Ryan Montgomery (born July 5, 1977), better known by his stage name Royce Da 5'9", is a Detroit rapper. He is known for his early association with Eminem and subsequent solo career, recording primarily with DJ Premier, Nottz and Carlos "6 July" Broady, as well as ghostwriting for the likes of P. Diddy and Dr. Dre. Royce was one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with Eminem and currently a member of hip hop group Slaughterhouse.

Early acclaim

Ryan Montgomery, born and raised on the West Side of Detroit, Michigan in the W. McNichols & Wyoming Ave. area, moved to Oak Park, Michigan when he was 10 years old, later acquiring the nickname "Royce" during highschool after wearing a Turkish link chain with an R pendant resembling the Rolls Royce symbol. He began rapping at 18, influenced mainly by Ras Kass and Redman. He signed his first deal in 1998 with Tommy Boy Records, after Tommy Boy Records shut down, he signed a deal with Columbia Records where he started recording an album called Rock City, referring to Detroit's former status as home to Motown Records. When the project was heavily bootlegged, Royce left the label for Koch Records to re-record some of the album, eventually releasing it in 2002 as Rock City (Version 2.0). While the album didn't sell very well, the DJ Premier-produced single "Boom" gained 5'9" some underground recognition and eventually resulted in the two working together more closely.

Through his manager, Royce was introduced to Eminem at a show in 1997, and the two formed a working relationship; they formed up as a duo, Bad Meets Evil, and released several tracks together. Royce appeared on Eminem's debut studio album The Slim Shady LP, in which he was featured on a song called "Bad Meets Evil". Royce and Eminem also released a track called "Renegades", from which Royce's vocals would later be replaced with Jay-Z's on the latter's The Blueprint. Through Eminem, Royce would also be introduced to both Dr. Dre and execs at Game Recordings. After his manager revealed that Royce was involved in writing the tracks "The Message" and an original version of "Xxplosive" for Dre's 2001 (entitled "Way I Be Pimping"), Dre requested that Royce cut ties with his manager. Royce refused to fire his manager and his relationship with Dre ended.

Feud with D12

Royce had a falling-out with Eminem's Hip-Hop group D12, including mutual friend and group member Proof. This resulted in a drawn-out, public rivalry between the rapper and five of the six members, with Royce releasing three diss tracks aimed at the group. The first diss track, "Shit On You", was recorded over D12's "Shit On You" beat, and mainly attacked group member Bizarre. "Malcolm X" was the second diss track, which featured Tre Little. D12 responded with "Smack Down" which was recorded over 50 Cent's "Back Down" instrumental. Proof also recorded a diss track entitled "Many Men." This was recorded over 50 Cent's "Many Men (Wish Death)" instrumental. Proof later released another diss with The Purple Gang. The track is referred to as "Beef Is Ova", and is much more hard-hitting than the first diss. Royce responded with his third diss track, which was recorded over 50 Cent's "In da Club" instrumental. The feud ended later and Royce was featured in a mixtape of D12 released in 2008 called "Return Of the Dozen". They also went on tour in Europe and Canada together.





















Solo work

2003 saw Royce link up more fully with Game Recordings. Earlier, he had recorded several tracks for the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto III, released in 2001. The in-game radio station, Game Radio FM, prominently featured Royce's "I'm The King", an Alchemist-produced solo track that (along with the publicized beef) helped elevate Royce's name beyond his association with Eminem. In 2004, he released his second and most critically successful album to date, Death is Certain, charting with another Premier-produced single, "Hip-Hop". Though many perceived it to be a dark and depressing album due to his alleged alcoholism and severed friendships, Royce has maintained it was simply his anger and passion showing through.

After the relative success of his sophomore effort, the MC put out a third solo project, Independent's Day, in 2005. This was met with less acclaim than either of his previous releases. During this time, the rivalry between Royce and former friend Proof reached a boiling point in the streets of Detroit, on an occasion where the two rappers drew guns; they were subsequently arrested, and left to work out their differences while spending the night in neighboring cells in jail. Though the MC had planned other projects involving Nottz and his former crew, D-Elite, these were cut short after a sentencing to one year in prison for a DUI.

