'I knew it had the potential,' Royce Da 5'9" tells MTV News after Bad Meets Evil's Hell: The Sequel tops Billboard albums chart.
Eminem should be used to the #1 spot by now, but it's all new to partner-in-rhyme Royce Da 5'9". On Wednesday, Em and Royce's Bad Meets Evil EP, Hell: The Sequel, topped the Billboard albums chart, selling almost 171,000 copies in its first week, making it Nickel Nine's first time in the top spot.
"You know I ain't never sold no records," Royce said to MTV News, laughing. "I knew it had the potential. I just really was more focused on the whole 'critically acclaimed' thing, and I think we achieved that. I'm only hearing good things about how people feel about the album."
From the onset, both Royce and Em stated that Hell: The Sequel wasn't made with commercial aspirations. Instead, the duo — who first released an independent single (featuring "Scary Movies," 'Nuthin' to Do" and "I'm King") in 1999 — looked to rekindle the lyrical chemistry that they harnessed 12 years ago.
"I think it's great for an artist of Eminem's stature to do a project like this, especially with a dude like me," Royce reinforced. "And to only focus on lyrics and not worry about performance or radio or nothing like that. To go in there spitting, I think, is refreshing to hip-hop."
Though radio wasn't the goal, Royce remains optimistic that the EP's next single, "Lighters," which features Bruno Mars, will ensure the continued success of Hell: The Sequel.
"I definitely think that 'Lighters' is gonna be the record that is gonna carry the sales into something even bigger than what the first week was. Because of a record like 'Lighters' and what it's doing on radio right now, the first-week sales aren't even an indicator of where we're going to end up after we close up with this project," he said.
