Road To Total Slaughter: Episode 1 Recap

In the Road To Total Slaughter presented by Eminem, Slaughterhouse and Watchloud.com, you finally have an opportunity to watch the inner workings of battle rap. That is unless of course you don't get Fuse TV like me, in which case you're very salty about not being able to watch all of this exciting drama and rap skill take place. But wait, there is this fantastic place we call the internet where you can watch practically anything you want at any time (as long as its posted)!  So for those less fortunate to not be blessed with a Time Warner Cable connection, we'll do this little review of what happens on the show, my thoughts on what happens on the show, and a post of the actual Road To Total Slaughter episode itself. Its just too bad this is only going down for 4 weeks. Anyways, lets get right into it.

So right off the bat there is clear tension with everyone entering in the house. As soon as everyone walks in, they give an introduction to why they're here and why they deserve to be. Everybody meets each other slowly getting settled in, finding their sleeping quarters and whatnot, when the 7 contestants notice that the last contestant is not in the house. Knowing who Daylyt is and what he's known for, they're not surprised to notice him finally stumbling in wearing only a pair of boxers and boots, being very loud and obnoxious while eating all the food that has been put out for the contestants. This does not go over well with the contestants, and Marv Won and Cortez voice their opinions very clearly with the controversial battle rapper.

After everyone settles down following the Daylyt incident, they all make their way to what looks like a living room, with chairs and a chess board set up. Murda Mook states that the chess board is used to clear ones mind when tension starts to set in when living in a house full of testosterone and egos clashing. Cortez also proceeds to challenge Loaded Lux to a chess match as they playfully banter back and forth eventually leading to a Lux victory. After this, everyone seems to get a moment to themselves as Dizaster walks into a conversation being had by Aye Verb and Marv Won. Dizaster goes on to tell Aye Verb that the only fans he had in their battle were his haters, and one of the lines he came up with in the battle was "the most simple shit he'd ever heard."

So yeah, do you feel the love yet?  After this settles down Mook and Lux gather everyone in the house to the living room telling them that they will be having a special guest giving them an introduction to the circuit. It is none other than DJ Kay Slay who shows up and tells them very briefly about the competition and how it will work in seemingly less than 5 or 6 sentences. Makes me wonder if they paid him for what he said or if he will be included in the show later?  If not, very weird that it happened nonetheless, as it seemed he gave his 5 or 6 sentences and just left.

But, as they say the show must go on!  The next morning Slaughterhouse shows up unexpectedly and gathers everyone into the living  room the discuss a sort of "wild card" match up between a new battler they brought in by the name of T-Rex, and a battler of his choosing from within the house. The loser of this match is out of the tournament if they lose, and has to sleep on the couch. I really don't know if its for the night or if its the entire time they're there, but regardless all the battlers see this as a low blow. Bringing in someone unexpectedly and giving them stakes to win or lose at?  It surely didn't seem to go over well with the contestants. This definitely opened up their eyes and they knew to be prepared at all times after this happened.

So there you have it, the episode 1 of 4 recap. With this episode setting the tone in what seems to be a very tension filled house, we'll see how many surprises not only Slaughterhouse, but the battlers bring as well. A fist fight maybe?  Some more insane antics from Daylyt that the battlers seem not to appreciate?  Will we see more unexpected guests?  How about more egos clashing?  We know the latter will happen at least. Stay tuned for episode 2 Wednesday at midnight if you're lucky enough to get Fuse TV. If you do, just know that I envy you, you lucky bastards. If not, then stay tuned for episode 2 online next Monday, and a recap right here shortly thereafter.

 
(*Disclaimer: I do not own this video or the rights to it*)
      

Who is Daz Dillinger? The Analysis

Daz Dillinger is not a name many hip hop fans would know right off the top of their heads, or maybe not even a name you'd associate with music, depending what you know. See this was my opinion at first, not knowing who he was, all I saw him as was some random dude who hung out with Snoop Dogg. If you saw Snoop's movie "Reincarnated," which documents Snoop's rebirth and his trip to Jamaica to find himself, your first assumption might be that Daz is just a guy Snoop has been friends with all his life who just tags along with Snoop and smokes weed all day. But to those of us new to Daz, he is definitely much more than that.

Daz Dillinger, real name Delmar Drew Arnaud, is known mostly for his role in the hip hop group "Tha Dogg Pound," originally formed with fellow known west coast rapper Kurupt. Hanging out with Snoop so much of course wouldn't not open up doors for you, although he surely didn't need things handed to him. His real start in the industry began as a producer for legendary west coast rap label Death Row Records, where he produced multi platinum albums and singles for rap goliaths like Snoop and Tupac, along with contributions to Dr. Dre's highly acclaimed debut album "The Chronic."

