Jay Royale ft. Milano Constantine “Dinner Plates”

Where the jewelry at?

Jay Royale is an MC from East Baltimore with a rap style that has clearly been influenced by the artists who defined the east coast underground sound in the ‘90s.

On “Dinner Plates,” which Royale recently re-released on his latest collection of collaborations, he flips a classic Raekwon and Ghostface Killah vocal sample on the chorus and talks his talk, spitting shimmery bars like, “The Jesus piece lay right on the beater/I called the jeweler up and told him be precise with the features.” And he gets an assist on the second verse from one of my all-time favorite NYC MCs, and someone who I’ve previously posted about on here, the one and only Milano Constantine.

This is the type of track I wanna hear when I’m riding around at night making moves through the city—straight gritty shit, from the beat to the bars. It was made for wintry treks.

Props to Slumlord on the production. Let this thump.

IP’S PICK OF THE DAY 11/17/25: Jay Royale ft. Milano Constantine “Dinner Plates”

Of course, the familiar sample on the hook comes from Rae and Ghost’s classic duet “Heaven & Hell,” which is always worth another listen. It’s just as good as when it first came out, and the video is vintage Wu.

Last year, I linked up with my man Genovese, the legendary Yonkers MC, to pay homage to “Heaven & Hell” for the single’s 30th anniversary with our own rendition over an extended loop. Vese’s verse is immaculate. Check it out, along with the original Syl Johnson sample source, below.

And shout to the PICK POSSE’s own Robbie Ettelson from Unkut, who remixed our “Heaven & Hell” remake himself earlier this year, plus pressed it up on vinyl via his new Summer of Stout record label. That’s what’s up.

Big up to Baltimore! And much respect to Jay Royale, Milano Constantine, and all the MCs up and down the east coast keeping that real shit in tact. Salute.