Last night [Thursday, March 24], Royce Da 5’9” hosted a listening party to share some sounds from his forthcoming album, Layers, with friends, fellow musicians and music industry associates alike.
The exclusive affair took place at One Art Space, an art gallery tucked away in the Tribeca area of Lower Manhattan. The spacious gallery is currently home to Hip Hop-influenced artwork by Andrew Thiele, making for a perfect background to showcase Royce’s newest music, this time as a solo artist.
Royce happily greeted those in attendance from behind his signature sunglasses while his DJ went through the album track-by-track in no specific order. Fellow Slaughterhouse member Joell Ortiz was in the building to show some love, alongside Pharaohe Monch and D-12 member Mr. Denaun Porter, who also executive produced the album.
The album, which has an April 15 release date includes the first track he wrote since getting sober four years ago. Titled “Tabernacle,” the track also doubles as the first single off the project alongside the title track, “Layers,” featuring Rick Ross and Pusha T, as well as “Pray” and “Wait.” Mr. Porter, DJ Khalil, Nottz and Jake One handle the production duties.
Judging from the reaction of those in attendance, Layers is 100 percent going to be the soundtrack of the summer. It’s always refreshing to be reassured some of the game’s favorite rappers are continuously raising the bar higher for themselves and luckily, for fans of Royce Da 5’9″, his best work just keeps getting better.
