Royce da 5'9" puts (some) negativity behind him (AP)

NEW YORK – From the first moment Detroit rapper Royce da 5'9" met Eminem — "a skinny white kid pushing mixtapes" at an Usher gig in 1997 — he saw the potential in him.

"I remember just feeling like this guy, he can definitely be something. I want to work with somebody; I want to work with him. I can learn something from him, " Royce, whose real name is Ryan Montgomery, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Royce says they've both evolved in the 14 years that have passed. The pair had a falling out and feuded for a while, but now are so tight they put out a successful joint album, "Hell: The Sequel," over the summer as Bad Meets Evil. And the iconic rapper has given Royce plenty of grown-up advice as his success grows, with his recently released third studio album, "Success Is Certain," and work on new material with his group Slaughterhouse (Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz).

"He's a lot different, a lot more mature, but still the same funny guy, still the same sense of humor. He's just an adult now and so am I," he said of Eminem.

The 34-year-old Royce talked about their relationship, his own growing pains and his bond with his 13-year-old son in a recent interview.

AP: How did you sort out your feud with Eminem?

Royce da 5'9": It kind of sorted itself out. A lot things transpire, time heals everything. It wasn't anything that he did to me or anything, or anything that I did to him .... We just kind of grew apart at that moment. There was lot going on, a lot of money got thrown into the middle, a lot of other people involved. I think once we lost Proof (the rapper was killed in 2006), the D12 guys were real instrumental in kind of bringing us back together. They always knew how close we were. And once I squashed the beef with them, they were real verbal with going to him and saying "Look, we're not beefing with Royce no more, there's not a problem anymore." And I think just one day he just decided he was going to call me, so he called me and we been back at it ever since.

AP: Your last album, "Death Is Certain" was a very dark album. What are you rapping about now?

Royce da 5'9": With the "Death Is Certain" album, I spoke about a lot of the mistakes I was making, like the dark cloud that I felt was hovering over my head. Failure, negativity, beef, and this album is you know, looking back ... and reflecting on that; speaking of triumph, overcoming adversity, leaping over hurdles. I still try to maintain the dark feel sonically, but content-wise, I just wanted to make it a little bit brighter.

AP: The album seems to have a more positive feel to it.

Royce da 5'9": It just came natural because I'm a lot more positive today than I was; I was very negative back then. I'm not that no more. I'm not angry with anybody, I don't hate anybody, I don't have beef with anybody, I don't have anything bad going on, I'm not drinking (and) driving, I'm not doing none of that stuff. So it's just kind of a reflection of where I am today.

AP: Does your son ever influence your music?

Royce da 5'9": I try not to let it influence my music. I try to live a double life, as horrible as that sounds. I try not to be Royce da 5'9" in my home; I try to just be Ryan Montgomery. A regular person, and I don't want my son looking at me like Royce da 5'9", and he has to understand that my music is a reflection of the entire me, not just the dad but the person that goes out the door, the person that's going to protect the home, the person that's going to provide. I'm all of those people wrapped up in one, so I kind of bring out different sides to my music that he doesn't need to see.

AP : What will you tell your son about your past mistakes?

Royce da 5'9:" Depending how old he is, if I feel that he's of age and he's mature enough, I'd be very honest with him. Like I went to jail for a year and I didn't think he was old enough to understand and handle it so, I lied, I Iied to him. My wife was dropping me off every day at the work release facility and I was telling him that it was the studio. I didn't want to do that to him. I didn't want him to have to think about that. And when he gets to age he'll either find out and come to me and talk to me about it and we can discuss it, or I'm going to tell him when I feel like the time is right. I think as a parent, it's our job to protect our child's feelings. ... You don't want them growing up too fast.

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Royce da 5'9" would love to be as big as Eminem (AP)

NEW YORK – Royce da 5'9" has enjoyed a No. 1 album thanks to his collaboration with Eminem, but he doesn't enjoy the same amount of fame. He's still aiming high, though.

"It would be great if I could be in that position," says Royce, whose real name is Ryan Daniel Montgomery.

"I obviously don't have to be that big," he adds modestly.

The rapper has toiled under the radar for years, but is enjoying a different side of fame since working with Eminem, a fellow Detroit native whom he has known for years. Their joint album "Hell: The Sequel" under the moniker Bad Meets Evil was a chart success, and Royce appeared on stage with Eminem at the recent Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, in front of a 60,000 strong crowd.

"It's one of the most massive things that I've ever been a part of performance-wise. It was crazy, the energy was great, everybody showed Marshall a lot of love," Royce said in an interview this week about Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers.

"Once you reach that level of superstardom, like when you're beyond hip-hop, that's like something else. Not everybody is built for that," says the rapper.

But Royce is hoping to ride the wave of his Bad Meets Evil success with his new album, "Success Is Certain," which was released this week .

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Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Prince Royce team on tour (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – The year was 1999, and Enrique Iglesias kept hearing two words that made him cringe: "Latin explosion."

"It always used to be mind-boggling to me, because it almost always sounded like we were a fad and that we were going to disappear, and I never saw it that way," the crooner said. "Latin music and Latin artists are here to stay -- whether they're singing in English, Spanish or changing styles."

Iglesias' comments came after he'd announced a major fall tour, also featuring radio favorites Pitbull and Prince Royce. The tour will visit about 17 U.S. cities and is positioned to be one of the year's biggest, straddling the English and Spanish-language markets.

For the trio, the trek also represents a generational shift that places them in a different playing field: as artists with Latin roots who were raised in the United States and who have mainstream appeal while simultaneously catering to their base in the Latin market.