I knew none of this, and of course didn't bother to do the research until now. The idea of Death Row Records and its rise to the pinnacle of hip hop always fascinated me, so I kept digging. When you think of Death Row you obviously think of Snoop, Dr. Dre, Tupac, Suge Knight and Kurupt. So where really does Daz fit into such a star studded line up of hip hop giants?  Daz got his real chance to show and prove himself once Dr. Dre, head producer of Death Row at the time, left the label in early 1996 due to issues with label boss Suge Knight to form his own label Aftermath. The rest of that story is very well documented history. *Cough Cough* where's Detox?

So this lead to nothing but great things for Daz, not only producing such hit songs as Tupac's "Ambitionz Az A Ridah," "I Ain't Mad At Cha," and Snoop and Pac's "2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted," all multi platinum selling singles, but also being given the task of producing for Snoop's entire sophomore album "Tha Doggfather." But wait, in case you didn't think that was enough to believe Daz has the ultimate resume, there's much more. Would you believe me if I said the man raps as well?  Well you better because guess what; he does!

Shortly after fellow Death Row rappers Snoop, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg had left the label, Daz released his first solo album "Retaliation, Revenge, and Get Back" in 1998. Leaving Death Row seemed to open up many doors for the man, as he put out solo albums in every single year from 2002-2012, including two albums in 2005. Not only the rapping, but the production for other artists continued as well as he produced for rappers Kurupt, Soopafly, and B-Legit. It is known that Dillinger and Kurupt had a brief falling out in 2002 after Kurupt re-signed to Death Row, but they squash the beef in 2005 at a west coast unity event hosted by Snoop. Rumors say that Daz is planning to offer the new owners of Death Row Records unreleased material to re package along with re-mastered old Death Row material.

So that's that, at least for this portion. I hope you learned a lot, I know I definitely did just in this little research project of Daz. It just goes to show you a little research on someone you know little to nothing about can change your perspective about them. Now do I think Daz is just some dude who hangs out with Snoop Dogg and smokes weed all day?  Half of that is right, but I know not to think he isn't productive at least, no pun intended. Daz is just another portion of a huge segment of rap that practically defined a genre inside a genre with west coast g funk hip hop. If only we could relive those days in a way, get all the old heads together and put them on an album that will define the west coast for years to come. I'll bet it could happen, but we'd need a couple producers to work together and a few rappers to get on songs and rap about the right stuff. I wonder who we'd turn to for this project?  Hmmm.... 

      




       

Less is More: Why Musicians (Rappers) MAY Put Less Songs On Albums/Mixtapes (My Theory)

In a hip hop world where mix tapes seem to run the mill of the music nowadays, from a rapper's perspective, this is the last thing they could ask for. As an artist surviving solely on the sales of your music, I ask what is the point of releasing free music?  Well, as fans lets try to figure this out. Do we really even appreciate music how we're supposed to anymore?

Being the unique style of music that hip hop is, generally speaking, its hard to find another genre that puts out as much free music on a regular basis. Somehow mix tapes have found a way to not only be the rise of artists, but also the fall of them at the same time. However you may see it, or better yet, how the artists may see it, certainly changes the strategy of being a successful artist. My mindset on being a rapper, with multiple views of course, follows: "watch out for the mix tape coming soon, with the album coming at the end of the year." This strategy, if you notice the marketing, can definitely help. Giving your fans a sample or a gift for being patient and waiting, or just being nice and saying thank you are reasonable explanations for this strategy. Building hype for yourself is not a bad thing to do, unless of course, your expectations aren't met. But whose expectations?  The fans of course!

The second strategy is much more simple, less work involved and usually is the strategy used by the biggest artists in the game, or the ones who have nothing to prove to you, if you needed to be blunt about it. Nonetheless, still an effective strategy if you've proven yourself, an example of a statement here: "look out for the album coming at the end of the year." That's all it is. Simple, effective, a very easy way to make your fans mad of course, but if it's worth the wait, it's worth the wait. Only the biggest superstars can resort to this strategy successfully. The likes of Eminem, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kanye, Jay-Z and Nas are really the only immediate rappers that come to mind when you think of  rappers having no reason to release a mix tape. In a sense, they have nothing to prove, and putting out free music can only hurt their reputation as an artist, or what they stand for.

I mention artists who do and do not do mix tapes because they are almost two completely different types of artists. The ones who sell records don't normally touch the free music idea, and the ones who do mix tapes normally either just do them for fun, or build up excitement around an important project. With albums it's always been known as a completely different story, every artist has their own approach to recording and song selection. An album will most likely have a theme or a story backing it up, while a mix tape will just be a collection of random songs recorded with no specific goal or theme. But, as things stand today, many people view no single song worth being paid for when you can download any album, let alone any song you want from an album.


