*By Christian Smith*
On his new album, the rapper Royce 5'9" adopts a more optimistic tone while reflecting on his experiences growing up in Detroit in the 1980s.
"It's kind of an autobiographical, it talks about everything that I went through as a child," said Royce da 5'9", whose given name is Ryan Daniel Montgomery. "I reflect on it in a way where I compare it to why I'm how I am today, be that good or bad."
The new LP, "Book of Ryan," is Royce's seventh solo album and goes on sale Friday. It features some of the biggest names in hip hop, including J. Cole, Pusha T, and Royce's long-time friend and mentor Eminem.
The album is about growing up in Detroit, Royce's struggles with alcoholism, politics, and "Staying Woke," the title of a song from the album. The rapper said he got sober in September 2012, and credits Eminem with helping him make it music and contend with his addiction.
"It's almost kind of like Em was hand delivered to me from God," said Royce. "He put me in the business, and he's also the one who helped me get sober."
Royce recorded "Book of Ryan" in Detroit at his newly-constructed recording studio, Heaven Studio. He said the album and his hip-hop career are compilations of all of his good and bad decisions, and in the end he was, "happy with the way it turned out."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rapper-royce-59-releasing-new-album-book-of-ryan).
From the end of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to the beginning of a new zombie apocalypse, here's what's going on in entertainment.
One person was killed and multiple people were sent to local hospitals after a boat capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, officials said.
There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.
Classical music concerts have been popular since the age of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, but you've probably never thought about attending one in a cemetery. Our own Chloe Aiello spoke with Andrew Ousley, founder of Death of Classical, to learn more about a concert series held in the catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
You may not know her name, but you've probably seen her face. Madhulika Sharma has graced Vogue India and ELLE Magazine and modeled for popular brands such as Reformation and Skims. Cheddar's own Hena Doba spoke with Sharma to discuss her globe-spanning modeling career, her education in fashion history, and working alongside Kim Kardashian.
The intimate, funny-sad musical “Kimberly Akimbo” nudged aside more splashier rivals on Sunday to win the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a night when Broadway flexed its muscle in the face of Hollywood writers’ strike and fully embraced trans-rights with history-making winners.
The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by different avatars on a huge screen above the altar, led the more than 300 people through 40 minutes of prayer, music, sermons and blessings.
New York's Assembly and Senate passed a bill to create a commission that would consider reparations for slavery.
New Orleans' Big Freedia, who many heard on Beyonce's new hit "Break My Soul," talks about upcoming business ventures and music projects, including a new show called Big Freedia Means Business on Fuse TV.
Cheddar's own Chloe Aiello tries out some unusual pickle flavors with Eddie Andre, head of brand at Grillo's Pickles.