Release from prison

After his release in 2007, Royce went on to link up heavily with DJ Premier and Statik Selektah, putting out the mixtape The Bar Exam, an internet release which was critically acclaimed. He also announced an album with Premier; in an interview with Elemental Magazine, Royce stated that, contrary to rumors, Preem would not be producing the entirety of his upcoming album, but will be overseeing the project as Executive Producer, handpicking all of the beats. Following The Bar Exam, Royce wrote the single for Diddy's album Press Play, "Tell Me". Following this, the producer expressed interest in signing the lyricist to Bad Boy; Nas has also stated that he would like to sign Royce to his Def Jam imprint, The Jones Experience. Neither of these deals, however, materialized.

In early '08 Montgomery confirmed that he has officially resolved misunderstandings between himself and Eminem. Em told Royce that he has "some of the best shit recorded right now that he's ever done in his life." He explained that a recording session between the two has yet to take place, despite rumors about a reunion track produced by DJ Premier. 5'9" digitally released The Bar Exam 2 with DJ Green Lantern later in the year, as well as a retail version of the mixtape, called The Album; the projects featured production from Green Lantern, 9th Wonder, Premier and 6 July, among others. Later worked on his Premier-assisted retail release, Street Hop, the lead single of which was "Shake This", also produced by DJ Premier. The video to the song circulated the internet, and the project was released 20 October 2009. The album was well received by critics.






















Slaughterhouse

Joe Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Nino Bless for a track titled "Slaughterhouse" on his digital release, Halfway House. Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a super-group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after the first song they made together. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, building a buzz for their self-titled album, which was released through E1 on August 11, 2009.[11] The album features production from The Alchemist (producer), DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter, Streetrunner, plus guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K. Young, and The New Royales. Royce is currently in talks to sign with Shady Records, along with the other members of Slaughterhouse; recently he has stated several times that the deal will be wrapping up within the next few weeks. The members of Slaughterhouse were seen in the music video for the song "Forever". In addition, he, Eminem and Shady/Aftermath producer Mr. Porter made an appearance on radio host Tim Westwood's show for a freestyle session.

Discography

Solo albums

* Rock City (2002)
* Death Is Certain (2004)
* Independent's Day (2005)
* Street Hop (2009)

Collaboration albums

* Slaughterhouse (with Slaughterhouse) (2009)

Extended plays

* The Revival EP (2009)

Mixtapes & compilation albums

* Bad Meets Evil (1999)
* Build & Destroy (2003)
* M.I.C.: Make It Count (2004)
* The Bar Exam (2007)
* The Bar Exam 2 (2008)
* The Bar Exam 2: The Album (2008)
* The Bar Exam 3: The Most Interesting Man (2010)

 

Dominick Wickliffe, better known by his stage name Crooked I, is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. Crooked I is currently CEO of his own record labels, Dynasty Entertainment and C.O.B. Digital as well as Senior Vice President of Treacherous Records. Before starting his own label, he was also signed to Virgin Records and Death Row Records.

Career

19th Street Era

Around the age of seventeen, Crooked I started an independent record company called Muscle Records with professional football players also from Long Beach, Chucky Miller and Leonard Russell. It's not known how many songs were recorded, and the music recorded during this period still remains unreleased to this day. This is when he caught the attention of Noo Trybe/Virgin Records, and landed his first record deal in 1995.

Crooked I originally got his start appearing on compilations released by Big C-Style's record label, 19th Street Records, such as 19th Street LBC Compilation and Straight Outta Cali. He also appeared on the soundtracks to movies such as Ride and Caught Up, where he collaborated with Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tha Eastsidaz, and The Luniz. At the time, Crooked I was still signed under Noo Trybe/Virgin Records, who handled distribution for 19th Street Records. Business was going good, but for unknown reasons, Virgin Records decided to get rid of their urban division, otherwise known as Noo Trybe, and Crooked I was out of a record deal.

