Last night on Twitter, Crooked I tweeted that today at noon, fans would be receiving a very special treat from him, and a couple of his friends to boot. Today, he did not fail to deliver on that promise.
As a part of Statik Selektah's new collaboration album with a team of talented emcees and producers known as "Forever M.C.", Statik dropped one of the stand out cuts on the album, featuring lyrical emcees and rap juggernauts Royce Da 5'9, KXNG Crooked, and DMX. "King Kong" will live on the star studded album from the underground producer, which has no official release date yet, but is available for pre-order on iTunes. You can check the new banger out below.
Growing up listening to Eminem and his brain twisting ways of bending words and molding messages made me think that I would never find another personality of his type in rap again. His love for the craft and his ability to channel fiery anger into productive, though not exactly "politically correct" music allowed his message to be heard and his story to be felt. But with all of the drug talk and the syrup sippin', who feels anymore right? Fans who crave more brain stimulation.
Under Shady's wing, and with a little help from Jersey City emcee Joe Budden on a song aptly titled "Slaughterhouse", the group's chemistry fit so well that they figured the title of the song might as well be the name of the newly formed super group that included 4 emcees from different parts of the hip hop suburbs (Royce from Detroit, Budden from Jersey City, Crooked from Long Beach and Joell from Brooklyn), all willing, and more than capable to give a side of the stories from the slums of these neighborhoods that many heard and feared. Listening to the four members' dialect whilst speaking in interviews surely would have fooled the average hip hop listener, as their witty and humorous banter about each other could warm up even the chilliest hip hop critic, and open them up to the conversations taking place. But where are they now? (*cue behind the music voice* "coming up, the story that broke the band apart... and a grudge... that just won't budge.")
The group's last solo record appeared on the soundtrack for the 2015 movie Southpaw, a movie in which Eminem was supposed to originally appear in the lead role instead of Jake Gyllenhaal, but didn't due to his focus on creating his new album. Though Eminem didn't take the lead role in the movie, he and the movie's director Antoine Fuqua agreed upon an ultimatum; a soundtrack for the movie that featured all new music, including what is now Slaughterhouse's last released song, "R.N.S." The delay of Slaughterhouse's (supposedly) forthcoming second major label (third overall) LP Glass House has been addressed by Royce and Crooked in interviews and on social media, though no real conclusion has been lead to about the fate of the Slaughter. But what does Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg's tweet in the above picture mean?
(above pictures; When Crooked I was asked about the wait in late March of 2017, he shrugged off the question with "who knows.")
Paul Rosenberg's tweet (in the very first picture above) in February of 2017 leaves less to the imagination than previous answers and hints dropped about the album delay. The answer (though the question has not been addressed publicly by any of the members or the label/parent labels Shady Records/Interscope Records) can be speculated as simply as this; label politics. Slaughterhouse's last major label LP's opening week sales barely broke 50k (the exact number being 52k sold first week for Welcome To: OUR HOUSE), and while it seems it shouldn't matter for a record company that boasts a man who sells around 700-800k first week (hint; the man's nickname is in the label name), apparently Shady/Interscope feels that this time around, House Gang needs to deliver. But now more than ever (the streaming age), wouldn't it be as easy as it's ever been for barely promoted artists to outsell expectations of the label? So you'd think.
As for Slaughterhouse being the modern day Rage Against The Machine (which is incredibly ironic considering the title of Joe Budden's last solo album, although Budden has never been one to mince words or play nice) or Public Enemy, who says that they couldn't be? With every headline and every think piece being put out nowadays practically being written because of mere tweets and comments, who says that 4 of the most lyrically talented emcees in the game couldn't say something that would ruffle some feathers? Have they not heard of the "any publicity is good publicity" claim? The saying has never held as much weight as it has today, and when you have Joe Budden going in on Lil Yatchy for destroying the culture, I'm sure the man (along with his House Gang mates) could find a way to make headlines and maintain relevancy, in an outspoken effort to push lyrics back to the top, even though the 4 humble members more often than not let their rapping do the talking (which is a rare trait nowadays, when your ACTUAL RAPPING is the reason you're considered so good).
