In pre-release interviews,
Royce da 5'9" laid out a perfect description of his style; a Detroit kid brought up on
Nas whose head was sent spinning once
Eminem came around. Three years in the making -- 12 months in prison for a DUI being part of the problem --
Street Hop often has a solid foundation that's absolutely classic in feel, but it also features those quirky, sick-o rhymes that are distinctly post-Shady. "I mix a between
Chris Brown and Chris Jericho/Where's your daughter?" is an unsettling bit from the freaky track "Street Hop 2010" which goes on to reference Marlon Brando's Apache friend picking up his Oscar right before rattling off some psycho-babble about "syphilis nun chucks" and other bizarre whatnot. Hard to believe the convincing R&B stunner, "Thing for Your Girlfriend," could follow with all its radio-friendly polish, while elsewhere, "New Money" brings reminders of Roc-A-Fella's heyday with its bright and grand Streetrunner production. The minimal "Soldier" features an innovative Frequency beat with a bit of
Rick Rubin-styled crunch which
Royce takes in another direction, going the
Kool Keith route and hurling insults like "Your mama got a glass eye/With a fish in it." "The Warriors" takes the album down a dark alley with some help from
Royce's group
Slaughterhouse, and when
Trick Trick shows up for the terrorizing "Gangsta" it's as cold and unforgiving as the gangsta albums of yore. If there's a complaint to be made it is that
Street Hop's long road to completion is felt in that this diverse set of songs just barely hangs together. Still, its one highlight after another, and executive producer
DJ Premier has done a decent job with the flow, since any shuffling results in an experience that's much less sane. Think of
Street Hop as an album full of surprises and
Royce as the talented, unpredictable rapper at the center of it all. ~ David Jeffries