Royce Da 5’9″ is in the midst of a stellar year, capping off the release of his  with a ridiculous new freestyle for the LA Leakers. Though his previous projects Book Of Ryan and the aforementioned Allegory find Royce in a more reflective and personal state, fans know that the man built his reputation by slaughtering instrumentals with an elite flow and merciless pen game. The LA Leakers have continuously given emcees a platform to flex their bars, and it’s no wonder they recently invited Nickle Nine to do exactly that for their hundredth freestyle special.

Off the bat, Royce opts to roll through some of his album’s hardest verses, kicking things off with “Thou Shall.” Though some might lament his decision to spit writtens from the album, it’s relatively simple to understand his reasoning; considering how many pages worth of rhymes he recently gave us, it’s no wonder he wants to show off some of his handiwork. But after the “warm-up” as he calls it, Royce comes through with some new fire, proving once again that he’s among the . 

“I’d rather watch Floyd May flash at a Gucci store a day, then work for an asshole that get mad at me asking for a raise,” he raps. “Cop a new cotton pickin’ Aston in grey just for the slaves, n***as current — Nickle was born and raised to destroy a wave.” Stepping comfortably into the role of O.G, it’s clear that Royce has no shortage of game in his playbook. The fact that he just gave us an entire album and still had some new bars for us should serve as an inspiration to any up-and-coming emcee looking for answers. The key to longevity is simple: git gud.