spiritual awakening. I just woke up one day and there [it] was... I felt like I was just up. I made the necessary phone calls. I called Marshall, and I said 'Yo, I'm stopping drinking. I'm not drinking no more.' He was like 'Dog, that's the realest thing you've ever said to me. Come home.'"
From there, the infamous "Rap God" found ways to check his friend into a hospital. Royce hasn't consumed an alcoholic beverage since. But it's still a struggle for him even today:
"It's been really challenging. From a creative standpoint, going to the studio and being used to taking a bottle in there with you, starting drinking and then thoughts just start hitting you... Now I go in there with nothing... Thoughts don't always hit me right away."
Royce also spoke about why he didn't sign with Dr. Dre, and how he sometimes regrets that decision made so many years ago:
"Sometimes I don't really regret it, because by saying that I'm basically saying that I regret where I'm at today, which couldn't be further than the truth... But sometimes I wonder what would have happened had I done that. What kind of music would I have been able to make? Because he was offering me a $250,000 budget and unlimited Dre beats and Tommy Boy was just offering me $1 million."
Obviously the Detroit native went with the money, but his career didn't suffer from it. Stay tuned as more details surrounding the album's upcoming release develop.
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