In case you missed it yesterday (February 7th) Royce Da 5'9 made a brief return with the release of his jazzy, yet blunt new song "Field Negro".
The song finds Royce dancing over a fluttery yet somehow calming instrumental (that may remind you of classic jazz) while discussing the life of blacks growing up in the struggle. The beat then seamlessly switches up to a clapping, sped up notion that leads Royce to talk his shit even more. The production on this one is phenomenal, it'd be nice to hear Royce over more jazzy instrumentation like this in the near future, and seeing how Royce is one of the few and rare beat chameleons that hip hop has ever seen, it seems like he would always find a way to say something or structure a rhyme differently than the last.
Check out the newest Royce slapper below, and since Google+'s sharing system is slowing but surely coming to an end, be sure to hit me up on Twitter (@SuperNovaRover) or Facebook (Geoffrey Guy) and share your thoughts on the new track. Is real hip hop back? Not yet, but Royce is certainly helping keep it alive.
Earlier yesterday, Detroit wordsmith Royce Da 5'9 held a listening session at sneaker store Burn Rubber in Detroit for his long talked about, highly anticipated next studio album, Book Of Ryan. Although it's set for a May 4th release, lucky fans got a chance to hang out with Royce, check out some dope sneakers, and listen to the album. I spoke with @Rakabash on Twitter, who is from Detroit, and got the exciting chance to attend the session, and listen to the album first hand.
How many people would you say were in attendance?
"I'd say 50-60 people were in attendance."
Can you give an account of what it was like meeting Royce/how it was when he showed up?
"I was at Burn Rubber before it opened. Royce showed up an hour and a half late. He came through the back entrance because we were anticipating him coming through the front. All of a sudden, I hear thunderous applause, and Royce is standing in front of the sales counter holding a microphone. The sales counter became a makeshift podium to address the fans. When he arrived, he was very friendly and talkative. Kino (Royce's manager) was also there. Royce wore a big ass encrusted watch that was sparkling!"
Does the album, from what you heard, hold any general theme? Since many speculate with a title like Book Of Ryan, it will be autobiographical in a sense.
"It does have an autobiographical theme. Royce pays tribute to his father by both talking about him at his worst as a cocaine addict and praising him for committing himself to rehab to kick his addiction and address the domestic abuse he committed to Royce's mother. "Strong Friend" is the song that is most emotionally gripping. He talks about the person who you think is the most headstrong because they are the breadwinner should be checked on just as much as a person who is emotionally fragile. Royce's honesty, sometimes brutally, is reminiscent of Death Is Certain. His vulnerability on so many songs is fascinating as well. He admits to being a womanizer, an alcoholic, arrogant, etc. You understand the motivations behind his actions.
That's amazing, they say music can be therapeutic, and it sounds like Royce used this album as a crutch of sorts. So let's talk about the production; you said it was very musical, in a sense where instruments of all matter play a huge part in it, not just some synthesizers and 808s of course. Did he discuss who handled production on most/all of the album? Was it the usual in house producers like Mr. Porter, or did he reach further out for broader sounds?
"Streetrunner did 'Summer On Lock', Key Wane produced 'Woke'. He mentioned DJ Khalil, although I don't know which songs he produced. He mentioned Mr. Porter as an executive producer, he did produce a song for Book Of Ryan, possibly more than one."
That's great about Mr. Porter, he deserves his shine. Jay Elec didn't call him the greatest producer of all time for nothing. So you talked a little earlier about the Eminem feature, titled "Caterpillar". What should people expect from that one? The vicious one two punch of Bad Meets Evil going back and forth? Competitive bars? Any highlights?
"Royce has the first and second verse. Em spits a long ass verse but it sounds like the equivalent of Em having 2 verses combined. It sounds like it was recorded after Revival was released and reviews were in. The beat is straight boom bap, it's very "hip hop" to the core.
Very interesting, so in a sense, was Em attacking criticism as he was recently on the "Chloraseptic Remix", or did he have a different agenda to his verse?
