Instagram Live Easter Egg

5.6.20

Conway the Machine, Royce Da 5’9, DJ Green Lantern

By now everyone has tried their go at an Instagram Live since quarantine began. Whether you’re DJing, performing, doing a live workout, or just chatting. My preferred Instagram Live is a DJ battle with some pauses to tell some great stories about the making of the hits being played. This Live in particular, I accidentally entered. I swear, I was clicking out of Instagram, and all of a sudden I was viewing Royce Da 5’9 on DJ Green Lantern’s Live.

DJ Green Lantern signed to Eminem to be the official DJ of Shady Records, in 2002 after DJ Head stepped down. He has since been on tour with Griselda, he has taken his shot at producing music, and has a few hits under his belt, such as Ludacris ‘Number One Spot’ and Busta Rhymes ‘In the Ghetto.’ Royce being a member of Shady, and one of the closest people to Eminem that the world knows, it seems like an organic chat, though it was set up like an interview.

Sometimes these kind of lives where the two are just talking and answering questions from the fans gets old real quick. On the contrary, I found this conversation to be so interesting, and honestly pretty funny, so I am thrilled to recap all that went down.

One of my favorite parts about the discussion was reminiscing of stories with Slaughterhouse. There are many songs that speak on the separation of the group. Rumors and negative judgements were made by certain members (cough, cough, Joe Budden) that the rest of the group did not agree with. Even when they were together, certain situations lead consumers to believe they did not like each other and would not be able to perform together. Overall, these men have gone their separate ways. Addressed to the public in 2018, which was an entire four years after the last release from the group, ‘House Rules.’

When talking about what it was like performing with Slaughterhouse, Royce almost lit up in the face. It was so amazing to see excitement in this man’s face, who is usually so serious, and about something that unfortunately no longer exists. Royce repeatedly explains that performing with Slaughterhouse was the most fun shows of his life. He did share that everyone was messed up during those times, on whatever they were on, so they were care-free and simply having a good time. DJ Green Lantern asked if it were ever difficult with several other men on stage, and if there were ever fights for space or talking during a performance. Without hesitation, Royce explained they never went through that at all. They were all just having a ball. He mentioned that in every group, there is usually the one guy that tries to hold back the fun and get everyone to be serious. During the Slaughterhouse era, they did not have one of those people. They were all equally having a great time.

Another reason why Royce loved performing with Slaughterhouse, is because he considered a “cheat” tour. Royce never had to be prepared for anything, such as knowing where to go or when to arrive, etc. There were plenty of other people who would take care of the logistics, so he could just chill and follow along. He called out Crooked I, for being the one member of the group who would have a hard time on the tours. This was because, his verses were so complex, that no one else in the group knew them. Then, Crooked I would should up to the shows super last minute and drunk, and they’d all just have to wing it. Sometimes he would forget his verse, and no one else knew the verse, so they would just have to improvise. Apparently this was something the group got really good at accomplishing while performing together. Royce said it was much easier to improvise while you’re on stage with a group, probably intoxicated, and not having to much of a care. When you mess up, it’s all about how you play off. Having several other people next to you to spark a chat with and have your back, seems like the best scenario for these situations.

DJ Green Lantern asked if we knew the tour term “oil spotted.” Royce wasn’t sure of the slang term either, but oil spotted is when you’re on a tour bus, you arrive at the gas station, and you run inside without anyone seeing you leave the bus. Maybe you take a bit too long in the store, and the bus leaves without you. There you are, staring at the oil pumps, trying to figure out what on earth just happened. Royce said this never happened to him, and he actually makes sure that all his bus drivers know him very well, and that they speak consistently so that this does not happen to him. However, he tells us about the time that this did happen to Joell Ortiz. Apparently everyone was on the bus, and they had left Joell behind. Instead of calling Royce or the other guys, Joell called his manager who was back home in New York. Royce said he knew how mad Joell was going to be, and stayed away from him once they finally went back to pick him up.

When asked about the craziest thing that has ever happened to Royce on tour, I heard something that I was not expecting at all. The story began with “there were these woman” and you think you know where it is going, but it takes a complete left turn that never comes back around. Apparently, Royce and his crew were packing up the bus in the lobby of a hotel, early one morning getting ready to leave. Someone had stolen his bag, and multiple others. Royce had a $50,000 chain in that bag, along with a computer and hard-drive which included all the final tracks to an upcoming album. Eventually, there was a phone call from the woman that were extremely angry, and they had Royce’s bags. Basically, Royce said you can keep everything I just need that laptop and hard-drive back. Somehow, he got the items back, and still isn’t sure why those ladies were so angry. So he did get the bags back, but as I was expecting some sort of ransom, the ladies did not ask for anything, to our knowledge.

We also hear some fun stories from DJ Green Lantern. He told us about one time that he was on tour with Griselda. They had a show one night in Chicago, and the next night was in Detroit. Of course, they decided to take the quick drive instead of flying, but had a night to kill before Westside Gunn had the room-blocks. So, Griselda decided they could just pull up at Royce’s studio and crash for the night. Apparently, there were thirty-four men that night that ended up crashing on the floor of the studio. Green Lantern says he stole the mic room to himself, but nonetheless, he was sleeping on the floor. I kind of wondered if Royce knew about thirty-four men coming and crashing on the floors of his studio. However, he just laughed and said that sounds about right, happens all the time.

As the Live continues, Green Lantern pulls some questions for the fans. The first one asks about Royce’s producing. Royce has been an amazing lyricist for over twenty years now, and has just recently began producing music. He produced a number of songs on Eminem’s ‘Music to be Murdered By,’ and is constantly posting new beats on his Instagram page asking viewers who should rap over his new beat. We learned that Royce randomly bought a drum machine one day, just to mess around, and it has turned into something much larger. He says he is just as into producing now, as he was with rapping when he first began writing. Royce also shared stories about how he would FaceTime with other producers for hours on end, to try to learn how to do something new with his machines. Being super close with Denaun Porter, Royce has a really great mentor at any time of day. Green Lantern asked if Royce would be open to producing full albums. To that, Royce responded that he actually already produced an entire album for Crooked I and his brothers group, Family Bvsiness, and that he is excited to do more.

So, I will definitely be looking forward to hearing the new Family Bvsiness album once that drops. DJ Green Lantern closed out saying he is hoping to do more of these Lives, which he is entitling ‘The Backstage Pass.’ Additionally, on Saturday at 9PM EST, just after the Erykah Badu and Jill Scott battle, DJ Green Lantern will go live for a few hours mixing some hits to keep our Saturday nights rolling.