So here's my question to Slaughterhouse, to Shady Records, to Interscope; what do us as fans have to do to show you that we want new music? What do we have to do to show you that we care about the group? Slaughterhouse wasn't started to sell records, they were started to change the narrative and the overview that hip hop has succumbed to. "Mumble rap" is killing hip hop heads' willingness to live, because when all you hear is "fun music", eventually the music stops being fun altogether. Not to mention the fact that the use of syrup/codeine, Xanax, and Molly are literally actually killing hip hop's artists AND it's fans. Hip hop needs something relatable, something to challenge the ears and the minds of it's young fans. Why can Slaughterhouse not be the answer to this dilemma? The story-telling, the double-entendres, the word-play, the pure rapping ability, but most of all, the "never-serious-until-I-get-in-that-microphone-booth" attitude and mentality is a breath of fresh air that the currently drowning climate of rap needs right now. And in your attempt to sell records, you fail to recognize the difference that this group makes, which ultimately makes you no better than the labels that are pushing the drug addict's records to sell. I want to change the narrative; which is why I'm promoting the tweet below that could possibly be a big step in the right direction. I will attach this tweet here and on my Twitter page, and even screenshot it for my Google+ and Facebook followers to find, and retweet in the hopes to get Slaughterhouse released from Shady Records, and back out in the music market ready to release their long awaited 3rd album, Glass House. Please help to be a part of something important, something much bigger than rap that dumbs down it's fans; be a part of the change!
If there's any album I have been waiting on, (besides Detox, but Dre killed that off with Compton, luckily) it's Slaughterhouse's next LP Glass House, and while he didn't a give an update, Crooked I definitely addressed rumors about the group in a new song recently.
In Crooked I's new song "Gift Rap", he dropped some pretty eye raising bars about the entire situation with Slaughterhouse; "well they, ask me did Eminem drop Slaughterhouse? did y'all break up since Joe Budden dropped Slaughtermouse? Seen you on Peter Rosenberg and Ebro, your energy was zero, see bro, is there something y'all wanna talk about?"
Crook continues on; "and if it is, don't play the nice dude, just pull a Ice Cube if it's the right move, they ain't putting your album out? damn, these niggas got an attitude, thought we'd be your niggas for life, where's the gratitude? All these questions they're pointing 'em in my direction, like the business end of a Smith & Wesson but I ain't stressing, just came home I was in Detroit visiting Marshall's session, to be in the presence of the one of the goats is still a blessing."
These lines definitely raise some questions (to keep that final rhyme scheme flowing), but no real questions were answered, nor rumors put to rest with Crooked's new song. Check it out below, and form your own opinion. What's holding up the new album? (Supposedly Just Blaze, but he denies it)
It seems like whenever a girl is on the come up in rap, they're never taken seriously at first, if ever. Few chicks in rap today get the attention they deserve (at least because of their music). For whatever reason that may be, this particular femcee (yeah, that's a twist on the phrase "female emcee", do you like it? I read it somewhere and I'm using it from now on) could be the one to change that. Her name is Snow Tha Product, and if you don't know who she is, you're about to. I had been introduced to her briefly (one feature verse) before, but the Latina femcee definitely earned my attention.
So obviously if you tuned into the BET Awards, and you're like me, the only reason you really watched was because of the cyphers. Of course it's depressing knowing no cypher will measure up to the 2011 edition featuring the monstrous Shady 2.0 cypher, I watch every year just to see if anyone worthy of watching is participating. This year was certainly another disappointment, but there's always that 1 or couple of verses that you hear and you're left wondering: just how in the hell have I not heard of this artist before? Well, now knowing Logic is as underrated as it gets, the other verse that caught my attention was Snow's. This chick got on spitting ridiculous, keeping up with the best of the best, even had a point where she got off some Spanish bars! After I saw this I knew she was the real deal and like a drug, I needed to have more.
And I certainly wasn't disappointed in what I'd found. A datpiff.com search came up with 3 mix tapes, and like the thorough researcher I think I am, I checked out all 3. Her first effort, Run Up Or Shut Up, was the typical first mix tape you'd hear from an artist on the come up. Iffy production, an over saturation of party tracks, and talks of haters and "shwag" (another new word, but one I like to think I've created, it's pretty much the parody of "swag" and the realization of how dumb the word "swag" really is). Her second mix tape, Good Nights & Bad Mornings, was exactly the potential I believed Snow could reach put into musical form. She comes with a more aggressive style, better production, a better quality in music including more topics and subject matter, and her competitive and confident attitude takes full swing. It's safe to say Snow found her voice on this project. Her third mix tape, Good Nights & Bad Mornings 2: The Hangover, is certainly a continuation of the great music she made on the first edition of the series, the only difference being the addition of some big name features including Ty Dolla $ign, Dizzy Wright, Trae The Truth, Cyhi The Prynce and Riff Raff.
