Royce da 5'9" Headed to Prison

Instead of the 30 days typical for such offenses, the sentence was a full year in prison. On September 29, 2006, citing AllHipHop, the site reported the sentencing of Detroit rapper Ryan Montgomery, aka Royce da 5’9”. According to the report, the reason was a probation violation after he had been caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Oakland County. His lawyers therefore planned to appeal.

At the same time, the report looked ahead to Royce’s plans: a mixtape with Detroit’s DJ Butter later that same year and a solo album with DJ Premier.

Early Partner of Eminem, Stalled Solo Career

Royce da 5’9” was linked to Eminem early on; the two performed together as the duo Bad Meets Evil. His debut album Rock City was released in 2002. Disputes with parts of Eminem’s circle and several independent releases followed. In 2006, he was considered a technically strong rapper, but his career had never quite gotten off the ground.

First the Prison Sentence, Then the Late Breakthrough

Royce served his prison sentence and was released in 2007. Shortly thereafter, he released the mixtape The Bar Exam with DJ Premier and Statik Selektah. The announced collaboration with Premier, however, dragged on for years: it was not until 2014 that the two formed the duo PRhyme, which has since released two albums.

In between, he achieved his commercial breakthrough. With the group Slaughterhouse, albums followed starting in 2009, and in 2011 Bad Meets Evil returned: the EP Hell: The Sequel with Eminem debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In retrospect, the 2006 sentencing thus marks the low point before the most successful phase of his career.