Royce, who is 5 feet 9 inches tall, recently revealed that he suffers from a rare health condition that prevents him from speaking and recording music.
On October 31, Rolling Stone published an article about Big L’s posthumous album “Harlem’s Finest: Return of the King,” which was executive produced by Big L’s estate and co-produced by Mike Herard and Royce. In the post, the Detroit host broke the news that he has been dealing with a neurological disorder called lingual dystonia.
“My cranial nerves and my vagus nerve were inflamed,” Royce explained. “I have a genetic disorder called the COMT gene, which processes dopamine more slowly than normal. When I had neurochemistry testing, [I found out] The left side of my brain produces less dopamine than the right side of my brain. So not only is dopamine reduced, but it’s also imbalanced.
He continued: “When you have low dopamine levels, like Parkinson’s disease, ADHD… I have involuntary movements of my face and my tongue. So they would go on for a long time and have me on all these different kinds of medications.”
After enduring multiple incorrect diagnoses, Royce said he was “almost over it.” Despite not appearing on the Big L album, Royce served as creative director.
It’s been nearly three years since Royce released his latest project, The Heaven Experience EP, in 2023. The six-song project features guest appearances from Redman, Courtney Bell and Traxx Sanders.