So looking into her music, I was certainly impressed (and I'll be downloading some key tracks from those mix tapes, I'll admit). I cant say I had expectations going in, but if I did Snow has far exceeded them. She definitely made an impression on me with her mix tapes, but an impression being made on me in terms of lyricism, flow, and proving that you're a good rapper is a completely different story. You can make good music without being the "kill you on your own track" type of rapper. To me, this sort of thing shows true ability and the aspect of competitiveness that takes a rapper farther than their abilities alone, and if there was one track I needed to hear to have Snow prove her abilities to me, this would be it.
Ummm... alright. Ms. Tha Product, is it? You have my full attention. Normally any one rapper (man or woman) being featured on a Crook song doesn't get my attention because, well, I know what Crooked I can do. He's Crooked I. What else need be said? No other verse I've ever heard on the same song as Crooked I having a verse has come even close lyrically, but if I had to pick one, this one certainly takes the cake.
So who is Snow Tha Product? If you asked me, I'd simply reply "the best female rapper you haven't heard of yet." The rest of the game has it's Nicki Minaj's, you have your Iggy Azalea's (and people will claim Iggy isn't hip-hop, though it's hard to argue at this point), you even have the proven greats like Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Lil Kim, etc., but Snow is unlike anything you or I have heard before. To say it isn't hard for a female to come up in the music industry (especially rap) would be a straight up lie, but obviously for the ones that have made it, you give props to them because whether you like their music or not, they've earned that come up. Snow isn't quite there yet, the main reason being she has no studio album out yet, but I believe Snow is the next Nicki Minaj. No, scratch that. I believe Snow has potential to represent every woman in America with strength, dignity, and an unrivaled ability to spit with the best of them all, period. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Snow's cypher verse, spitting alongside Vic Mensa, Treach (Naughty By Nature), King Los and David Banner in the 2014 BET Awards below.
(*I do not own any of these videos, or the rights to them*)
If there's one aspect of rap that I find particularly fun to listen to, it's great lyricism. Some rappers spit bars so ahead of people that their lines can end up actually going right over people's heads (including myself at times, admittedly), but I believe that's what makes the re-listening experience that much more valuable. It's kind of like re-watching that new episode of your favorite show every week: you're just picking up on what you missed. And if there is one rapper that comes to my mind whose similes, metaphors, punch lines and wordplay are almost unrivaled right now (though criminally underrated to some, even at this point), it's Crooked I. He's built a reputation as one of the best lyricists in rap today (I'd even go as far as putting him in the top 10 all time), and his consistency is incredible considering the thought put into each and every line. Today I'd like to bring to light 5 of his craziest verses (honestly some verses I just thought of rather quickly, there are probably PLENTY more out there that could give even these a run for their money, not because these verses lack, but because Crook is THAT good).
Slaughterhouse - Weight Scale Craziest Line: "And this bulletproof vest is irrelevant, I'm telling them look at your melon, I'm nailing a shell in it, and the shell is moving right through your melon into your skeleton, then the felon is belling the same pitch the fella was yelling in."
This verse comes from a mix tape (On The House) that precedes what you could say was Slaughterhouse's first real chance at bringing lyricism into the mainstream, their first major label album, Welcome To: Our House. The hunger of each member is sensed immediately in each and every track off of this mix tape, though this track was one of the main stand outs. This beat is fantastic and each member puts their stamp on it despite how crazy and fast paced it is. All 4 rappers are just about at the entire rap game's throat and you can tell they had a message to send from listening to this one, and that message was "NOBODY can out rap us."
Crooked I - Fuck U Pay Me ft. Twista & K Young Craziest Line: "But if you come lame girl we not that cool, I'm a goddamn fool, I'mma lean my top back and pop that tool, get my guap back you'll, know that I'm that dude, from a top mack school, and a block that rule, read my tattoo."
