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Blood On The CD Player…

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

slaughterhouse

The SlaughterHouse project hit the web this weekend and I have been listening to the album on a loop. The album is everything I wanted it to be. It’s four emcees trading the microphone in a verbal sparring competition. From the outset you had to feel this was going to be a sick album. The opening track ‘Sound Off’ cuts your ears like a razor tucked inside someone’s cheek.

Sound Off

SlaughterHouse re-introduced Joe Budden, Royce and Crooked I to me. These were rappers that I never listened to for extended periods but with Joell Ortiz alongside of them I see what have been missing. Royce has been the biggest revelation to me while Crooked I is simply a lyrical monster. Joe Budden is simply insane. Why isn’t he called Joe Bananas?

Budden’s line on ‘Microphone’ basically sums up the rap music game currently. “Too many blueprints and not enough architects”. That is a mean fucking line. I don’t feel like it is a shot at Jay-Z as much as it is a shot at the Jigga copycats in the business. And yeah, maybe a slight shot at Jay for making the 10th Blueprint album.

When you look at the runtimes for my favorite tracks on the album you see something that most rap songs today don’t have. A nearly 5 minute length [ll]. Those aren’t going to be songs that accommodate terrestrial radio formats. That means that the SlaughterHouse project is going to fly on the strength of the fans and their word of mouth.

With albums like Rick Ro$$ ‘Deeper Than Rap’ selling better than 100K units in its first week I have predicted the same results for the SlaughterHouse debut. The Ro$$ album had the benefit of radio to promote its sales. The SlaughterHouse project has the internets. That didn’t work too well for Asher Roth’s debut. Let’s see what happens in the case of four master lyricists.

pams

I’m rating this album 3.5/4 Baywatch Pam Andersons.

We all knew there would be rhymes for days on this disk. The beats are as triumphant as the words from these emcees who were left for dead by the music industry. I wish all the previously leaked singles were on the album too so I could have a disk with them all on one place. I’m also a little disappointed that the M.O.P. x SlaughterHouse joint isn’t on the album.

I’m gonna run a little contest for my peoples here on the internets. I’m giving away an official SlaughterHouse x FLUD watch to the reader that comes the closest to predicting the SlaughterHouse first week sales. Just leave your prediction on the comments thread. I’ll keep the contest open until August 11th so get in where you fit in.

SlaughterHouse self-titled debut drops 08.11.09.

Killaz

slaughterhouse

Posted in 5 Elements, Crappers, Ghetto Celebs, Ninjas | 50 Comments »

Big In The Streets…

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

air zoom mvp

^ $40 retail therapy @ Mr.Joes 38th St / 8th Ave NYC

StreetLevel.com hasn’t published the Raekwon podcast with me, TIM and OnSmash HOF building with the Chef just yet.

PNC Radio did chop up the audio for the inaugural Nah’Right Radio broadcast. You wanna hear it? Here it go…

Pt.1 (Intro/Internets Discussion)

Pt.2 (Nas & Kelis Fuckery/Kanye vs. Jay-Z)

Pt.3 (Marvelous Mo’s Like & Dislike for Drake/Slaughterhouse Phenomenon)

Pt.4 (Freeway/Is it cool to release songs weekly, daily etc./The Game & his Bi-Polarism/Eskay speaks on other bloggers)

Pt.5 (Who’s next in Hip Hop?/Outro)

Big shouts to A.King from PNC Radio for the rips. You can DL these clips or just let them rock out in the Z-share players. People are saying they want to hear more Nah’Right Radio. So do I. Stay tuned party people.

Wednesday had me meeting the folks from Conerstone Marketing at the Wale album listening session. I ran up in that piece a little late because I was on my retail therapy (see above pic). By the time I got there there was no more alcohol left but there was plenty of chicken, yams and collards. Hipsters, and conversely Blipsters don’t eat shit. They just smoke Marlboros, drink vodka, and snort cocaine (how else do you fit into skinny jeans?). The general consensus, okay, the intern from Complex named E, said that the album was fire and Wale did not OD with the Go-Go (whew).

I walked from the recording studio while the rain ripped open the clouds and came down like Niagara. The perfect night to go see Raekwon @ The Noisemakers event thrown by Shot97’s PETER ROSENBERG.

