Music Review: Slaughterhouse - "Slaughterhouse"

Original story posted august 10, 2009

Written on paper, this looks to be the ultimate offering for fans.  Four MCs that have all proven themselves to be formidable lyricists have joined forces on a single project.  Everything on paper doesn’t always translate once the work is put in and the material begins to come together. 

Slaughterhouse, however, is a movement that has continued to stick with each release they have dropped starting from Halfway House and giving birth to gems such as “Move On” and “Fight Club” and have left listeners salivating uncontrollably.  It has been a while since four rappers were all on the same level in terms of talent and it may seem that the piece has been found as to what the game has been missing.  

In interviews building up to the release of their album, it has been strongly affirmed that this album was not made for

money and the fact that all four members don’t have high expectations in regards to sales.  With that said, they assured fans that they are bringing listeners lyrics and restoring a part of Hip-Hop that has been absent since the re-emergence of the dance craze in music. 

The album is over-saturated, in a good way, with lyrics, punch-lines, and countless reasons to keep your finger pressing the rewind button to make sure you catch what was said.  Think of it as crack in its rawest form as this project’s energy is injected with cocaine.

The album opens up with “Sound Off” where Royce introduces the four as separate entities that come together to form the colossal Voltron.  Sounding off with the use of horns as if introducing the rappers as imperial guards, the track seems to start of slow initially and feel s like a poor way to open up, but then the Detroit MC literally runs with the track as he picks up velocity instantly and begins to rap with a double time flow which is unlike the rapper, but it works very well.  The others fall in line with their double time flow and Ortiz, however, goes into overdrive when he touches the microphone as he laces the track with a rapid flow comparable to an automatic spraying 16 bars in place of bullets.  He hits that hard as soon as the gate opens.  Regarded as the torso, Ortiz completely devours the intro and even when the hook comes in you can feel that the Latin rapper is ready for a second helping after leaving the plate completely bare.

Their lead single “The One” serves as a mainstream success without trying to be a hit which serves as the mindset for the album.  Using the names of celebrities and flipping them with clever wordplay, the group shows the range that they can go in grabbing a wider audience without sacrificing their lyrics.  Although this song clearly sticks out from the rest, I guess you can basically call it the party song although “Hood Hop” with M.O.P could have sufficed just as well. 

The chemistry is evident as Ortiz and Budden trade bars the way that Styles P and Jadakiss have been known for.

“Yeah, yeah, see I'm a onstage rockstar/(Backstage pornstar)/Khloe on the Kar Dash'/(Kourtney on the onstar)/Zoey Kravitz stumbling out the tele in a torn bra/(They dribble on my balls in the whip, now that's a sports car)/Dog, you gotta see him when he drive by/(Cock-eyed) Have all the Ladys goin GaGa/Me? I'm on mellow, so I'm looking for a LaLa/(You sure? I wanna whore, a Gabor, a young Zsa Zsa/The One, a Outkast, I don't need the rock)/So I can put my Love Below by her SpeakerBoxx/(The one, Katy Perry tried to kiss my wife)/And gave me dome and Katie's home, baby, this the life!”

The general problem with groups is the fact that they can’t stay on the same topic for the same song and the verses all go in different directions.  This is far from the case this time around as Slaughterhouse seamlessly plays off of one another and show that they are able to develop songs and aren’t just a group built off of superior verses.  They are all going in the same direction which makes the album mesh together very well and makes them sound like they’ve been a group longer than they’ve been telling everyone as it comes off so easy for them.

Without the pressure and creative control in the hands of major record label, it’s a slug fest where all the rappers are all swinging for the fences.

Slaughterhouse delivers as it relates to pounding in the lyrical murder aspect that establishes each member as a serious force behind the mic.  In the track “Microphone”, the four horseman make it known that they were meant to do this rap shit and they will run over anyone that takes the chance of thinking that they are any type of competition.  They establish that they are the illest rappers out right now and they should not be tested unless they want the bloody result that is slaughter.  Although Budden is known for his personal track, he still knows how to get down as he rips through lines to show those that doubt his lyrical presence that he is not to be fucked with.

“Too many dogs, not enough barking yet/ Too many blueprints, not enough architects.”

“Fuck record sales, and who the machine markets best/ I’m the last motherfucker that yall should test/ I’m the sharpshooter, you the niggas I target next/ Too many frontin’ like yall that fly/ Reaching cause we set the bar that high.” 

“Salute” is another track where they choose not to ask for respect, but instead choose to take it as they have garnered their rap credentials whether others realize it or not.  They have paved their own way as they have risen in the ranks during their own respective careers and stand before those that doubt them that they are here now to put the nail in the coffin and declare what everyone should already know as it relates to their significance and relevance to Hip-Hop.  Royce assures listeners that Internet soldiers know it and so do the streets they have surrounded themselves with and declare that they should be regarded as Generals.