Crook's Psalm 82:v6 mix tape was his first real solo release after Slaughterhouse's Shady Records debut had came out just earlier that same year, back in 2012. It certainly did not disappoint, and Crook's ability to switch flows from medium sized lines, to short and compact bars mashed together at a rapid pace showed best on the Twista and K Young featured "Fuck You Pay Me". K Young laid down a smooth hook with Twista putting out his typical, in your face fast paced raps on the opening verse. Of course a typical verse doesn't necessarily mean bad either, especially with someone as entertaining as Twista.
Crooked I - No Competition Craziest Line: "Finish any nigga that thinkin that he gone run upon the general, criminal, on general principle, I'mma give em a bullet the momentum is gonna spin em around, then I'mma give em another round, get rid of em."
No, that's not Twista that you hear from the 2:46-2:52 mark, although it would certainly seem like "Mista Twista" was giving Crook some pointers on this one. Another cool thing about this verse is Crook's reference to Ice Cube's "No Vaseline" diss of, well, pretty much everybody else in NWA at the time. That line goes as follows: "Feelin like Cube in his prime, spittin that gasoline, no Vaseline, name another dude on his grind working like hack machine, go ask your team."
Crooked I - The Shady Dynasty (freestyle) Craziest Line: "Let me speak into the speaker, starin at the studio walls I'm really just reachin for the ether, when niggas say I'm the best they really just preachin to the preacher, if you're not a fan of me now watch how I seat cha in the bleachers, the beast of Long Beach don't make me feed ya to the creatures, for the dough and cheese the mo G's eat ya like some pizza, eat ya like a piece of quiche and leave you in pieces in the freezer, the streets is opposite Jesus, its all hail like Caesar."
This freestyle is cool to me because of the Shaq vs. Hakeem reference he makes at the 50 second mark: "when I was flat broke this the vision I seen, I had a dream in a shack like O'Neal vs. Hakeem." If you're a basketball fan, how can you NOT love that? But aside from the creative double entendres Crook cooks up, this song also has a small message, or a sort of PSA in a way. At the 1:21 mark he discusses a girl by the name of Renisha Mcbride, who apparently got shot and killed by a man after simply knocking on his door (nobody knows why or what for, at least as far as I know). So Crook not only displays his usual lyrical miracle capabilities, but also shows a bit of a socially conscious side that his fans have grown to know on this song.
Slaughterhouse - Sun Doobie Craziest Line: "Mr. Porter record a piano, producers may wanna order some ammo, I'm a California corner reporter, your boy wasn't born with a with a quarter, bein poor as a whore and now my aura is sorta (Soprano)."
Here's another sweet Slaughterhouse cut that doesn't get a lot of shine. Sun Doobie was supposedly on a small EP that "the Slaughter" released in February of 2011, consisting of 6 tracks (even though it's listed online with a track list, I've yet to find any artwork I believe to be real, I have a hard time finding this official release with details anywhere). A question that "Sub Doobie" brought up with me about Slaughterhouse was "why in the hell doesn't Slaughterhouse get any Mr. Porter production ever?" The guy has a history of some pretty catchy tunes and it'd be sweet to see what him and Slaughterhouse could come up with (or what he could come up with in general, it seems Mr. Porter has disappeared since his D12 days, even with rumors of his own album, whether it be NiNE, tHe mEmO or whatever else, if you're reading this Denaun, we're eager to see what comes next for you).
Anyways, that's a small list of Crooked I murdered instrumentals. The list goes on for A LOT longer than just 5 tracks, but like I said, these 5 are just me thinking quickly. Crooked I is one mean dude on the track, and a lot of them weren't even his own tracks. His die hard fans will tell you all about his famous Hip-Hop weekly series, which (if you don't know about it already) was a 52 week series running from April 4th, 2007 to April 3rd, 2008, and entailed Crook getting requests from his fans to rap over an instrumental of a fan's choice. Every week he rapped over a new instrumental and gave shout outs to fans (who asked him on Myspace). If there was any better way to connect with your fans than this, obviously nobody knew about it at the time. This got so much attention that Crook ended up landing an XXL cover in December of 2007. History lessons aside, there aren't many rappers in the industry who have skill quite like Crook, and any verse of his is certainly one that will probably end up needing a couple of listens to fully digest. Let me know your favorite Crook verses on Twitter (@SuperNovaRover) or Google+, and be sure to check out the playlist I've made of crazy Crooked verses on my sound cloud account (GeoffreyGuyHHU) as well.
