Typically when one rapper mentions another rapper in a freestyle, it ends in tweets, memes, and weird, hypothetical cage matches, but put those itchy Twitter fingers away, because this one is all love

For those who may not be aware, the legendary emcee Royce Da 5’9″ is on a rampage, crushing every trap beat in sight and proving you can turn-up and still be lyrical in the process.  He started off the year, blessing DJ Khaled’s “I Got The Keys” beat like the Pope on Easter Sunday and has since continued his hot streak with “Wait a Minute (Freestyle)” and  “Beats Keep Callin’ (Freestyle).”

What amazes me most about Royce is how loaded his bars are. He jam packs so much vivid imagery and wordplay into his bars it makes every 16 feel like 32. He is an avalanche on the mic, picking up momentum, growing stronger by the bar, and engulfing any unsuspecting listener in his path.

Though picking one or two lines to highlight is like admiring a few drops of the ocean, Strange Music fans should pay close attention to “Wait a Minute (Freestyle)” and “Beats Keep Callin’ (Freestyle).” On the former, Royce references Murs’ recent record setting rap venture with the line, “I’m Murs rapping for the Guinness” and on the latter shouts out Tech N9ne–with whom he previously collaborated with on “Curious” and shouted out on Twitter–and  Kansas City, with the line,  “Let the Tech N9ne go KCMO bro.”

As a fan of all three emcees, as a fan of real lyricism and unique delivery, it’s really fucking awesome to hear, but when you think about it, it only makes sense Royce recognizies Tech and Murs. Combined, the three have a total of 64 years in the industry, they’re three of the most well-respected veterans in the game, and are aging like fine wine. They are notorious for taking someone else’s beat and making it theirs. Tech and Royce have tracks with Eminem. They have reached the top of the summit, and they have done it as independent artists. Murs, Royce, and Tech are the living, breathing embodiment of hip-hop.

As cliche as it is to say, real recognize real…

Maybe it’s time to unleash that unreleased collaboration y’all been sitting on…please.