Royce Da 5'9" puts on a lyrical clinic lined with sly jabs at his new rival Lupe Fiasco on "Silence Of The Lambda."

 Though Royce Da 5'9" and Lupe Fiasco previously hosted a podcast together, it would appear that such arrangements are more volatile than once believed. The two elite lyricists have since found themselves embroiled in a heated back-and-forth over lyrical superiority, and last night, both emcees decided to take it to the booth. 

Royce has since come through with "Silence Of The Lamba," a lengthy six-minute salvo designed with a singular purpose: to assert undeniable dominance over his rival. Over a slow-burning, soulful instrumental from longtime Nickle beatmaker Carlos "Six July" Broady, Royce proceeds to put on an absolute clinic, delivering more hard-hitting bars in one song than some artists fit into a single album. While he doesn't quite hit Lupe with the same ferocity he once gunned for D12 or Mistah Fab, Royce skillfully raises the stakes with enough sly jabs to leave a mark. 

It's admittedly surreal to reflect on how this feud has escalated, but it's certainly refreshing to see emcees settling their differences through their craft. Fun though the occasional online back-and-forth can be, Royce and Lupe are a cut above when it comes to penmanship, and a swordfight between two masters will always prove more entertaining than even the wittiest heckler. 

Read our breakdown of the best bars from Lupe and Royce's back-and-forth here.

QUOTABLE LYRICS

We do this for Kanye, if you can relate that's Drake

We come shooting for Conway, Ruger your face back straight

A hundred and seventy on the dash, all the felonies and the demonic acts

With devils like Vlad always selling me all the trauma back

I speak to cabarets as a deviation of drama

Pastors in wave caps as a recreation of honor

Glad to appreciate black abbreviations of genre

Battle me A$AP, that's for PDA with Rihanna