It seems Royce Da 5'9 is taking it to the next level with this one. Earlier this week a short video surfaced of DJ Premier joining alongside Royce rapping in a video over what you could only assume was some choice Premo production. People of the internet were rather excited about what this could possibly mean, but since then no further details were released...until now.
PRhyme is going to be a full length Royce Da 5'9 LP with DJ Premier taking the reigns handling production. It's hard to tell where Premo is going to take the production with on this one, whether or not he chooses to sample certain artists or keep the sampling to a minimum. He did have this to say about the album recently; "I've never sampled just one artist, I'm known for my reputation and my creativity. I wanted it to be my traditional thing where I sample everything I find, but I am really proud of how the project came out and Royce is one hell of a pusher." From the sounds of this it seems there is a minimum of sampling from Premo, but time will tell what we see in terms of production on the album.
PRhyme will boast some MONSTER features, however. It is confirmed that the project will feature Dwele, Killer Mike, Common, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller, of course his fellow group mates Slaughterhouse, and Royce and Premo even managed to grab Jay Electronica for a feature. Are you excited yet?! PRhyme has not been given a release date yet, but is rumored to be put out before the end of the year.
The route the Slaughterhouse members have been taking for their music releases has been an interesting one to say the least. Crooked I's last release Apex Predator was put out about halfway through last year, Joell Ortiz's House Slippers saw a release a bit more than a week ago, while Joe Budden has plans for his EP Some Love Lost in November and the release date for the album All Love Lost has yet to be determined.
Being that it is almost October already, so far it seems like these releases from Joe and Royce will spill into next year, while Slaughterhouse as a whole will supposedly be featured on the anniversary project Shady XV and also have their album Glass House coming (no release date given) as well. So far it seems next year will be a very exciting year for Slaughterhouse and Shady fans alike, but all you can do now is wait. Check out the teaser video for Royce and Premo's PRhyme below.
(*I do not own this video, or the rights to it, Royce Da 5'9, DJ Premier, or PRhyme*)
And now the moment of truth. With Total Slaughter nearing its close, each battler seemingly more annoyed with the others by the episode and the drama reaching a peak, you know it had to end some time. Normally I would be whining about not being able to see Total Slaughter the night of it airing, but I got the pleasure of actually having a Time Warner Cable connection at my disposal this past Wednesday night (thank you Lil B). Now to kick off the final episode recap of The Road Total Slaughter!
This episode starts off on a different note, but an interesting one at that with Dizaster singing in a room with Daylyt, Mook, and Joell Ortiz present. Mook and Ortiz are clearly impressed with his talent as they give him props for the quick ballad and Mook goes on to say that "nobody would expect that" out of him. And I certainly couldn't correct him when he said that. Diz goes on to say that he has always had interest in pursuing a musical career, but has been sidetracked on sticking with it because of battle rap. If my voice carried any weight, I certainly would encourage him to stick with this path as he clearly has talent not only in his lyrical miracle type of battle rap, but in his singing voice as well.
But this leads into one of the two final battles heading into the headlining event of Total Slaughter. The first battle up is T-Rex vs. Big-T; the battle of who would be the better T (better, not bigger, clearly Big T earned his name). This battle I had many questions for, especially after the battle, mostly stemming from why they would bring T-Rex in out of nowhere 1 episode in and just have him dominate everyone the way he has throughout the show? And when Mook says "may the Rex man, I mean, may the best man win." What is that? Why were they pulling for this guy throughout the entire show like they did? Personally I hated seeing it. I give respect where it is due, and Rex is one hell of a battle rapper, but why bring in a guy who no one has any clue about and have him dominate everybody? It almost ruins the competitive aspect of the show I think. It certainly added to the "expect the unexpected" aspect of the show, but watching it and not having a clue of who he was at first really threw off my focus from the other battlers. I like the unexpected a lot, especially in a show like this, but to bring him in with the timing they did, it didn't seem right to me.
