Content deleted Content added
DariuZzandor (talk | contribs) Cleaned up refs. |
→Critical reception: Updated information Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
| (18 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown) | |||
Line 8:
| recorded = <!-- Please source recording dates/years -->
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 68:04
| label = [[Entertainment One Music|eOne]]
Line 26:
| single3date = January 31, 2020
| single4 = Upside Down
| single4date =
}}
}}
'''''The Allegory''''' is the eighth studio album by American rapper [[Royce da 5'9"]]. It was released through [[eOne Music]] on February 21, 2020.<ref name="applemusic">{{cite web|title=The Allegory by Royce da 5'9" on Apple Music|url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/the-allegory/1496866635|website=[[Apple Music]]|
==Background==
On December 11, 2019, Royce da 5'9" revealed the album's title and cover art on [[Instagram]]. The cover art is a reflection of the album's politically inspired themes, containing lyrics that focus on societal issues, similar to some of Royce's previous work such as the track "America" from his 2016 album ''[[Layers (Royce da 5'9" album)|Layers]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Findlay|first=Mitch|title=Royce Da 5'9" Announces New Album "The Allegory"|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/royce-da-59-announces-new-album-the-allegory-news.98109.html|website=HotNewHipHop|date=December 12, 2019|access-date=March 13, 2021}}</ref>
Speaking about the album's title in an interview, Royce said "The goal was to make something that feels like a hip-hop album, but that has a lot of layers you may not necessarily get on the first time. It's really abstract in the way that it's constructed. It goes against all the normal standard laws and shit that everybody's creating right now. 'This can't be this length... This has to be longer... This has to be shorter... That has to be that way.' It's going in a different direction. It's the anti-everything."<ref name="player">{{cite web|last=Ju|first=Shirley|title=How Royce da 5'9" Made the "Anti-Everything" Album with 'The Allegory'|url=https://www.okayplayer.com/music/royce-da-59-the-allegory-interview.html|website=[[Okayplayer]]|access-date=March 13, 2021}}</ref>
Unlike Royce's previous album ''[[Book of Ryan]]'', the album did not necessarily focus on a central theme. He explained that "it's whatever it needs to be. Usually, when I do albums, there is a main theme. With [my last album] ''Book of Ryan'', there was a main theme. That was my focus when I was making the individual songs. But this album, I didn't want any song to be a focus of a theme. I wanted it to be: you're enjoying the grassroots elements of hip-hop, then out of nowhere there's a line or two that I could've said on a song three songs back. I wanted everything to be very splashes of paint all over the canvas. I wanted it to sound like Quentin Tarantino directed it. I didn't want it to be anything traditional. There's no one conceptual song. There's no one song that sums up anything, but everything together creates the complete concept of the ''Allegory''.<ref name="player"/>
''The Allegory'' was Royce da 5'9"'s first self-produced album. Speaking on the production process, he said "My integrity means everything to me. If I say I'm producing it, I want people to feel 'OK, Royce said he produced it, he produced it.' I don't want to be one of these guys, you hear about 'em later like 'oh, he didn’t really do that beat. I heard such and such did that beat.' You run the risk of that happening when you have people in the room. Because I realized how much of a luxury it is to have [[DJ Premier]] sitting in a room or [[Denaun Porter|Mr. Porter]] sitting in a room. To the naked eye, why would he be there? Unless he's doing something. If he wasn't doing anything, I didn't have him around this time. Like, for Book of Ryan, I'd have [Mr. Porter] around because I love his creative input. But with this album, I shied away from even having any of those guys around. Because I don't want them to hold my hand."<ref name="player"/>
==Singles and promotion==
The lead single, "Black Savage" featuring [[Sy Ari da Kid]], White Gold, [[Cyhi the Prynce]], and [[T.I.]], was released on November 15, 2019. The song was released as part of [[Jay-Z]]'s "Inspire Change" campaign,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Royce da 5'9" Drops "Black Savage" For Jay-Z's Inspire Change Campaign: Stream|url=https://www.vibe.com/2019/11/royce-da-5-black-savage-ti-cyhi-the-prynce-sy-ari-da-kid-white-gold|date=November 14, 2019|website=Vibe|access-date=May 4, 2020}}</ref> and its music video premiered on November 14, 2019. The second single, "Overcomer" featuring [[Westside Gunn]], was released on January 17, 2020, along with a music video. The third single, "I Don't Age", was released on January 31, 2020. The album's final single, "Upside Down" featuring Ashley Sorrell and [[Benny the Butcher]], was released on February 7, 2020. The music video was released the same day.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Saponara|first=Michael|title=Royce Da 5'9" Plays Pastor With Benny The Butcher for Blunt 'Upside Down' Video: Premiere|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8550395/royce-da-59-upside-down-video|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=February 7, 2020|access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref>
The music video for "I Don't Age" was released on February 23, 2021, and was directed by Joe LeFleur.<ref>{{cite web|title=Watch Royce da 5'9" Flex His Skills in "I Don't Age" Video|url=https://www.complex.com/music/royce-da-59-i-dont-age-video|website=[[Complex Networks|Complex]]|date=February 24, 2021|access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref> A music video for "Hero", featuring White Gold and directed by Lanfia, was released on March 4, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|title=Royce Da 5'9" Premieres Video For His Track "Hero" Featuring White Gold|url=https://allraps.com/royce-da-59-premieres-video-for-his-track-hero-featuring-white-gold/|website=Allraps.com|date=March 6, 2021|access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref>
On March 6, 2020, Royce da 5'9" announced ''The Allegory'' US Tour to promote the album, which included dates from April 21 to May 20, 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=Royce Da 5'9" announces 'The Allegory' US Tour|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/royce-da-59-announces-the-allegory-us-tour/|website=Brooklyn Vegan|date=March 10, 2020|access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref> However, the tour was postponed due to the ongoing [[COVID-19 pandemic]].
