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Royce Da 5\u20199\u2033<\/a> has revealed that he has been battling health complications that have pumped the brakes on his music career.<\/p>\n In an interview with Rolling Stone<\/a><\/em> about Big L<\/a>\u2018s new posthumous album Harlem\u2019s Finest: Return of the King<\/a><\/em>, which he helped oversee, the Detroit rapper said that for the past several years he\u2019s been dealing with lingual dystonia, a neurological condition that causes spasms in his face and tongue, preventing him from recording music and even talking.<\/p>\n \u201cMy cranial nerves and my vagus nerve were all inflamed. I got a genetic condition called the COMT gene that processes dopamine slower than normal,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd when I did a neurochemistry test, [I found out] the left hemisphere of my brain produces less dopamine than the right. So not only is it less dopamine, but it\u2019s an imbalance as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen your dopamine is low, that\u2019s like Parkinson\u2019s, ADHD\u2026 I had involuntary movements in my face and in my tongue. So they went on this long thing where they would put me on all these different kinds of medicines.\u201d<\/p>\n Royce added that he was incorrectly diagnosed multiple times, but is \u201calmost through it\u201d and has regained the ability to record music again.<\/p>\n Nickel Nine\u2019s most recent album, The Allegory<\/a><\/em>, was released back in 2020, although he has popped up in recent years with a handful of guest verses on songs with NASAAN (the son of late D12 member Proof), KXNG Crooked and Grafh, among others.<\/p>\n The veteran MC also spoke to Rolling Stone<\/em> about his involvement in Big L\u2019s aforementioned album, which features appearances from the likes of JAY-Z<\/a>, Nas<\/a> and Mac Miller<\/a> and is the latest entry in Mass Appeal\u2019s Legend Has It\u2026<\/em> series.<\/a><\/p>\n Responding to fans\u2019 skepticism surrounding the posthumous project, Royce said: \u201cI understand the concern of people, but I think that only applies when it\u2019s bad. None of these verses were throwaways; you literally are talking about somebody who\u2019s never recorded a bad verse.<\/p>\n \u201cSo in that regard, it\u2019s very, very easy. It\u2019s some concerns on one end, but it\u2019s an extreme upside on the other end. We got to think about his family. We know he would want his name to live on. His life got tragically stopped way too soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Royce also shared his admiration for the late Harlem rap legend, saying: \u201cAs far as straight-up rapping, I don\u2019t think I heard anybody better skill-wise for that time. What he was able to do: complex punchlines, using complex syllables, the way he set up his punchlines, no filler in the verses, bursting with personality. Humor\u2026 never says anything corny.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just good, man. He\u2019s really, really good.\u201d<\/p>\n