Royce Da 5'9" has been a mainstay in the game, with many holding his talents in high esteem. Though his solo output has yielded excellent projects like Death Is Certain, Layers, & Book Of Ryan, fans hold a special appreciation for Royce and Em's joint collaborative project, Bad Meets Evil. Over the weekend, Royce Da 5'9" took a moment to sit down with MSNBC's Ari Melber, who proved himself a man of distinguished tastes. After speaking about Royce's emotional "Cocaine" song, his familial upbringing, and more, the conversation shifts to Eminem's role as a mentor.
Skip Bolen/WireImage
"I learned a lot from him," says Royce. "I learned that you don't have to be drunk and high to create music. I learned that you can do it as long as you want to do it. I learned there's no age limit. Seeing him go out there and rock those hundred thousand people, at his age, at the level he's doing it. He continues to teach me daily. Anytime I go around him I feel I learn something new."
When asked whether Em ever deviates from his "gruff" and "dour" persona, Royce answers accordingly. "He's got a lot of sides that I think he doesn't show," says Royce, respectful of his friend's privacy. "He's at the age now where he shows you what he wants you to see. It's important to control the narrative at our age."
As Ari Melber tends to cover politics, he makes sure to ask about Em's anti-Trump stance. "It meant everything to me," says Royce. "For an artist of his magnitude to use his platform to speak out against him and take that kind of gamble, that means everything to me as his friend. Let alone a black person in this business."