"He was lyrically shitting on people disrespecting his style and wanted to show people where so many got their style from. It wasn't really aimed at Joe (Budden, who many people believed the "Chloraseptic Remix" was originally aimed at for his criticism of Revival), but at rival emcees who forgot that Em is the caterpillar- meaning he made his mark on music. I didn't get the sense that he was defensive about the flack from Revival like he was on the 'Chloraseptic Remix'".
Okay, one last question, and I'll let you get out of here. Do you believe Book Of Ryan furthers and promotes Royce's longevity as an emcee, as well as an artist, and not just in the rhyming aspect, but in terms of making great music with replay value?
"Absolutely. a lot of people might be taken aback by how much he sings on this album, however, the themes on so many songs on this album are mature and sophisticated, and go beyond the cookie cutter usually associated with rappers who sing. Because it's an independent release, it's not going to get the push that it deserves, but this is Grammy album of the year material. Much of the album owes a lot to Symbolic 1 and Denaun Porter. Book Of Ryan will make inroads towards showing people he's more than the guy who knows Eminem. He's the guy who can write a collection of songs that draws from his own demons that will be inspirational in to those who hear it."
Sounds like Royce's demons are going to need some help hiding again after we get to finally hear Book Of Ryan. You can go to Rakabash's Instagram (@Rakabash) to see Instagram live videos from the listening session, and in case you missed it, Royce released a bonus track off of Book Of Ryan featuring new Shady signee Boogie, which you can listen to below. Book Of Ryan releases officially on May 4th.
(*I do not own this audio, the image, or any rights to either*)
After riding the success of PRhyme 2 for a mere month (not even), Royce Da 5'9 returns even hungrier than before, this time with a new single, "Stay Woke".
The song finds Royce spitting more lyrical miracles and insane metaphors and entendres ("You can't fathom thinking deep enough to sink the abyss, you think you Pac I'm thinking of sinking your Demetrius Shipp"... like WHAT?!) over some sophisticated, opera-esque production (courtesy of the monstrous Illmind and Frank Dukes), featuring Ashley Sorrell. The song will be featured on Royce's long awaited album Book Of Ryan, which now finally has a release date; May 4th. Listen to "Stay Woke" below.
(*I do not own these images, songs, or the rights to them*)
Lupe took to Twitter earlier this afternoon (March 8th) to drop a new song. Unretired now, are we Lup?
The song is dedicated to Detroit's own Royce Da 5'9, and is aptly titled "Portrait Of Royce". The song finds Lupe spitting some lyrical miracles, complicated schemes and entendre's (that I'm sure I will have to Genius to figure out) over a very PRhyme-esque instrumental that shines with what sounds like a fluttery synthesizer, some crispy claps and an ending Royce interview sample to boot.
Lupe's tweet suggested that the song was "from my sketch book...", so there is no rumor or word on if the Chicago based emcee with be putting out any new music, this could just be a one-off dedication to promote Royce's PRhyme 2, which drops in just over a week, March 16th. Check out Lupe's song in the Twitter link below.
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.
A few days ago (February 1st) Royce Da 5'9 and DJ Premier made their long awaited return as PRhyme, and dropped their first single (titled "Era") to their upcoming album PRhyme 2 featuring East Harlem,New Yorkemcee Dave East.
The track will live on PRhyme 2, which is set for a March 16th release date, and to go along with the song, Royce and Premier managed to grab East for the music video, which you can check out below. Who's excited for the return of PRhyme?
(*I do not own this video, song, or the rights to them*)
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!
Another year blows by, and more "best of" lists are bound to happen. 2016 brought the people a lot of laughs, a lot of tears, and a lot of good music (but mostly a lot of tears, see Prince fans). A lot of top tier rappers proved why they are top tier rappers (unless you're a Drake fan), and a lot of not-so-top-tier rappers made their case as to why they should be considered top tier. Now if you're coming to the site thinking the list is going to include the Lil Yachty's, the D.R.A.M's and the Young Thug's, then you've come to the wrong place. For those that know me, I'm about more than just the hot-for-the-minute artists who do it without any certain goal or message to get across. I'm all about a good time and some hot beats (it seems I haven't had any time to acknowledge that Rae Sremmurd were practically knighted by Sir Paul McCartney himself with his Mannequin Challenge earlier this year) but this list is more than that. Now before I get slammed for any of the songs included in my list, I'm going to start by saying this is MY list, and nobody's views but my own. With that being said, here are my picks for the best single songs of 2016.
