Earlier this month, Royce 5’9″ released “Tabernacle,” the lead single from his forthcoming solo album Layers (April 15), and arguably the most powerful song of his career. “Tabernacle” holds incredible importance in Royce’s life, on many levels. It was the first song that Royce wrote when he became sober, after an extended battle with substance abuse. It also vividly details what Royce calls “the most significant day of [his] life.”

The song chronicles Royce’s life leading up to and through a life-changing 24-hour period that began on December 28, 1997 and ended in the wee hours of the morning on December 29. After breezing through the highlights of his existence from birth until he became an MC, in verse 1, Royce slows down the pace in verses 2 and 3 to focus on that one fateful day. In that period, a series of events unfolded that would forever shape Royce, both testing him and fortifying his faith.

On the evening of December 28, 1997, Royce got a call that his girlfriend who was pregnant was going into labor. As he was riding the elevator to the 9th floor where she was, the elevator stopped on 5 and the MC born Ryan Montgomery was greeted by his uncle who was in tears, only to learn that his maternal grandmother had been in a serious car accident and the injuries were life-threatening. Already conflicted with having to choose between spending time with his mother and the soon to be mother of his child, Royce also had been booked for a big show opening for Usher that night. Little did he know at the time that he would go on to meet Eminem, one of the most important figures in his career, at that show.

The video stars Royce’s son, the boy who was born on that December 29. It cuts back and forth between present day Royce who is narrating, and his son who is playing out the past. The vivid depictions of the events only serve to heighten the already extremely powerful story.

Related: Royce 5’9″ Is Releasing a New Solo Album & It’s His Best Work Ever. This Video Shows It.