Now aside from all the T-Rex hoopla (you can call it hate if you want, haters), we still had a whole second battle to deal with, and that battle was Dizaster vs. Daylyt. With all the drama surrounding these two, inside and outside of rap, how could this not be entertaining? Diz has come out saying if he didn't succeed he was going to quit rap for good, just recently the two had apparently gotten into a pretty big fist fight with each other before Total Slaughter aired (Google it, Twitter it, wherever you'll find it), and on top of that they're best friends? I didn't even know that until I watched this episode myself. This battle was nothing short of epic, very hard to pick a winner for anyone, although I had a winner in mind. No spoilers here except for the Cain and Able references for each? How did they even know to do that? Must of had discussions with each other beforehand. Regardless of all the chatter outside of the microphone, this battle was something to see.
And that does it for this recap of the final episode of 'The Road to Total Slaughter." Despite the downs and the negative attention it might have gotten, with the fights and egos colliding, all the way down to some contestants getting banned from battle rap circuits outside of Total Slaughter, most of the attention it got from people was very good. But you know what they say, any press is good press. Whoever those rap fans were that didn't know about battle rap before certainly know about it now, I know that was the case for me. As for the Total Slaughter event in NYC? Some disappointing news for Budden fans I hear. I haven't seen any of the footage yet, but I'll certainly be checking that out as soon as possible. All I can say is it sucks that it's over, but it's cool that it happened. I'll definitely be tuned in for next years edition, if they choose to continue it. Check out episode 4 in full below.
(*Disclaimer: I do not own this video or the rights to it*)
The Road To Total Slaughter is just about wrapped up fellow hip hop heads, how will you manage without it? No really though, welcome to the official recap of episode 3 courtesy of yours truly. I'm not entirely sure what makes it the "official" recap, but saying it just made it sound that much cooler. Now I know you're dying to know if Arsonal had anything else to say about Joe's downright awful ruling of his and Daylyt's battle the last time out, so let's see what went down in episode 3.
With what seemed like a less drama filled episode at least in the beginning, this one starts out with the usual confidence of this week's contestants, Big T and Aye Verb, going back and forth telling each other that they are indeed not ready to battle one another. Big T goes on to say that his confidence comes from a different perspective, part of it knowing that rappers are not really about the life they rap about (who knew?). Big T goes on to discuss his getting shot, followed by driving himself to the hospital after getting shot. Needless to say, Big T is not too worried about what Verb, or really any rapper has to say in their raps. That's really about it for this one, don't worry folks, no spoilers for this battle, although I will say who I thought would win, did end up winning.
Now the next battle I will always question, only due to the fact that one of the battlers was a late entry, but another good one nonetheless. That battle was Marv Won vs. T-Rex. Much speculation in the house was that Marv Won had the upper hand because of his experience battling Eminem as an extra scene as part of one of the 8 Mile extra battles. Battling Eminem is certainly a great thing to have on your resume, but T-Rex is certainly no slouch either, as he proved when he quite literally kicked Cortez to the battle rap casting couch in his first battle. I will say that this battle probably wasn't quite as close as the Big T and Aye Verb match up.
After the battles, obviously 4 battlers are left in the Road to Total Slaughter tournament. The 2 losers of these battles (of whom I won't say lost) are left with a salty taste in their mouths, and it is definitely made known that their performances weren't at their highest levels. This discussion between all of the battlers is had in the car (I'm assuming on the way back to the house), where everyone decides that it just isn't right that the losers had to go out the way that they did. So one thing leads to another, and before you know it every battler, whether still in the tournament or not, is back at the house free styling to one another, some going straight off the head, some using material from earlier battles. This is actually quite a sight to see as everyone in the house gets some laughs off and it is clear that some stress had been relived during this process.
Say what you want about the results, at the end of this episode it is made very clear why every one of these battlers was chosen to be a part of The Road To Total Slaughter. True skill is shown by everyone who jumped in, and the best part about it was that you could tell no matter what the results of the tournament were, no matter how serious the competition got or will get, the battlers were having fun with it. After all, if you aren't having fun with it, why are you doing it anyways? At least that's how I view it. Anyways, another late post courtesy of that salty guy who wanted to see The Road To Total Slaughter when it aired on TV but didn't have Time Warner Cable. No, I will never get over this, don't ask me. Check out episode 3 below.
(*Disclaimer: I do not own this video or the rights to it*)
Welcome back to another recap of The Road To Total Slaughter. For those of you who don't have Time Warner cable, or any sort of connection at all, know that I'm here for you. But seeing as you'd have to have a connection to see this anyways, maybe I'm not as much help as I'd like to think I was. But that's not the point, the point here is to recap the second episode of The Road To Total Slaughter! Many questions were left unanswered in the last episode, like is it possible for Daylyt to piss anyone else off? Did more egos collide? DO ANY MORE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT BATTLE RAP YET? Hopefully so, but we'll get into that right now.