Big Gigantic - All Of Me (ft. Logic & Rozes)
If there is one song that I had simply played nonstop since it's release about 4 months ago, it has to be electronic production group Big Gigantic's "All Of Me" featuring Maryland spitter Logic and Philadelphia bred singer Rozes (who has collaborated with the Chainsmokers and also had an EP come out in February of 2016 by the name of Burn Wild), and appeared on Gigantic's Brighter Future album which released in late August of 2016. The beat sounds like something you would play to get that much needed musical pump up boost right before your game (or like most kids my age, right before that final exam you need to knock out of the park). The drums thump and pound so hard that if you had anything less than subs or some beats headphones, you wouldn't be doing this song justice. In fact, if you listened to this in your Wal-Mart ass Sony knock off headphones, then shame on you. I expect better from musical connoisseurs such as yourselves. Only kidding of course to the fans out there (I only do it because I love you).
Royce Da 5'9 - Tabernacle
Another emcee that really pushed the agenda this year lyrically, visually, and of course musically was one half of Bad Meets Evil, Royce Da 5'9. His entire Layers album (which was released in April of 2016) has made a case to be the best roll out and promo run of the year, and for good reason; it was a great album with no drama surrounding the music, or the man making it. "Tabernacle" proved to be one of the most unique and entertaining songs of the year, especially if you're a lyrical head and like the picture to be painted, such as myself. "Tabernacle" details the most important day in Royce's life, which includes his grandmother dying, his son being born, and also meeting Eminem for the first time, in vivid detail. Truly written like a writer, and rapped like an emcee, and who better to detail such a story than Royce Da 5'9.
In what is undoubtedly the most powerful song of 2016, Big K.R.I.T poured his heart and soul out in a verse on Kenneth Whalum's soulful message, "Might Not Be Okay". Shining light on police brutality and wrongful deaths that have occurred over the last couple of years, K.R.I.T turns a truly remorseful verse start into a fiery, angry protest to the point of view of a police officer. "Mommas' been cryin' and they gone keep cryin', black folk been dyin' and they gone keep dyin', police been firin' and they gone keep firin', the government been lyin and they gone keep lyin'" isonly the start to this incredibly powerful realization. This song isn't necessarily a favorite song of the year for me simply due to the circumstances of which it had been released (K.R.I.T discussed with Genius that he and Whalum had a discussion after the death of Alton Sterling), but the power of the song still holds weight and holds true, and I could never deny music with a message, or an attempt at peace.
Joe Budden - Idols
Now if you've heard the song then you know why "Idols" appears here on my list, if you get stuck on the fact that Joe Budden appears on the list, however, then you probably can't get past his Twitter antics enough to give his music a chance. Budden put out one of the more solid projects of 2016 in Rage & The Machine with his producer counterpart (who would be The Machine) AraabMuzik, and it shows a nice maturation process of Budden (which if you know Budden then you know maturing isn't exactly number one on his to-do list). Though it's hard to see Budden maturing, Rage & The Machine more so depicts Budden being his immature, yet reflective self as usual, and finally coming to terms with it. Now for the song itself; "Idols" sees Budden following the "Let Nas Down" narrative that J. Cole creates on his song in the beginning with paying homage to the many emcees that have brought Budden up (he even gives props to Jay-Z for TIDAL's launch and accomplishments), but in the second half of the song, he flips that on it's ear; Budden goes from being a student of the game to the teacher. Over spiritual "I've-found-Jesus" types of production and phenomenal sampling by AraabMuzik, Budden explains why he could never be an idol; or could he? If Budden ever had one, this would be his swan song; something to ride out in the sunset to while people finally realize what he really meant; in his lyrics, and what he's meant to hip hop.
