Royce da 5’9″ – Second Place (produced by DJ Premier).

“Second Place” has everything that Hell: The Sequel should have had: a dope beat and spectacular, often hilarious, rhymes. Royce can rap circles around most anyone, but he gets sidetracked with rageaholic Slaughterhouse tirades that are less impressive on every listen. DJ Premier’s low-profile beat keeps Royce in a zone where he can make Talladega Nights references amidst an amazing verse. Royce told Bootleg Kev that Premo is remixing the song “Writer’s Block” from the EP. If anyone can salvage some of that Bad Meets Evil bluster, it’s Premo.