Episode 2 begins with the battle coaches, Murda Mook and Loaded Lux, bringing out the big board, showing the contestants the bracket of the tournament match ups. The winner of this tournament gets the chance to make it to the Total Slaughter stage in New York. Today's match ups include Math Hoffa vs. Dizaster and Arsonal vs. Daylyt. Right off the bat, Dizaster makes it known that he's not as prepared as he believes the other contestants to be, but sending a direct message to Math, he sweats it little to none at all and shows all the confidence in the world going against Math unprepared.
Math Hoffa on the other hand gets pulled aside by legendary DJ Kay Slay, who really does sort of a check in with Math to see how he is feeling after getting banned from URL (Ultimate Rap League) for punching fellow battle rapper Serious Jones in the face during their battle. You can tell by the way Math is moving and talking about it that he's still hurt by it, and Kay Slay tells Hoffa to come forward and be a man about it and to apologize to Serious Jones for his action. Kay Slay continues on to say at the end of the day, Hoffa is still a man and he is responsible for his actions.
But before you know it, the first battle kicks off in rather spectacular fashion. Unlike any other battle rap league, Total Slaughter's tournament is set to 1 round for each battler, who get 1 minute and 30 seconds each to spit their verses, whereas in other leagues the norm is 3 rounds to about the same time on the clock. Now I won't spoil the match for people who want to watch, all I will say is in the beginning it is evident that there could be some bad blood between the two battlers as Dizaster hits the coin out of the air during the coin flip to decide who goes first. The tactics used by every battler are different, but very effective and may be visible throughout the series if you pay attention to them.
Now the second battle is personally one I was looking to be one of the best of the entire tournament, no matter what is still to come. That battle is Arsonal vs. Daylyt. I'll try to put it without spoiler alerts, but that may be hard. But both of these guys have bars for days (as Arsonal says, you can't spell bars without ars, which is true in a way I suppose), and both bring tons of energy to the stage in only a way the 2 of them could. Both bring a very unique flow and a sort of aura to the stage that makes them different from the rest.
But here's where the spoilers may take place. Before the battle, Arsonal talks about how he isn't sure how the judging would rule in his favor, because him and Joe Budden had a brief beef (say that 5x fast) where the 2 went back and forth. Only a song each for both emcees, Budden putting out a song called "Spring Training," mentioning Arsonal multiple times by name on the song. Arsonal says he was flattered by it in a way, I mean how often do you have Joe Budden diss you on his song, but being the true competitive emcee that he is, Arsonal fired back with his own song "Spring Cleaning," where Arsonal says he was "antagonizing and hurting that mans feelings." Because of this, Arsonal feels the battle might have been shifted in Daylyt's favor. Needless to say, Daylyt wins this battle, but by a split hair it seems.
Sorry for the spoiler, but I have to give my input. I believe Arsonal won this battle, it was an extremely close match-up, and Daylyt even says so in the interview after the battle. He basically says "there was a slip up or 2 by Ars, and although they were small, they worked out to my advantage." In my eyes, Arsonal brought not only better lines with a more effective crowd reaction, but he brought the energy as well, although his energy is always there. His in your face style is his trademark, but I believe confidence and how you come off rhyming is definitely a key factor in how successful you are with your delivery, and in this battle Arsonal's energy overpowered Daylyt's.
But there it is, I normally don't like to be that guy to spoil things, but it was kind of hard not too in this situation. I have a right to do it now anyways, because whoever has Time Warner Cable practically has no excuse, at least to me. Yes I may still be salty about not being able to see it on the regular Wednesday nights like the lucky people, but that's not the point. What's in store for next week? It's hard to tell right now, more battles and attitudes brewing, seems to me it's only a matter of time before they boil over. Will Arsonal confront Joe about his feelings on if their beef affected the outcome of his battle? We'll find out next week I suppose (or at least I will, you guys will find out before then, rub it in why don't you). Anyways, I should go before I start rambling. If you haven't already seen episode 2, check it out below, and stay tuned for episode 3 and a review next week.
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*)
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.