Now there's a butt-ton of songs that I clearly could have featured and might have forgotten, but as I said earlier, this is MY personal list and strictly my picks. With that being said, I'd love to hear what the people think! Comment below, on my Google+ page, my Twitter, or on my Facebook page what songs you think I left out that could have made the best of the year list (I only included 5 to keep it short). A small point to this article was to stray away from the every day droll you hear in hip hop. The difference is... the different. Sometimes that may be trying something completely new, it could be staying with something that works, or it could be going all the way back to square 1 and starting from scratch. As a self proclaimed hip hop enthusiast, at this point I almost would rather hear something that sounded a little nostalgic as opposed to what's being put out now. Not because I don't like what's out now, but because sometimes taking a risk is okay. Here's to hoping 2017 brings out the big guns, and by guns I mean good, competitive rappers trying to make the best possible music.
For such a long time Detroit emcee Royce Da 5'9 was living in the shadow of Eminem, but in just the last 2 years or so (still with no new Slaughterhouse album in sight, we're getting impatient guys) Royce has stepped into the limelight by himself with some incredible guest features, and not to mention the critically acclaimed joint album with DJ Premier, PRhyme. With Royce's new Layers album on the horizon (which is set for an April 15th release date), Royce's first solo album in 5 years, it's going to be interesting to see how Royce has evolved from Success Is Certain to now, because the title Layers can only mean one thing; we haven't quite gotten to know the real Ryan Daniel Montgomery yet. Here's 4 things I want from Royce's newest Layers album.
"Niggas dissed Marshall after they copy his whole reference, like we won't send an actual firing squad to they studio, that'll Basquiat they whole session"
Now seeing as it's Royce, obviously he's going to bring the bars, and if you know Royce you know DAMN WELL he's going to keep the riff raff in check (not the rapper, obviously, although I'm sure he'd have no problem saying something if it came down to it). Royce is already creating a buzz around his newly released song "Dead President Heads", with rumors that he's dissed J. Cole for mentioning Eminem's name in Cole's song "Fire Squad", but if you've ever heard Royce speak of the newer young guns that he respects in the game today, Cole would be one of the first names to come out of his mouth, probably right next to Kendrick. Royce wasn't dissing Cole, it seems all Royce was doing was keeping the competitive riff raff alive in hip hop that he and his Bad Meets Evil brethren Eminem love to do so much.
Great Story Telling
By the looks of the track listing for Layers, we might be getting a story telling type of album from Royce. It's probably too early to tell, but when the album starts off with the very descriptive and narrative-like first single "Tabernacle", we might actually get to really know Royce a bit more than we've gotten to know him in his last albums. And seeing as "Tabernacle" is just a taste of his story telling abilities (see also "On The Boulevard" and "Security" off of Royce's last solo album Success Is Certain), Layers could be quite an informative listen for fans.
Better Production
Now the real hip hop heads would tear me to shreds once they read what I'm about to say, but I'm really hoping for some better production on Layers. Obviously Royce is always one to do his thing no matter what the beats sound like, and working with DJ Premier is a win for a lot of fans, but I wasn't entirely impressed with the beats on PRhyme. With the newest Royce leaks ("Tabernacle" and "Dead President Heads") I'm already sensing that this album's production will top Royce's last 2 (PRhyme and Success Is Certain), so Royce is stepping in the right direction. Go ahead and call me crazy for not being impressed with PRhyme's beats, but we all know that Royce and Premo are hip hop to the core. Sometimes the DJ scratches and the old vocal samples (not to disparage sampling altogether) can be too much for albums, I say bring in the 808s and do your thing over those Royce! (It's a horrible guilty pleasure, but I do love it, and I'm sure nobody else could argue; 808s get people moving.)
LET'S GET SOME GOD DAMN SLAUGHTERHOUSE MUSIC!
(*I do not own these songs, videos, or the rights to them*)
Okay so this last point might be a bit of a lashing out by yours truly, but I WANT SOME FUCKIN SLAUGHTERHOUSE MUSIC! HAVEN'T YOU MADE PEOPLE WAIT LONG ENOUGH? WHAT'S THE POINT?! The last little bit of news dropped about the mythical Glass House album was around January, and Crooked I was quoted as saying that Slaughterhouse will drop the album "when the game needs it." WHAT KINDA PROPHETIC BULLSHIT IS THAT?! Even a collaboration every now and then is good to hold people over, but this is starting to get really Shady guys (pun intended). New Royce, Joe, Joell and Crooked solo albums are great, but they just don't compare to the chemistry that all 4 have on a track. This "Voltron" crew looks like it's starting to fall apart, but I really hope I'm wrong. No word on whether the album is coming this year, all that they say is that "it's coming." Don't let this become another Detox situation fellas. Anyways, Layers looks to be another solid project from Royce, and we'll get to see how he's going to shift the game again on April 15th.