So why is it music listeners today are so picky?  I believe it is because we have the choice to be. We very easily and almost unnoticeably take our favorite artists' music for granted, and get bored much quicker and easier than we should. The attention span of today's class of fans is much smaller because of the easy access to any and all music. With downloading, although it seems harmless to the average fan, it can hurt an artist heavily. Money is made when they sell their music; albums, singles, no matter what it may be, hard copy or digital. Our getting free music is a blessing to us, yes, but does not define being a true music fan. Buying an album you get a story, with real artists you're buying a piece of their life or how they felt at a time, you're buying someone's feelings that lie inside their head. You're buying someone's ideas, someone's pain brought into light. Does this sound like something you'd give away for free?  We'll end this discussion with Eminem venting his frustrations with these people.

     



(*Disclaimer: I do not own this video, nor do I own the rights to it*)


     

Slaughterhouse's House Rules: The Review

In a genre of music which we call a game; a genre of music that others call a fad or "trendy" for the time being; and a genre of music that is judged constantly on its cockiness, flair, and its ways of expression, maybe a change of pace can show people what it's really all about. In the current state of true hip hop, many would argue it's not anywhere near its peak. What some grew up on...the story-telling brand, and the fun, lyrical, bouncy sort of vibe we got listening to it seems to have changed into something so braggadocios. Then along comes this group.....Slaughterhouse.

Maybe I'm a bit biased due to them being my favorites in the game, but it's very hard to argue that any other single rapper or group brings to the table what these guys do. TDE, Young Money, argue who you will, but there aren't many others who can make you feel through music like these guys. They remind you with the introspective "Offshore," in which each member continues the trend of venting in songs like we're so used to hearing. Ortiz discusses the first time meeting Crooked I and the times they've had together, Crooked talks about his grandmother passing and the hardships of coming up in the game, Royce discusses coming up and his family, and Joe goes back to his "mood muzik" self while talking about his drug addiction.

One of the most lyrical, if not the most lyrical rapper out right now, Crooked I says what is on his mind, no matter what it is. He has no problem venting about the passing of his grandmother, label issues, and growing up in the hood of LBC as he continues to show his hunger in every song. In songs like "SayDatThen," "Offshore," and "Struggle," Crook's drive has never been more evident as he is rapping like his life depends on it. And I'm pretty sure if you asked him, he'd say it was.

Royce Da 5'9 raps on this tape like there's no competition visible, and is not afraid to point out those who have shunned him as a serious emcee. In his very own track "Keep It 100," he discusses the industry, and his growth in maturity along with his still keeping it real like attitude. With both being from Detroit, he certainly shows his frustration as he singles out Big Sean as not giving him any love on songs or verses. Royce certainly does "keep it 100" on this whole tape as usual, and my personal favorite verse of his is on the intro track "House Rules," where he just goes off in proper Royce fashion while showing us a hint of a singing voice in the build up, right in the middle of his verse.

Joell Ortiz has definitely stepped up his rapping, in my opinion the difference has been evident since the release of "On The House," the mix tape pre "Welcome To: Our House." In his own choice cut, "Life In The City," Joell goes in over some hard production courtesy of Heatmakerz, discussing exactly that. Guns, drugs, hard acting gangstas in the hood-type rhymes are all accompanied by some confident rhymes and great lines like "just because you write rhymes don't mean you rhyme write, you a light high, don't jump and become a highlight." Ortiz has never always been the stand out of the group, but he's certainly one to watch with sleeper lines like the aforementioned.

 Joe Budden, the mood muzik king of course, is certainly no slouch on this project either. Besides his missing verses on some songs for some odd reason, the man himself never gives us a bad verse. He's back to his reminiscent, venting ways on songs like "I Don't Know," where he talks about growing up in the streets, how to survive, and how he is where he is now. It's hard to determine whether or not he still struggles with drug abuse, as he has in the past, as he has said. From the sounds of this project he might still be overcoming the process. Despite any issues he might have, Budden is always entertaining and I am certainly looking forward to what he has to say on the album.

Are Slaughterhouse just diss heads whose only goals are to point out the real against the fake in hip hop?  That saying may be partially right, depending on your perspective. I believe that Slaughterhouse's true goal is to just continue the culture of real, fun, lyrical hip-hop. Some would argue they still have work to do even coming up on their second major label album. I still wonder why they have so many individual songs aimed for just one member, or why they have so many songs out that exclude one member's verse. A possible aim to release material some time in the future?  Who knows. Their production value has always been a bit of a lack to me, but with one of the greatest to ever do it at the executive spot for this album, Just Blaze, maybe they'll finally get the production they deserve. We shall certainly see, look out for their album "Glass House" set for release before the end of the year.