==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| MC = 79/100<ref name="
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="AM">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-allegory-mw0003340099|title=The Allegory - Royce da 5'9
| rev2 = ''[[Exclaim!]]''
| rev2score = 9/10<ref name="Exclaim">{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/royce_59-the_allegory|title=Royce 5'9" The Allegory|last=Mullin|first=Kyle|date=February 18, 2020|website=[[Exclaim!]]|
| rev3 = ''[[
| rev3score =
| rev4 = ''[[
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5
| rev5 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev5score = 5.8/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/royce-59-the-allegory/|title=Royce 5'9": The Allegory Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Balfour|first=Jay|date=February 27, 2020|access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="QIA">{{Cite web|last=Garner|first=George|date=March 2020|title=Q Magazine - March 2020 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming|url=https://archive.org/details/2020-03-01-q-magazine/page/119/mode/2up|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=August 2, 2020|website=Internet Archive|language=en}}</ref>
| rev7 = RapReviews
| rev7score = 7/10<ref name="RR">{{Cite web|last=Shackleford|first=Sy|date=March 10, 2020|title=Royce Da 5'9" :: The Allegory – RapReviews|url=http://www.rapreviews.com/2020/03/royce-da-59-the-allegory/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=August 2, 2020|website=www.rapreviews.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
}}
''The Allegory'' received
Kyle Mullin of ''[[Exclaim!]]'' praised the album saying, "That's right: sonically, thematically, lyrically — on every level, Royce gives ''The Allegory'' his all. And the result is the best LP yet in his 20-year-strong career".<ref name="Exclaim"/> ''[[HipHopDX]]'' critic Kevin Cortez stated, "The Allegory plays out as Royce's most consolidated offering yet. A definite career high-point for a rapper whose résumé spans over 20 years".<ref name="HHDX"/> [[AllMusic]]'s Neil Z. Young said, "Intense and thrilling, ''The Allegory'' is a powerful work with uncomfortably realistic and poignant snapshots of American life that linger long after the last song has finished".<ref name="AM"/> Will Lavin of ''[[NME]]'' said, "Royce's 2018 album ''[[Book of Ryan]]'' was always going to be a tough act to follow, but ''The Allegory'' stands up as an accomplished body of work, packed full of poetic intricacies and life lessons, soundtracked by the sound of [[Detroit]]; it will likely end up on the majority of 2020 end-of-year rap lists".<ref name="NME"/> George Garner of ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' said, "At 22 tracks - including a spoken interlude by [[Eminem]] - there's a lot to digest here. But, crucially, a lot worth digesting".<ref name="QIA"/> RapReviews.com writer Sy Shackleford said, "While handling all of the [[Hip hop production|production]] himself is a valiant effort, it's evident that Royce had a wobbly experience with it in that it isn't fully consistent. Even so, ''The Allegory'' is another solid effort from the Detroit rhyme sayer".<ref name="RR"/>
In a mixed review, Jay Balfour of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' wrote: "His beats are generally chunky sample flips and simple loops, but he also has an ear for a good sound. But if you're listening to a Royce album it's because you want to hear the guy rap. To his credit, Royce has the rare effect of a rapper's extreme technical ability making him seem limber instead of rigid".<ref name="Pitchfork"/>
At the [[63rd Annual Grammy Awards]], ''The Allegory'' received a nomination for the [[Grammy Award for Best Rap Album]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 24, 2020|title=2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2021-grammys-complete-nominees-list|access-date=December 14, 2020|website=GRAMMY.com|language=en}}</ref>
==Track listing==
Line 131 ⟶ 158:
| title18 = Black Savage
| note18 = featuring [[Sy Ari Da Kid|Sy Ari da Kid]], White Gold, [[Cyhi the Prynce]] and [[T.I.]]
| writer18 = {{hlist|R. Montgomery|[[Sy Ari Da Kid|Sy Ari Brockington]]|H. Amarr|Bobby Yewah|[[Cyhi the Prynce|Cydel Charles Young]]|[[T.I.|Clifford Harris]]}}
| length18 = 4:43
Line 160 ⟶ 187:
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2020)
Line 171 ⟶ 198:
{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|32|artist=Royce da 5<!-- No ' -->9|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 3, 2020}}
|}
==References==
Line 179 ⟶ 203:
{{Royce da 5'9"}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allegory}}
[[Category:2020 albums]]
[[Category:Royce da 5'9" albums]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Albums produced by Symbolyc One]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Royce da 5'9"]]
| |||