It's crazy how much bigger Dr. Dre has gotten (figuratively and literally, have you seen the guy lately?! He looks like he could bench press an NBA player), the guy is a rap legend, an even more talented producer, and he's even developed an entire line of headphones and just sold them for $3 billion. But how would you react if I told you the man doesn't write his own rap verses (you know, when a pig flies by on a golden horned unicorn and Dre actually puts out some music, usually these things happen on the same day)? You may be surprised or you may already know, but I got curious enough one day to actually look into some of Dre's verses and see who wrote them for him.
Kendrick Lamar - Compton
A little known fact about this banging Just Blaze produced masterpiece (also mixed by Dre, talk about a dynamic duo) is that this is actually the very first song that Dr. Dre ad Kendrick Lamar recorded together. What subject better to tackle for your first song together than some common ground; the city that both artists call home. Dre's first verse starts out in a familiar flow; "still I'm at it, peel the plastic off it you can feel the magic, still I'm laughing at the critics talking I can see 'em gagging, when I'm back in the back of my city, back in the 'bach with a batch of them bangin' Dre beats with me," etc. The "still I'm at it" start is in the same vane as "Still D.R.E" featuring Snoop Dogg.
Still D.R.E - Jay Z
Speaking of one of Dr. Dre's biggest tracks ever, Dre's verses on "Still D.R.E." were actually written by Jigga himself, Jay Z. Weird, right? Someone like me might wonder how in the actual hell this ended up happening. Obviously Dre ends up in the studio with some huge rap heavyweights that you could never see coming (I actually read that Dre reached out to Drake and Lil Wayne to record a few records for Detox, but you know, it's Detox), and Jay Z is just another one of those guys I suppose. It has been said around the industry that Dre is a perfectionist, and it shows that he only reaches out to the best to work with.
The Message - Royce Da 5'9
Slaughterhouse and Bad Meets Evil member Royce Da 5'9 might have some of the sickest pen game in rap, and though sometimes it's hard to tell if a verse is ghostwritten or if the artist actually wrote it themselves, Royce disguises his writing pretty well for Dre in "The Message." As Dre discusses his now deceased brother in the song you'd think that Dre would actually want to write something himself for such a dedication, but Royce does a very nice job of making this one sound like Dre. A little known fact about Royce Da 5'9 and Dr. Dre working together is that Royce actually recorded another hook for the original version of the song "Xxplosive" that did not end up on Dre's The Chronic 2001 album.
Eminem - Forgot About Dre
(*I do not own these songs, videos, or the rights to them*)
"Oh woooow, no waaaaay, Eminem wrote for Dr. Dre?" That was me being incredibly sarcastic. OF COURSE EMINEM WROTE FOR DR. DRE, YOU'VE SEEN EVERYONE ELSE THAT DOES DON'T YOU? WHY WOULDN'T HIS MOST FREQUENT COLLABORATOR (besides Snoop) WRITE FOR HIM? Dre's first verse has Eminem's fingerprints all over it too, the lyricism and wordplay are signs of a verse that only Eminem could pen, I mean just listen to that first little bit of Dre's first verse; "who you think taught you to smoke trees, who you think brought you the O.G.'s, Eazy-E's, Ice Cube's and D.O.C.'s, and Snoop D-O-double G's, and the group that said mother fuck the police?" Written down this doesn't seem like much, but listen to it rapped and the syllables fall into place perfectly, something Eminem's writing is widely known for.
