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Funny how a golden opportunity can be formed out of standard business practices. When industry outcasts Royce Da 5’9, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I joined Joe Budden for a posse cut off his Halfway House album, no one could have foreseen that the ensuing months would birth Hip-Hop’s most prominent supergroup since the days of Crooklyn. Maintaining the name that brought their deadly alliance together, Slaughterhouse, the quartet make good on their epithet for their first full length collaboration with brutal lyricism and sly metaphors abound, mostly over a bevy of sinister melodies crafted by underrated producers such as Emile, DJ Khalil and Denaun Porter.

Similar to the actual killing facility, Slaughterhouse exhibit ruthless tactics to leave opposition’s guts on the wall in the most graphic way imaginable. If you need to examine the method to their madness, then a track like “Cuckoo” plays out like a scene from Clockwork Orange: The Urban Edition. Taking inferior MCs to task, the crew obliterates fraudulent rhymers on “Microphone” right before unleashing an “Onslaught Pt. 2.” They even do a number on the familiar Hip-Hop/personification routine on “Cut You Loose” where Ortiz quips “There’s no reason a musician should wanna watch a television instead of listening to the radio…” over a riveting soulful inflection.

Not ones to lose their religion, the tandem show signs of being humane — most notably on the contemplative sermon heard on “Pray (It’s A Shame).” Joe Budden delivers the benediction as the remaining members offer their testimonies to the Most High. Aside from the clairvoyant nature of the song, its contents offer a glimpse of the backgrounds of the three who haven’t tasted the same commercial success of the group’s founding member.

Each member manages to conceive their own shine without overshadowing the next man. Royce is the witty one, Joell is the crook from the Brook, Crooked I’s sarcasm wins points and Joe Budden is the same deviant with the ability to close out tracks in style. The unit proves that lyricism can still move mountains as they hit a couple of bulls eyes for the radio like the delightful debauchery of “The One” and Streetrunner’s high-octane “Not Tonight.”

Slaughterhouse may be devoid of a signature song or high-end conceptualization, but further chemistry down the line should dry those puddles. At any rate, there will be blood whenever this quaternary strikes.

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Previously Posted — Slaughterhouse – “One” Video (Uncut Version) | Notable Quotable – Crooked I On “Microphone”

Bonus


Video: XXL Presents I Know Rap People: Slaughterhouse Edition