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We’re excited about... Slaughterhouse
Hip hop’s new supergroup are dropping their album on August 11th.
Jump to: [Meet the emcees][Move on]
At a moment in hip hop’s history, when a saviour is needed to rescue us from wack mainstream flows and not enough emphasis on emceeing, not just one but four rappers have put their mics together to form a new supergroup.
Unlike ‘new’ hip hop groups that try and break the scene, none of the emcees in Slaughterhouse are unheard of. In fact, they’ve all had a big record deal and a taste of success at some time or another, only to get dropped before they blew up before they became established household names.
An online campaign is underway to get the buzz up about the album release, and with four popular emcees’ fanbases, the impact should be big.
You’re probably waiting for the name drop by now, aren’t you?
Slaughterhouse is: Crooked I, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Royce Da 5’ 9”.
Click the widget below to check out the album samplers.
If they’re hip hop’s new supergroup, no doubt you want to meet them. Here’s a quick summary of each of the artists in Slaughterhouse.
Crooked I
Big break: Crooked was signed to the West Coast gangsta rap powerhousee Death Row Records in 1999, their biggest artist in years since Snoop Dogg and the rest of the Dogg Pound left the label
The broken record: Death Row’s CEO Suge Knight was in and out of jail, pushing Crooked’s album release back further and further. In fact, Crooked recorded two albums while on Death Row, both of which have never been released.
Keeping it real: Five years on a record label headed for demise did nothing to taint Crooked’s work ethic. Since then he’s released a string of online mixtapes, some including completely original production. Crooked’s biggest achievement was his Hip Hop Weekly series, releasing a song every week for an entire year!
Joe Budden
Big break: Joe Budden was signed to Def Jam records, with his self–titled album receiving reviews of four stars or more across the board. Pump It Up has been his biggest smash, and you could also play as him on Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam: Fight For New York.
The broken record: Just as Budden was signed to Roc-
Keeping it real: Rather than wait around for a record offer to pop up, Budden has been releasing a series of mixtapes called Mood Music.
Joell Ortiz
Big break: Ortiz landed the biggest deal any rapper could dream of, being signed to Dr Dre’s Aftermath label.
The broken record: Following the same path as other ‘smaller’ artists on Aftermath’s roster, Ortiz was dropped from the label, although he had no hard feelings about it.
Keeping it real: Ortiz says he preferred being dropped from Aftermath rather than waiting to be released (names like Eminem and The Game have priority for obvious reasons) knowing the fans would rather hear him sooner than later, plus he’s still got a load of Dr Dre produced tracks still to be released.
Royce Da 5’ 9”
The break: Royce was originally signed to Tommy Boy Records, and has worked with DJ Premier, giving him underground recognition. Eminem fans will recognise Royce as the other half of Slim Shady collaboration Bad Meets Evil, and his affiliation with Eminem saw him ghostwrite several songs for the likes of P Diddy and Dr Dre.
The broken record: Things with the Aftermath camp went sour when it was made public that Royce had ghostwritten the song The Message on Dr Dre’s 2001 album, a song dedicated to Dre’s deceased brother, and ties with the label were cut. Royce also had a personal feud with Proof from Eminem’s group D12, resulting in the end of the Bad Meets Evil relationship.
Keeping it real: Eminem and Royce made up in early 2008, and the blackballing from Aftermath didn’t stop him from putting out further records and recording with Primo again.
With a history like Slaughterhouse’s, critics and fans kept asking the same questions about their past, so to disassociate with the baggage that their past bears, the group recorded a track to address it called Move On.
With their lyrics in touch to fans of ‘real’ emceeing, and catchy production to satisfy radio stations, Slaughterhouse will hopefully give hip hop the boost it has been needing for a while.
From top to bottom: Crooked I, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5’ 9”