Slaughterhouse Album Review
One of the most highly anticipated albums in the hip-hop sphere, Slaugtherhouse, was finally released amongst speculation of delays on August 11th. The Slaughterhouse supergroup, consisting of Royce da 5'9'', Crooked I, Joe Budden, and Joell Ortiz, an interesting collection of long-time rap veterans from different regions of the United States. All these rappers surprisingly have a few things in common:
- They are both emotionally driven rappers, with a lot of diss tracks and battle rhymes to their fame.
- They have the dubious honor of being popular on the Internet, which does not translate to album sales (ala "mixtape rappers"
- They have been connected in the past to famous rappers or labels, in which they have had a massive and public falling out from.
- Three are black. (I ran out of things to list for now)
Their first release, the self-titled Slaughterhouse (album), is an eclectic blend of old and new. The menacing beats, rapid-fire delivery, and the hard-hitting lyricism harks back to the days of East Coast Mafiaso rap where fierce battle raps formed the bulk of the material and lyrics, gasp, actually mattered as much as the beats. The new? Managing four diverse personalities and four rappers battling for the spotlight on every song has definitely never been done before. The promotion of the album was done mostly through word of mouth, which of course, meant grassroots level communications via tweets, forum posts, and Facebook feeds. Each artist, ala Wu-Tang Clan, is going to cross promote this album with their own efforts, mostly on the mixtape scene. What is the result of all this buzz, work, and speculation? A pretty damn good album.
Slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse starts the fire with Sound Off! (lyrics), which combine triumphant trumpets, a Voltron reference (again, sparks of Wu-Tang), and a tempo that starts off slow before it blows the lid wide open. Each rappers follows the same template for this song: slow, then bursting into a Twista like explosion - and no one rapper outshines the other - a feat that is impressively shown throughout the album. The One (lyrics) exemplifies some of the experimentation that the album tries - a rolling guitar riff and a grungy, saccharine hook do not detract from lines such as:
I love these freak women
Something in my demin need a KISS, call it Gene Simmons
They wanna ban me like Marlyn Manson
For all the whores in my Baltimore, Maryland mansion
Not exactly poetry, but exactly what you expect from an album titled Slaughterhouse! Microphone's (lyrics) beat has a distinct Detroit flavor that Royce absolutely kills, and while Lyrical Murderers may have a meandering hook, the ominous piano keys mixes well with every member of the supergroup, with Joe Budden spitting his best:
Hello hip-hop, I am here, you dyin yeah and I'm aware
A beast so at your wake I'll cry lion's tears
And that's no disrespect to the pioneers
If we ain't who you tryin to hear
Somethin either wrong with your eyes and ears
Another favorite is Salute featuring one of my often overlooked favorites: Pharoahe Monch. Gotta love that slow, smoked out beat with the organ accents and sporadic bass line:
I judge albums by a myriad of factors, but the Slaughterhouse album is a solid 4/5 and deserves your money. Although you won't find a huge range of lyrical subjects, for those who appreciate raw lyrics, a cohesive and gritty sound, and the sound of four mixtape legends at their best - Slaughterhouse definitely fits the bill, animal rights activists aside. I am definitely surprised by the chemistry that all four rappers managed to have.
What do you think of this album? Opinions welcome!