Slaughterhouse Machine.

When I say Slaughter,Y´all Say House...


From the very beginnings of rap we have loved the groups that have graced the microphone. Do you remember that scene in ‘Wild Style’ when the Cold Crush Brothers battled the Fantastic Five on the basketball court. The group is the essence of Hip-Hop. Several emcees all rhyming over the same beat trying to find ways to verbally outdo the person who held the microphone before them. As each rapper steps in the cipher the lyrics become more acute and the flows pick up their intensity. This is that REAL rap shit.

And this is why the SlaughterHouse collective wins time and time again. They are practicing the very foundation of rap music. I’m just amazed that these four emcees can unify themselves in a culture that is notoriously selfish and ego driven. You haven’t seen this many good spitters together on the same page since the mythical 4 Horsemen but they had too many difficulties in producing music. There was an early union between Jay-Z, Ja Rule and DMX that fizzled away because these three were too full of themselves and too crazy (in DMX’s case).


Joe Budden, who might be the most hated rapper in the game right now, told me that the origin of SlaughterHouse was simply the ability of he and Royce Da’ 5-9 to squash a simmering feud between the two of them. That is the first and hardest principle in forming the group. Can you imagine what it must be like to ask a rapper to put aside their ego? Rappers need their ego, especially in this day and age, when so many people have become art critiques instead of fans. The rapper’s ego protects them from the comment threads that tell them they suck. So to put down your armor is actually more hardbody than to keep it on. You are vulnerable to attack, but somehow you are now stronger than you were before.

SlaughterHouse bugs me the fuck out because not one of these emcees even shares the same homestate. This means that they will each have their own definitive state of mind. In the short time I have been around them I can sense they have this incredible respect for one another like a band of brothers. They will fight amongst one another, but will instantly flip on anyone who tries to come at one of their brothers. When emcees assume that ‘Ride Or Die’ mentality with their teammates no one holds back any energy or material. They spur each other to leave everything in the booth.


This is why I was scared at first for SlaughterHouse because each of these artists is an individually minded person who has survived in the music industry for at least ten years. All of these dudes came into the business in their late teens and have been thrashed about by label politricks, artist backbiting and the constant fuckery that is the music industrial complex. They are all survivors in one way or another, and the SlaughterHouse collective is their best last chance to tel all the haters and the nay-sayers to go kill themselves.

That theme was evident in the track ‘Move On’ where each of the emcees recounted their angst and the solution they had for dealing with those issues. ‘Move On’ was an epic song for me because I envisioned myself in that same position several years back writing for a magazine that wasn’t paying me shit. I wanted the exposure, and the publisher knew that much, so I traded my labor for that means to an end. We all make those similar decisions in our lives, but instead of living with regret or remorse we shoukd just move on. With that track SlaughterHouse doesn’t just make good music, they made real life music.


SlaughterHouse and Koch, er, E-1 Records invited me to listen to a preview of their upcoming album. Along with some of the people that you have come to see on the internets as the folks that bring info to you live and non-stop. Eskay was in the building so you know that shit is big. Nah’Right Dre came up from his mom’s basement too. Oh shit! I just realized that n8tion had the bridge to starship Enterprise all to himself. Niiiice. Global Grind’s BlogXilla came through and reminded me that we have politicked previously. I am gonna stop puffing because I can’t remember a damn thing. The dudes from ItsThe Real, Eric and Jeff, also showed up. I didn’t see Hoffa from OnSmash but I left the session at 3am and that is usually when Hof appears.

The tracks they played for us were all good and their intensity picked up with the replays. Everything you thought they would be doing on the mic like Crooked spitting his crack verses, Joell Ortiz bringing his energy, Royce providing the structural stability to songs and Budden throwing lyrical shots at your favorite rapper is all in there. SlaughterHouse only previewed seven(7) tracks to us and then we got a cameo from the legendary super-producer Showbiz who brought some HEAT! I’m gonna say this shit right here so it goes on the record. The best music from Dr. Dre comes from when he is digging in the crates.

One of the criticisms that has dogged SlaughterHouse would be their ability to craft songs. I still don’t understand where this comes from though. Maybe it is the perception from fans that these emcees are only freestyle caliber rappers. That is far from the truth though. On the tracks that SlaughterHouse previewed they all showed that they have some incredible range as far as content and concepts. Wait until you hear this track called ‘Cuckoo’. There was also this emo rap joint that I want to say was called ‘Rain Tears’ or some shit like that. When SlaughterHouse pours out their heart like they did with ‘Move On’ you can’t help but be riveted to the music. These emcees are all fans of Hip-Hop before anything else. Don’t get it twisted by wheat you may have heard. If there was a RAP SAT these dudes would be in the top 5 percentile.

