"Rock City" is a song by American rapper Royce da 5'9", released as the third single from his debut album, '' Rock City (Version 2.0)'', which was released in 2002 through

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

(formerly "Koch Records") and

Game Recordings Game Recordings was a New York-based record label best known for its artists featured on the soundtrack of the video game '' Grand Theft Auto III''. Game Recordings artists included Royce da 5'9", Agallah, Sean Price, Pretty Ugly, Ilacoin, Nat ...

, after another record label had turned down his first version of the album. The song also features vocals from rapper Eminem, becoming Eminem's debut appearance on one of Royce's solo albums. The single was released on January 5, 2002, the same date as its same titled album was released. "Rock City" charted at #99 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart in 2002. Not counting

Bad Meets Evil Bad Meets Evil is an American hip hop duo composed of Detroit-based rappers Royce da 5'9" (Bad) and Eminem (Evil). Bad Meets Evil was formed in 1998, thanks to the duo's mutual friend, Proof. The group's name comes from the song "Bad Meets Evi ...

or Slaughterhouse songs, "Rock City" is Royce da 5'9"'s most successful single chart-wise.

Critical response

Bradley Torreano highlighted the song and wrote: "The rollicking hometown anthem "Rock City" includes Eminem on the snappy chorus, but the verses are pure Royce as he waxes philosophical his role in the Motor City scene." Afrikka of DX magazine was also positive: "Rock City" the first single off this album is just a straight banger. Featuring Eminem on the chorus, this beat will have you nodding. However, I must say that the remix that is present on this album is not as good. Because this is an Enhanced CD, you are privy to the original "Rock City" video and song; that's where it's at." Rap Reviews was lukewarm: "As the ticking and menacing Primo beat banged out Royce's street-smart punchlines coast to coast, the first version of "Rock City" was heavily anticipated by hungry rap head (...) Despite a brief push for the title track (wisely featuring Eminem) as the second single, "Rock City" was put on the shelf and both rapper and album went back for fine tuning." Vibe magazine called this song "hometown anthem."

Music video

Rock City music video was premiered on January 28, 2002. The music video for "Rock City" starts off with a view of a woman's house, she decides to put on a Royce da 5'9" record and have a peaceful cup of tea. She then almost spills her tea after the television turns on along with the noisy record starting, there is a news report called "Eyewitnessing News" and the reporter reports about so many people rushing to a hip hop performance where both Royce and Eminem are playing the song. The rest of the music video just shows Royce da 5'9" either driving around in his convertible car or at the performance place when he is rapping his verses. Eminem sings the chorus and only appears in the live performance scenes of the video. American rapper Proof from the rap group

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

, which is Eminem's group, can be seen near the end of the video.

Track listing

Chart positions

"'Rock City'" charted at #99 on the "US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Charts", #45 on the "Belgium Charts", #30 on the "Germany Charts", #44 on the "Sweden Charts" and #37 on the "Switzerland Charts" respectively.

References

External links

* {{Eminem singles 2002 singles Royce da 5'9" songs Eminem songs Songs written by Eminem Songs written by Royce da 5'9" MNRK Music Group singles