So yes, you can definitely still classify Dre as a legend behind the boards (or so I hope so, heard some rumors awhile back saying he didn't produce any of the songs on his or Snoop's albums, apparently it was Snoop's cousin Daz Dilinger, so who knows, at least I hope Dre produced all of the stuff he said he did), but writing isn't exactly his specialty. I got all the love and respect in the world for Dr. Dre, but to me the words being spat in a song mean so much more when they're your own. I mean how can you not write your own stuff? If all you have is a voice and no writing or instrumental talents, then you shouldn't be famous. Simply put.
Another year goes by, another roller coaster ride of rappity rap is put in the books, and more New Years resolutions are going to be made that probably won't pan out to be followed as planned (I however am planning to listen to little to no amount of music from Rae Sremmurd, so far I've kept my promise and it's not even the new year, isn't that amazing?). From elevator fights over who knows what to the incredible rise of one of the hottest new rappers out, to rap reaching new levels of fan interaction and battle rap pummeling it's way into the mainstream, 2014 was absolutely filled with excitement. Where do we even begin?
In terms of albums being released, J. Cole has seemingly owned the year, and just within the last month of it all. Cole had only announced his 2014 Forrest Hills Drive this November and it has without a doubt been the most interesting story in rap, quite possibly in all of music this year. With little to no promotion for the actual album itself, Cole still made headlines over the incredibly humble moves he made involving his fans this year, hosting events like album listening sessions at his own house, random stops at events and performing for fans, and there was even one instance where Cole showed up to a fan's house to give out signed copies of the album, take pictures and even hang out with the fan for a little bit. To top it all off Cole's newest release has just recently been certified gold by the RIAA, and it's certainly well deserved. Other successful album releases included Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Royce Da 5'9, and Kevin Gates even charted with a specially released mix tape.
(Cole performed his song "Be Free" on Letterman to promote not the new album, but the recent Ferguson violence and Erick Sermon's death by chokehold. His sweatshirt reads "Fuck Money Spread Love" in logos. Is Cole the new Tupac?)
Iggy Azalea had an absolutely huge year as well, and it's hard to deny that she got massive attention even if you don't like her music, but the attention was hot one second then cold the next. Her constant beef and involvement with other rappers/celebrities on social media probably wasn't the attention she was looking for, but the saying "any press is good press" comes to mind when you think of Iggy (maybe not if you're really a fan). I'm not exactly a super fan of Iggy myself, but you have to respect what she is doing and how much of a following she's built in such a short period of time. I do know that she can rap given the chance, even though The New Classic isn't the best evidence of that claim. Her huge year was more evidence of how the Grammy's overlook other truly great music though, and in terms of rap Macklemore definitely wasn't the most deserving candidate for best rap album (he even admitted it and put out an apology to Kendrick).
Macklemore's apology to Kendrick seemed to get mixed opinions and views from people, some people said Macklemore shouldn't have apologized seeing as it takes away the competitive aspect of rap, while some others gained a newfound respect for Macklemore and saw it as him "seeing the unfairness to hip hop from the Grammys." This unfairness has been a thing for quite some time now, and it became even more of a thing when Kendrick's album, Good Kid Maad City, which some people highly consider the best hip hop album of the past 20 years or so (although the word "classic" has been thrown around many more times than it should), got snubbed at the Grammy's and lost to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' The Heist. To many people The Heist wasn't even as good as any of the other nominees, which included Drake's Nothing Was The Same, Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail, and Kanye West's Yeezus.
The mix tape circuit has been almost as exciting as the album circuit this year, if not more so. There are many that stand out among the best, a few that got a bunch of attention were ones like Mick Jenkins' The Waters, Kevin Gates' By Any Means, Lil B's 05 Fuck Em, and many more, but the one that garnered my attention the most had to be Mac Miller's Faces. Being a Mac hater (admittedly) since his mix tape days of course I saw this mix tape and didn't bat an eye at it at first, but I had a friend introduce me to Faces and I have to say I was immediately impressed by not just the skill, but the musical range of Mac as well. What he can do with a song is truly amazing, his production skills are almost as good as his rapping abilities, and he know how to truly entertain someone with his abstract writing ability and topics, and Faces is the absolute pinnacle of Mac's abilities. Faces doesn't seem like a mix tape at all, it seems more like an album to me, I mean why else would it not have any DJ tags? The rumors of his being on drugs during the entire process is certainly plausible (I mean come on, have you LISTENED to it?), and his mental state is something you'd certainly worry about if what he raps about is true, it almost seems as if Mac has entered this sort of "Slim Shady" phase where he feels like he has to do drugs to draw the influence and become great. The music is great and the fans are happy, but when it comes to Mac being healthy, you have to wonder.