Wickliffe was later contacted by Big C-Style and Daz Dillinger to form DPG Records, which was originally going to be a sub-label under Death Row Records at the time. Crooked was going to be 20% owner of the label, and the first act released as well.Daz left Death Row Records to run DPG Records independently, but rather than go with Daz, Crooked was trying to figure out his options.

Crooked I also had talks of signing to Dr. Dre's Aftermath imprint, but Dre wanted to release Chronic 2001 and Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP before releasing Crooked. He also had talks with other major record labels who wanted to sign him, but they too were waiting for Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001 album to be released before they would consider signing another West Coast MC. It was around this time that Crooked I re-negotiated the original deal he had with DPG Records/Death Row Records as a solo artist deal with just Death Row Records.
























Death Row's Second Dynasty

While on Death Row, Crooked I appeared on a number of compilations, such as Too Gangsta For Radio and Dysfunktional Family, and appeared on various releases, such as Tha Dogg Pound's 2002, Ja Rule's The Last Temptation, and 2Pac's Nu-Mixx Klazzics. He also recorded two albums, Untouchable and Say Hi To The Bad Guy, both of which were unreleased due to various label issues and industry politics. He did manage to release a mixtape along with Death Row's then in-house producer, Darren Vegas, called Westcoasanostra Vol. 1 in the Spring of 2003.

The Start of a New Dynasty

By 2004, Crooked I's album had not been released, Suge Knight was constantly in and out of jail, and Crooked I's contract had expired by November 2003[7][8]. He left Death Row in early 2004 to start his own label, Dynasty Entertainment.It wasn't long after that when Crooked I signed a distribution deal with Treacherous Records/Universal[8], but more legal trouble from Death Row surfaced, and Crooked I had to stop production for his then titled album, Mama's Boy, which was actually going to be the name of Crooked's second release under Death Row Records. Later on the title of the album changed to Mama's Boy Got a Loaded Gun. In the meantime, Crooked I released the online mixtape, Young Boss Vol. 1 through his official website. The mixtape received critical acclaim throughout the underground Hip-Hop circuit, garnering an impressive "XL" rating by the Hip-Hop publication, XXL Magazine.

After the legal matters settled, Crooked began recording again, and prepping the release of his documentary Life After Death Row. He appeared on compilations such as Yukmouth's United Ghettos of America Vol. 2, Sway & King Tech's Back 2 Basics, and on fellow Treacherous Records label mate K. Young's debut album, Learn How To Love. In 2005, the name of Crooked's debut album changed to Boss Music, and he created a buzz with the song, "Boom Boom Clap" in the summer of 2005. He also recorded two songs with producer Scott Storch, "Cali Boyz" and "You're So Bad". In 2006, he released his heavily anticipated mixtape, Young Boss Vol. 2 hosted by DJ Skee, and his DVD, Life After Death Row, followed later that Fall.

Hip-Hop Weekly era

Crooked I started the Hip-Hop Weekly series via the internet. Every seven days he released a new track over various hip-hop beats of old and new instrumentals. His ability to personally connect with his fans through his Hip-Hop Weekly series is evident since he would fulfill beat selection requests as well as give shout-outs over any given track to fans who requested it via his MySpace page. The Hip-Hop Weekly series began on April 4, 2007 and ended on April 3, 2008. Wickliffe generated so much of a buzz with the Hip-Hop Weekly series that he was featured on the cover of the December/2007 issue of XXL (magazine) for a second time, this time as part of XXL's Freshmen 10.

Crooked I, along with DJ Felli Fel and DJ Nik Bean, released St. Valentine's Day Bossacre on February 14, 2008. Although it's called a mixtape, it consists of all new tracks by Crooked I, much like Young Boss Vol. 2, and boasts guest appearances by Royce Da 5'9", and Roscoe Umali, with production from DJ Felli Fel, Rick Rock, Komplex, and MG. The February 2008 issue of Ozone West reviewed St. Valentine's Day Bossacre and rated it 4 slaps out of 5.

