Slaughterhouse - Welcome To Our House

Since Wu-Tang established the idea that a single artist could get various group and solo deals, artists have formed any number of ad hoc ensembles (Random Axe, LikNuts, Wu-Block) to keep the lights on in their respective overpriced domiciles. Eminem's personal version thereof is Slaughterhouse, a Voltron-esque four man collective comprised of the great Joell Ortiz from Brooklyn, with Joe Budden from Jersey, West Coast almost-ran Crooked I and longtime Em crony Royce the 5'9".

While Ortiz is definitely the sharpest MC here and  no one on the team is a straight loser, it is fairly staggering how watered-down and unremarkable Welcome To Our House is. Eminem executive produced this for his Shady imprint and seems to be the guy we should blame for the thick cross-overcentric overproduction that bogs down most, if not all of the twenty tracks here. New school jockers might be intrigued by the presence of Cee-lo and/or B.O.B., but even after a couple run-throughs it's really tough to even remember a standout Ortiz verse at present. One would think that there would be at least one street banger thrown into the mix to placate the masses, but if there is one here, I've yet to uncover it.

Unless the Slaughterhouse have signed one hell of a deal, I can't see this unit having too much in the way of legs. I wish all the individual members the best in what is hopefully a more distinctive solo career.

R

Joell Ortiz Covers The Classics mixtape hosted by DJ Green Lantern

JS-NYC is all about Joell Ortiz. As it concerns new rappers, I could listen to JO and Sean Price (and, yes, I am well of Sean P's history, but he is virtually unrecognizable from the old-school Magnum Force Ruck) exclusively without missing 99 percent of the other fools cluttering the scene and that includes Wayne.

After the big Aftermath splash that wasn't, Joell went back to the grind. Track after track popped up almost weekly, like his Letter To Obama and his Purple Tape tribute. As per usual, they were all bangers. Word was that Joell was dropping a mixtape where he rhymed over nothing but old school beats. The early stuff that leaked, like the T.R.O.Y freestyle, bode well for Ortiz to be bodying most of the competition from the drop. Now that Green Lantern and he have finally released Joell Ortiz Covers The Classics, there is no real need to pick up a mixtape until Sean P drops Kimbo Price later on this Summer, unless Doo Wop gets his 95 Live Anniversary tape out. Peep the tracklisting below. Google the title and you'll find free downloads everywhere. If you can pry yours ears away, check out Ortiz with Royce, Budden and Crooked in their Slaughterhouse project.

01. Intro
02. Rappers Delight (feat. DJ Enuff)
03. Know The BK Ledge
04. Somethin for Hot 97 (feat. DJ Camilo)
05. Strictly the Bizness
06. Treat Me Right
07. Industry Enemy #1
08. Brooklyn Children’s Story
09. I Can’t Go Broke
10. Live At Cooper Day BBQ
11. Uptown Anthem
12. U.N.I.T.Y.
13. T.R.O.Y.
14. Primo Tribute
15. Just To Get A Check
16. Mass Appeal
17. Act Like They Don’t Know
18. The Whut (Animal Shit)
19. BK Get Money
20. Got My Mind Made Up
21. Drop A Gem On ‘Em
22. Intercourse
23. Cell Therapies
24. High Roller
25. Brooklyn Ghetto Child
26. What They Do (Root’s Tribute)
27. Renee’s Revenge
28. Goin To Miami (feat. DJ Khaled)
29. What Happened To Hip Hop
30. 4,3,2,1
31. Recognize
32. 24HRS
33. Rican Ebonics 09

Slaughterhouse - The Mix Tape

Wu-Tang are a hugely influential rap unit. Sure they are all fierce on the mike, but arguably the biggest influence they have wielded has been in the business world. Their deal with Loud pioneered the idea of non-exclusive contracts for band members, allowing the nine members of the to Wu sign as a group, but leaving the door open for each member to sign solo deals outside of Loud.

Then there are groups that do things the other way around: take a bunch of artists with solo deals (and perhaps growing/fading fanbases) and put them together and hope to capitalize on the sales. See: Boys N Da Hood. It's something that's happened through the ages with varying degrees of success. Looking at the four members that comprise Slaughterhouse, it's a sure sign of a recession economy. All four of these MCs are absolute terrors on the mike and each dominate their hometown scenes, but have yet to really blow up outside their baliwicks. 

Let's break down the four men that comprise the Slaughterhouse: Joell Ortiz is the reason for me checking in on the Slaughterhouse in the first place. I can't say enough good things about Joell. The Aftermath contract buzz has been good for him, but he needs to get something out there for the mainstream kids to grab on to and this just might be the arena for him. Joe Budden I was never all that familiar with. I knew that people were all on his dick like they were new jacks like Papoose and was vaguely aware of his Saigon beef. There was some female (and maybe jail?) drama and his running the normal Def Jam contract/release schedule limbo gauntlet to keep him on the radar, but before the early Slaughterhouse singles I never gave him a lot of credit. Crooked I was in the same boat. I knew about the Death Row thing and his weekly freestyles for hiphopgame, but never really heard it. Royce The 5'9" is the elder statesman of the franchise, a guy who was the King of the Midwest before one Marshall Mathers blew it up, but never was able to capitalize on the post-Em shine. All of these guys can rhyme, but are they really going to work as a group?

I'd say no, but I'm a cynical bastard. While we wait for the actual record release, it might do us well to check out some of the members previous and solo work. Cue Slaughterhouse: The Mix Tape.

1. Wack MCs
2.Fight Club
3.Bout My Money (Joell Ortiz)
4.Blood On The Wall (Joe Budden)
5.If You Ever Hear Me (Crooked I)
6.Part Of Me (Royce Da 5'9)
7.Onslaught
8.Memories (Joell Ortiz)
9.Pain In His Life (Joe Budden)
10.Shake This (Royce Da 5'9)
11.Crooked Go Hard (Crooked I)
12.Move On
13.Covering The Classics Pt. 1 (Joell Ortiz)
14.Hottest In Da Hood (Joe Budden)
15.3 Bitches (Crooked I featuring Knoc-Turnal)
16.Slaughterhouse
17.Crack A Brooklyn Bottle (Joell Ortiz)
18.Go To Hell (Joe Budden)
19.Too Soon (Joell Ortiz)
20.I'm The Shit Fool (Royce Da 5'9)

 

For me, it's great that there are mad Joell joints here. None of the tracks do anything to dispel the notion that Ortiz is anything but a rhyme titan. Check out the old-school tribute Covering The Classics to hear Ortiz kill Pete Rock and Eric(k)s Sermon and B beats. As for the reason why we're here, the full-on Slaughterhouse tracks are decent, especially Move On. None of the solo tracks are out and out terrible, but there are a couple contenders: I can't say I'm dying to hear narrative rap stuff like Royce's Part Of Me (wherein a man's cock is stolen by shady female organ thieves, really!) again, but it's obvious that all the parties involved are MCs rather than mere rappers. Whatever the motivation, that's a refreshing change of pace. You can get Slaughterhouse - The Mix Tape for free with a little bit of internet investigating. I don't think it's official, but it's a nice taste of what might be coming down the pike. I'll believe the record when I see it, though. 

R