(*I do not own any of these videos, songs, or the rights to them*)
So with the elevator fights, the crazy amount of good music, the snubbing of rap at awards shows (as usual) and so much beef you could cut it with a knife, you have to wonder what 2015 will bring. Rumors are there will be new albums from Kendrick, Drake, Kanye, Mac Miller and too many more to name, the anticipation is always there but you never know how the year will turn out until it's actually happening (or if you're like me and you really don't think about it at all until just now). Rap is constantly on the move in terms of advancement of the culture and how people see it and how seriously they take it, and I feel like there will always be that certain audience who can't take it seriously just because of the egos involved, but if you're not confident and can't take pride in what you do, then how can you say you love it? The competition will only get better (especially as Kendrick continues to slowly slither his way back into the music scene), the music will only be top notch, and the rhymes will be so much farther ahead of us than we even know. So to end the last post of the year, allow me to leave you with some advice: take time to enjoy your music, the times in your life, the people in your life, and the ride of what's to come. As Weezy said: life is like a fuckin roller coaster then it drops! Be ready for your next hill.
The music industry is something a lot of people will never understand. While some constantly wonder about the dynamic behind it all, and how albums are narrowed down to which songs make the album, which songs are made the single, and how artists determine what songs fit and don't fit the concept of an album (or maybe that's just my crazy ass), the fans are usually stuck in the dark about the behind the scenes aspect of it. I've always been interested in how things come about in the making of an album or the recording of different songs, and a lot of that is the fact that there is so much evidence that some ideas don't pan out how rappers (or artists in general) originally planned them to. So to show my interest (and hopefully have you express yours as well) I put together a small list of songs that have other lesser known versions.
Royce Da 5'9 ft. Big Sean - My Own Planet (other version features Joe Budden, Royce's Success Is Certain album)
This version of Royce Da 5'9's "My Own Planet" you would know if you listened to his The Bar Exam 3 mix tape. The Success Is Certain album version of this song features Royce's fellow Slaughterhouse group member Joe Budden. It's hard to distinguish why Royce would choose to switch out Sean's verse with Joe's, or even why he would want to put the song on his album, but both are great mixes. Royce has made it known in the past that he doesn't appreciate Sean's getting big and forgetting to show other Detroit rappers love (though the new Shady XV leaks would say differently), but you wouldn't be able to tell from this jam.
Eminem ft. Royce Da 5'9 - Renegade (original is a Jay-Z song featured on Jay's The Blueprint album)
Bad Meets Evil fans are sure to love this one (if you don't know about it already). Eminem's Renegade verse is already hailed as one of the best guest verses ever (and one of the first and only cases of someone outshining Jay-Z on his own song), but did you know that Bad Meets Evil did the original version to the now Jay-Z claimed song? Yep it's true, I couldn't tell you how I stumbled across this, but while Eminem keeps the same verses he had in the Jay-Z version, it's very interesting to hear Royce's approach to his first verse because he keeps almost the exact same rhyme scheme that Eminem used for his guest verse on Notorious B.I.G's "Dead Wrong", listen to them both and compare if you don't believe me! Little facts and gems like this are what make me love what I do that much more, and they certainly display the conceptual talents of Royce and Eminem.
Drake ft. Bun B - Miss Me (original version features Lil Wayne and makes Drake's Thank Me Later album)
This is certainly a sweet mix if you're a Bun B fan (which you should be, check out my Bun B's influence article if you haven't yet), and it makes sense to include a Bun verse since he was already featured in the song, even in the Lil Wayne version (29 second mark). It's no surprise that Drake felt it was right to have a Bun B feature at some point, considering his being featured twice on Bun's Trill O.G. album, and especially considering Drake's praise of Houston and it's part in shaping him.