"I don't think this type of tour has ever been done," said Rebeca Leon, VP of Latin talent at AEG Live/Goldenvoice, which is promoting the tour. "For those of us born and raised in this country who feel just as much Latino as American, it's exciting."

The brainchild behind the tour is Iglesias himself, who approached Pitbull. After the pair collaborated on the single "I Like It," they met Prince Royce at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, and a tour was born.

"I give Enrique credit for stepping up," AEG Live president/CEO Randy Phillips said. "It takes a sophisticated businessman and artist to agree to a tour with a package so strong."

That the three artists had already established strong bonds with each other, Phillips says, makes all the difference. "There is a new generation of Latinos and Latinas who listen to pop and crossover radio," he says. "I don't think that the genre wall really exists anymore. These stars have cross-generational appeal."

Fernando Giaccardi, Iglesias' manager for nearly a dozen years, has seen music evolve in ways that increase opportunities for Latin artists.

"Latinos are not segmented anymore," he said. "There are a lot of girls in Kansas who love, English or Spanish. They don't care where the artists are from. They are mainstream now, even though these artists have a big Latin flag in their hands. And there's no reason to deny it."

"There are no rules to music anymore," Iglesias added. "You can turn on top 40 radio and listen to Latin artists, and you can turn on a Latin radio station and listen to American artists, too. It goes both ways now."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Prince Royce team on tour (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – The year was 1999, and Enrique Iglesias kept hearing two words that made him cringe: "Latin explosion."

"It always used to be mind-boggling to me, because it almost always sounded like we were a fad and that we were going to disappear, and I never saw it that way," the crooner said. "Latin music and Latin artists are here to stay -- whether they're singing in English, Spanish or changing styles."

Iglesias' comments came after he'd announced a major fall tour, also featuring radio favorites Pitbull and Prince Royce. The tour will visit about 17 U.S. cities and is positioned to be one of the year's biggest, straddling the English and Spanish-language markets.

For the trio, the trek also represents a generational shift that places them in a different playing field: as artists with Latin roots who were raised in the United States and who have mainstream appeal while simultaneously catering to their base in the Latin market.

"I don't think this type of tour has ever been done," said Rebeca Leon, VP of Latin talent at AEG Live/Goldenvoice, which is promoting the tour. "For those of us born and raised in this country who feel just as much Latino as American, it's exciting."

The brainchild behind the tour is Iglesias himself, who approached Pitbull. After the pair collaborated on the single "I Like It," they met Prince Royce at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, and a tour was born.

"I give Enrique credit for stepping up," AEG Live president/CEO Randy Phillips said. "It takes a sophisticated businessman and artist to agree to a tour with a package so strong."

That the three artists had already established strong bonds with each other, Phillips says, makes all the difference. "There is a new generation of Latinos and Latinas who listen to pop and crossover radio," he says. "I don't think that the genre wall really exists anymore. These stars have cross-generational appeal."

Fernando Giaccardi, Iglesias' manager for nearly a dozen years, has seen music evolve in ways that increase opportunities for Latin artists.

"Latinos are not segmented anymore," he said. "There are a lot of girls in Kansas who love, English or Spanish. They don't care where the artists are from. They are mainstream now, even though these artists have a big Latin flag in their hands. And there's no reason to deny it."

"There are no rules to music anymore," Iglesias added. "You can turn on top 40 radio and listen to Latin artists, and you can turn on a Latin radio station and listen to American artists, too. It goes both ways now."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Prince Royce team on tour (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – The year was 1999, and Enrique Iglesias kept hearing two words that made him cringe: "Latin explosion."

"It always used to be mind-boggling to me, because it almost always sounded like we were a fad and that we were going to disappear, and I never saw it that way," the crooner said. "Latin music and Latin artists are here to stay -- whether they're singing in English, Spanish or changing styles."

Iglesias' comments came after he'd announced a major fall tour, also featuring radio favorites Pitbull and Prince Royce. The tour will visit about 17 U.S. cities and is positioned to be one of the year's biggest, straddling the English and Spanish-language markets.

For the trio, the trek also represents a generational shift that places them in a different playing field: as artists with Latin roots who were raised in the United States and who have mainstream appeal while simultaneously catering to their base in the Latin market.

"I don't think this type of tour has ever been done," said Rebeca Leon, VP of Latin talent at AEG Live/Goldenvoice, which is promoting the tour. "For those of us born and raised in this country who feel just as much Latino as American, it's exciting."

The brainchild behind the tour is Iglesias himself, who approached Pitbull. After the pair collaborated on the single "I Like It," they met Prince Royce at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, and a tour was born.

"I give Enrique credit for stepping up," AEG Live president/CEO Randy Phillips said. "It takes a sophisticated businessman and artist to agree to a tour with a package so strong."

That the three artists had already established strong bonds with each other, Phillips says, makes all the difference. "There is a new generation of Latinos and Latinas who listen to pop and crossover radio," he says. "I don't think that the genre wall really exists anymore. These stars have cross-generational appeal."

Fernando Giaccardi, Iglesias' manager for nearly a dozen years, has seen music evolve in ways that increase opportunities for Latin artists.

"Latinos are not segmented anymore," he said. "There are a lot of girls in Kansas who love, English or Spanish. They don't care where the artists are from. They are mainstream now, even though these artists have a big Latin flag in their hands. And there's no reason to deny it."

"There are no rules to music anymore," Iglesias added. "You can turn on top 40 radio and listen to Latin artists, and you can turn on a Latin radio station and listen to American artists, too. It goes both ways now."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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