Two more mixtapes were released in 2008 by Crooked I, The Block Obama: Hood Politics and Block Obama II. The Block Obama was originally going to be hosted by DJ Whoo Kid and DJ Strong, but ended up being released un-tagged without a DJ, and for free download on the internet. Block Obama II was released on the day of the 2008 Presidential election, this time for sale on CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, and other online retailers. Block Obama II also boasts guest appearances from Dynasty Entertainment artists Horse Shoe G.A.N.G. and Sauce The Boss, in addition to Knoc-turn'al and production by Jim Gettum, Komplex, and Rick Rock.






















The Slaughterhouse era

Joe Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Nino Bless for a track titled "Slaughterhouse" on his digital release, Halfway House. Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a super-group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after this song. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, building a buzz for their self-titled album, which was released through E1 on August 11, 2009. The album features production from Alchemist, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter, Streetrunner, and guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K. Young, and The New Royales.

On February 27, 2009 in Long Beach, California, Crooked I was allegedly shot at during a conversation with a fan. The conflicting early media reports on the incident in the following hours initially left people worried and uncertain on his condition, but he has since confirmed to MTV News and other media that he's alive and, while mentally distracted, physically well. Crooked I has declined to further elaborate on the incident, citing where he's from its against the code of the streets.

On November 10, 2009, Crooked I released a digital-only solo EP, Mr. Pig Face Weapon Waist. “It’s a spin off of my Slaughterhouse alter ego,” he said of the odd title, “cause I come out on stage with a pig mask and a Dickie suit on.”The EP also boasts guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, K. Young, M.O.P., The Horseshoe G.A.N.G., and of course fellow Slaughterhouse members, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Royce Da 5'9". In addition to production from Komplex, Scram Jones, Streetrunner, Frequency, and P. Silva.

After briefly considering plans to release a full length Mr. Pig Face Weapon Waist LP in January of 2010, Crooked I revised his priorities and announced Million Dollar Story, to be released in 2010. Production for the album is to include contributions from DJ Khalil, The Alchemist, and newcomer Quest. In addition, Crooked I stated his intentions to get DJ Premier beats for the album.[21] As of August of 2010, Crooked I stated Million Dollar Story should be released in early 2011.

The new owners of Death Row Records, WIDEawake Entertainment, released a Crooked I album called Hood Star on June 15, 2010. It has 15 songs Wickliffe recorded while signed to the label, with guest appearances from Juvenile, Too Short, Kurupt, Danny Boy, Ray J, Sisqo, and others.

On August 17, 2010, Crooked I released yet another EP, titled Planet C.O.B. Vol. 1, which features production from Rick Rock, Komplex, and more.
Artists under Dynasty Entertainment

* Crooked I
* The Horseshoe G.A.N.G. (Members: Demitrius Capone, Julius Luciano, Kenny Siegel, and Andrew "Dice" Dinero)
* On One Squad (Members: Sauce Tha Boss & Adolf)

Producers

* Jim Gittum
* Komplex

Discography

Solo albums

* 2000: Untouchable (Unreleased)
* 2002: Say Hi To The Bad Guy (Unreleased)
* 2010: Hood Star

Collaboration albums

* 2009: Slaughterhouse (with Slaughterhouse)

EP's

* 2008: Block Obama II
* 2009: Mr. Pigface Weapon Waist
* 2010: Planet C.O.B. Vol. 1

Official Mixtapes

* 2003: Westcoasanostra Vol. 1
* 2004: Young Boss Vol. 1
* 2006: Young Boss Vol. 2
* 2008: St. Valentine's Day Bossacre
* 2008: The Block Obama: Hood Politics

Crooked I talks to Hard Knock TV's Devi Dev about Eminem's new album, Slaughterhouse signing to Eminem's Shady Records, working on next Slaughterhouse album and his relationship to Suge Knight and Suge's Death Row Legacy. Plus Dev tries to get Crooked I to Freestyle.