Knowing there are little known different versions of songs out there just makes you feel so special doesn't it? I know it makes me feel good, shit I feel like I work for Interscope. Of course the label doesn't leak music, that's certainly the last thing they would want to happen, but still. Having access to these little known tracks is a pretty cool and special thing, and really puts that thought in your mind: "what other versions of songs have been made that haven't been put out?" The thought of it all is too much to process right now, but be sure to let me know if you know any more little known alternate versions of songs that didn't end up on albums/mixtapes on Google+ or Twitter (@SuperNovaRover).
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*)
Detroit is a city that people travel to with caution. Not only celebrities, but every day civilians certainly stay alert and keep an eye out as well. Detroit has always been known as a city to demand its respect, and take it from people when its not given to them. The motor city has bred its fair share of established artists, whether hip hop or any other genre such as Eminem, Royce Da 5'9, Big Sean, and many more. It seems Rick Ross hasn't earned the respect of the city yet, but is it possible that one song could make the city act as brash as it has been acting?
In case you haven't heard, Rick Ross was turned away from HIS OWN concert recently in Detroit. Supposedly, Ross shows up to a crowd of over 100 Detroit residents standing outside of the venue blocking his entrance. Ross had this to say on twitter about the matter: "Luv #Detroit I wuz ready to killm 2nite, heard it wuz a peace protest wit picket signs and locked gates haa." Doesn't seem to be a very disappointed man to me, but you have to question if he had already gotten paid before the actual concert occurred. It's a win/win situation if he does, not only getting paid but not having to worry about jumping around and saving your energy for a whole performance (just kidding about the jumping around part, come on, it's Rick Ross).
But I believe there is definitely more to this, if you've seen any more extended news on this, another fellow Detroit rapper Trick Trick has made a song called "No Fly Zone" featuring Royce Da 5'9. This song basically states the anger Detroit and its artists have towards artists from other areas who have not given Detroit the respect they feel it deserves. So what does this mean for the city? What does this mean for other big time rappers? I question this method. If you aren't making your city available or welcome to artists originating from other areas, how do you expect to get positive recognition or better the city?
This whole situation confuses me simply due to the fact that Big Sean, a known Detroit resident and representative of Detroit rap, has collaborated with Ross multiple times on his own and Ross' songs. Big Sean has also been called out on his collaborations though, most recently by Royce Da 5'9 for not calling him or showing him any love on guest verses, as Royce says in one of his latest songs "Keep It 100" off of Slaughterhouse's "House Rules" mix tape. So maybe its safe to say Sean is doing his own thing.
I've also wondered what Eminem has to do with this whole situation or if he has any say in it. We all know he is a known affiliate of Royce Da 5'9, most notably from their rap duo Bad Meets Evil. And I hope I wouldn't have to say Eminem is rather fond of Detroit. Anyways, its not in Eminem's nature to not be involved in something that includes Detroit, or really any sort of beef or diss records. Eminem built his reputation on hard hitting diss songs, but has he grown out of making them? Or does he really just not want to be associated with the Ross incident? Your guess is as good as mine.
Eminem or not, it seems Detroit is still laying down the law with this "No Fly Zone" policy. Trick Trick had this to say on the incident involving Ross: "All I did was teach brothers how to stand for something without being violent. What's the problem with that? Nobody got arrested, no bloodshed, nothing wrong happened other than some people getting disappointed in not seeing what they wanted to see. For that, I apologize. But me and that man's business, is me and that man's business."
So hopefully this doesn't turn into anything bigger than what it is. Beef in hip hop has always existed, we can go back to east coast vs. west coast, Tupac vs. Biggie in that matter, but we all know how that ended. Beef can be entertaining yes, and get loads of media coverage and recognition, but Detroit is already known too well for its problems. In the long run, Detroit bettering itself and making its city available for more collaborations and things involving the community is what's going to bring this city up to its pinnacle. Its not only the artists job, but the residents, and the fans job as well to focus on the positive, and take away the possibility of any negativity directed toward it. So its safe to say we all have things we can improve on. It doesn't take being Tupac to attempt to better your area yourself, and once we realize this, we're all in for a better tomorrow.
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.