If you weren’t fuxing with the SlaughterHouse collective after the joints they have already released then you aren’t a fan of Hip-Hop. You might listen to rap, but you aren’t a fan of Hip-Hop music. Rap groups are the essence of Hip-Hop culture. Just like writer and breaker crews. The fact that SlaughterHouse finds themselves unified from points all over the counter is some Black superhero shit. posted in http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=48829

Royce Interview;
Last night I had the chance to check out the upcoming Slaughter House album. They played 6 joints off their album, everyone filled with lyrically dope. While I'm very familiar with 3/4's of the group I wasn't too familiar with Crooked I, but boy was I sleeping on the kid. He's got lines for days. "Here's how the story of your life will begin/ Once upon a time... The End" & "If your chick burps the smell of my nuts will fill the air." I told him he has gained a fan.

After the session was over I hung around the studio for a little longer, kicked it with some real hip hop heads like Eskay from Nah Right, Dallas Penn, Carl Chery from XXL, Andreas Hale from BET, and more. I sat down with Royce the 5'9 and spoke to him about a few things. Check out that interview where he touches on the Charles Hamilton/J. Dilla situation.

BlogXilla: Are you excited about this Slaughthouse album?

Royce The 5'9: I'm super excited about. I'm excited about how real everything came out with the short amount of time we had to do it. I'm excited about the response we've been getting. We just didn't over think it we just went in there and just did what we do best and that's what happened.

What's your favorite line on the Slaughterhouse album?

It's probably a Crooked Line. I don't know man, I still have to really go through everything, but I know for a fact in my personal opinion Crooked got the best verses. That's what he do, line for line he's a problem. I'm definitely glad we are on the same team. I love everybody and all of our verses, everybody stepped their game up.

What do you think of the Jay-Z DOA joint?

I think it's cool, I think the title is edgy the actual record is not that edgy. Hov is Hov, that n*gga is going to come with it every time I dont give a f*ck what nobody got to say about him the n*gga is going to come with it. I think he did that, I think he came with it especially with that 3rd verse he tore n*ggas up with that verse.

What do you think about Charles Hamilton making J Dilla the Executive Producer?

I like Charles, I like Charles a lot. I think he's definately is still at that age where he just says things, and that's where he needs to grow out of just saying stuff. I don't think a lot of people understand Detriot is a whole other world and we don't like you talking about our people and the people that are enforcing these things are n*ggas that will kill you. So you know I got that situation under control. I know who to call to make sure that nothing serious will happen to him, but he's definately playing with fire. Know what I'm saying. Dilla and Proof n*ggas are very really sensitive about those two deaths.

You really really... I looked at it like it was a compliment but i just know how my n*gga look at it and just how my n*ggas would look at it which is how they responded to him. He was going back and forth before I even knew about it, Mecca just brought it my attention today. I lost my phone yesterday and once i get my phone back I'm going to call the right people and make sure they know peace everything. I don't think Charles meant any malice by it but he just has to understand the way people will take it, because its not always about your intentions. Your intentions you might now always know your intentions sometime you have to think about someone took what you said instead of just saying 'yo that wasn't my intention.' You might not of meant to piss somebody off, but if you piss someone off that gotta be peace'd up.

What's do you think about the Detriot Economy?

The economy in detriot is sad, a bunch of n*ggas loosing their houses its just bad, I hope some way we can stimulate the economy. Even a lot of the street n*ggas like a lot of the n*ggas that was getting money they not getting money now. Its effecting everybody it's not just effecting the corporate world it's effecting the streets, everything. It ain't even a lot of n*ggas brining work into that muthafucker! It's BAD! That Detroit mindframe that sh*t is just going to cause more violence. That's all it's going to do.

I'm glad I'm not there a lot when I'm at the crib i'm not in the city much. Only when I hit the studio and where I record it, It's on the east side it's right in a murderous area but nobody knows I'm there. I feel bad for the economy man i wish it was something i could do. If I had that Eminem money man i would be donating to so many charities right now. Cause we need it.

Editor's note, I have video of the interview but it's a bit dark, once I get done editing the video I'll release the video footage in it's entirety.


Foundation Magazine has finally made their tenth issue which features Slaughterhouse on the cover available for online purchase. The article itself was written back when Slaughterhouse first started to gain mass notoriety. In fact, the cover was photographed the same day as the "Move On (Remix)" video shoot. Most of the feature focuses on the group coming together and may seem slightly outdated to regular followers. One detail that the article included is that the group had almost consisted of five members in total. In fact, Royce Da 5'9" was pushing for Interscope's Charles Hamilton and Crooked I was pushing for Nino Bless who appeared on the group's first track. Crooked I stated that he thought a five man group would make sense due to the fact that there is an already released book by the name of "Slaughterhouse 5". However, it is clear that things worked out for the best and Slaughterhouse should focus on moving forward instead of questioning the past. If you are interested in reading everything that this article has to offer, please head over to Foundation's official website or visit the link included below to order yourself a copy. In the mean time check out this scan from the article included below and keep it locked to The B.O.S.S. Board for additional news updates.

Reference: http://shop.mixtapekings.com/product_p/7743.htm


Slaughterhouse On Shade 45;

Slaughterhouse & Tony Touch on "Toca Tuesday"