“21 rugers, 21 goons, 21 guns saluting/ Bloody funds that’s what murda money becomes/ 21 bodies out on 21 guns/ You from the D and you don’t fuck with me you’re lame/ The streets and the Internet fuck with me the same.”

For those that only expected to hear hot verses, the album is also equipped with conceptual records as they are songwriters as well.  Aside from hard hitting lyrics, they are human and are victims to the circumstances of everyday life, but they have no problem in showing it. 

“Cut You Loose” shows each member talking about their frustration with Hip Hop and the music and how they sometimes feel as though they want to throw in the towel all together.  Addressing the genre, the four express their disbelief in what has become of something that they used to love almost as if were a girl.  Royce even makes reference to the Common track “I Used to Lover H.E.R.” to further elaborate on the love/hate relationship that he has developed with the lunacy that has been going on such as Jim Jones daring to go at Jay-Z.   The game has changed and gone in a direction that has been criticized by most and Slaughterhouse reflects back on what is used to be and how they would rather die than support what stands before them as Crooked raps that he would rather be a mother’s aborted child.  Ortiz, who became largely noticed with the track “Hip-Hop”, takes to the stand to testify against the current state of the game and how far it has fallen from grace.

“I found out I been pursuing a lie/ It’s nothing like I thought man the proofs in the pie/ Cause aint no pudding in the hood where niggas shoot to survive/ What’s my single, ask dude in the suit and the tie/ Who stole the whip man I’m losing my drive/ I remember when singles used to have cuts on it/ Nowadays the rewind button got mad dust on it.”

As it is almost a requirement with Joe Budden, the album also features some personal tracks.  “Rain Drops”, which features artist Rain aiding with the hook, they air out their family lives whether it be Royce speaking on how he felt like a child that had an absent father and a mother that was unable to take on the role or Ortiz being forced to deal with a life where his mother wasn’t always able to support him and had to fend for himself without siblings.  The piano keys on the production help in making the song feels like its weeping as they play out as raindrops as they open their hearts for all to see and is beautifully represented by Rain.  Crooked pens a heartfelt letter to his aunt and how he continues to feel anger over what happened to her which continues to echo in his mind as the raindrops splash.

“Dear aunty, I still feel your timeless sorrow/ Before you died it was like your body was mine to borrow/ Like I jumped into your physical shell/ While you was going through miserable hell/ Saying goodbye to tomorrow/ Everyday it makes me sad, angry and mad/ How you was sent to heaven’s sacred path/ Duct taped and gagged plus raped and stabbed/ Body draped in blood what a fate to have.”

Although it seems hard to believe that these four giants could have flaws and dents within their armor, it is still possible.  The major problem, fortunately, is nothing musically.  The skits throw off the overall flow of the album and their consistencies serve as too many intermissions.  To hear the quality of song after song just to be interrupted by one of the THREE skits kind of takes away from the overall product. 

Budden did state he was unable to take away the jabs that he threw at Method Man because the album was already out of his hands and the skit before “Cuckoo” features his infamous words that started the beef between himself and the Wu Tang Clan.  Since comparing himself to Method Man now in terms of who would be the victor lyrically, Budden has been the only one to defend his statement and it might be time for 

Meth to stop having people step in for him and fight his own battle.

If anyone felt as though the production sounded familiar on the track “Not Tonight” you can take a look back at Budden’s Padded Room on the intro track “Now I Lay.”  Unlike its predecessor, the beat has been revamped in a positive way as the holiday sound has slowed down and more bass has been tied into it for a better overall sound and song.

Production throughout the effort is not just given to no name producers as most would expect with independent releases.  The likes of DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter and The Alchemist provide a hard knocking bass and beats that suit the occasion as they play off the artists extremely well even in the crazy sounds of “Cuckoo”.

The most refreshing thing about these four coming to make a collective effort is the feeling that they’re going for broke.  Their hunger is evident as they devour each track in their own respective way.  Of all of the releases in 2009, this stands out as the underdogs come out to win the big fight.  Overall, the album is a giant leap towards stepping outside the generic sound that Hip-Hop has built itself into as of late.  Sometimes it pays off to stand outside of the mold and take a chance to be different.  

For every other release that thought that they were going to bring back into order, they were sadly mistaken.  The bar has definitely been set very high with this release and artists that intend to drop in ’09 need to step up or just get the fuck out the way and turn their album into a mixtape or something.  It might be time to go into the lab with The Blueprint III and Before I Self Destruct because waiting has not built anticipation, but has left an opening for something else to step in and take charge. Many will enter the doors, but few will leave the same after pressing play.  Jay-Z and 50 Cent may want to take a listen and make sure they are on par with material of this pedigree and if not, it might be time to rethink and regroup in the booth.  

When a shark smells blood in the water, it goes to claim its victim and completely tears it apart, barely leaving any remains left to salvage.  In this case, these four sharks have claimed the waters and the throne of being the top contenders to deal with in Hip-Hop.  After such an impressive outing, it was almost unfair to everyone else.  Welcome to Slaughterhouse.