‘Rainy Dayz’

I’m on heavy Cuban Linx mode this week. As you read this I am enterprising an alliance to come up on some tickets for the concert tonight at the Nokia theatre with Redman, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. Should I wear my Iron Man Air Max 180s?

iron man

PrA’li not since the weather report said it would thunderstorm again tonight.

The concert will be just like this right here except 1000x better.

As much as I am going to love these dudes doing the classic material I am going to go batshit if they perform this song…

‘4 Minutes 2 Lockdown’

After the Noisemakers event I wanted to motivate over to the HomebaseNYC anniversary concert. HomebaseNYC is one of the many projects that my homey DeePhunk is producing. His partner in rhyme is the sister whose name escapes my burnout ass. I owe her and Spec Boogie the best shout out on another drop here on this site.

HomebaseNYC was deep with the internets and TWitter celebs. I dived into the green room to see if I could partake of any refreshments but Hip-Hop was in the building (read: boozehounds had already absconded with the comp beers). I still hung around though and guess who was holding court? The broady executive 40 Diesel. My mans-n-them was there too. Tanya Morgan’s DONWILL, brass knuckle rap addict Spec Boogie, Sixth Sense and California spitter DIZ GIBRAN on his NYC grizzly.

DIZ was extremely humble and real when I put him on the spot. He is a real dude that I am gonna start checking for on the regulack. Plus, he ain’t afraid of the ‘S’ on the back of the internets. I fux with dudes that understand the macro > micro. DIZ goes in hard [ll] over J.Dilla for the Jay $tay Paid album.

‘Make It Fast’ (Unadulterated)

The HomebaseNYC show ended with the emo stylings of the young man COLIN MUNROE. I wasn’t mad at son for being wild EMO. That is the newest trend in the game along with skinny jeans. Right now rap music needs an official MICHAEL McDONALD on the chorus to smash all the EMO’s and T-Pains in they biscuit. But until then…

Colin Munroe – ‘Will I Stay’ from dallas penn on Vimeo.

Posted in 40 Deez, 5 Elements, Billy Sunday @ XXL, Blipsters = Hipsters, Crappers, Fanboy Ish, Ghetto Celebs, Ninjas, No Boutros Boutros... Ghali, Sneaker Fiends United, T.O.N.Y. | 7 Comments »

Jumping Out The Window With This One…

Monday, July 27th, 2009

tat

The pic above has been circulating around the internets (TWitter actually) as the latest tattoo that Crooked I is sporting. I hope that isn’t the homey Crooked’s arm not because tattoos are so 1999 but because slaughter is spelled ‘slaugter’ and there is no excuse for that. Sure SlaughterHouse is dope as fuck and if you are into getting tats then by all means partake, but do a spell check first before you put some shit on your shit. Your arm isn’t a gotdamn blog.

I’ve heard mention that the terrestrial radio station SHot97 has been playing a SlaughterHouse track. That is fucking great news. I’m glad that E-1 is squeezing off some paper for this project. Lord knows they should have some dollars to soend since they moved their offices back into the basement of Alan Grunblatt’s parents house on Long Island. Moving back into my parent’s basement was a good look for me 10 years ago. I helped me sober up and save some bucks.

I wonder what the touring schedule will be to support the album? I can see SlaughterHouse doing engagements where they split themselves into two man teams to optimize their effect. Royce-Budden, Budden-Ortiz, Ortiz-Crooked and various combinations. SlaughterHouse will be copied sloppily if their formula makes a dent in the industry. Artists especially will look to form supergroups. It makes more sense for doing shows when artists share their respective fanbases.

I thought I was going to find the SlaughterHouse debut on the web this weekend. I’m glad I didn’t though. Maybe E-1 can keep the lid on it until a week before the scheduled due date? I know that if Def Jam with all their security and secretiveness can’t protect their own releases then E-1 doesn’t stand too much of a chance from the digital pirates on the internets. Even with the downloading of this album I will predict that the project eclipses 150K in it’s first week.

In our current music industry climate 300K is the new platinum so going gold in your first week is nothing to be mad at. The real indicator for the strength of a product has been the third and fourth week sales numbers. Projects can sail on buzz for the first two weeks and then fail quickly afterwards. I hope that the SlaughterHouse collective is up to the task of going hard and long [ll] to promote this album. That is how they will win.

Not with Joe Budden drawing the ire of any more rappers.

And not with misspelled tattoos.

tat

Posted in 5 Elements, Crappers, Ghetto Celebs, iNternets Celebrities, Ninjas | 7 Comments »

How I Got Over…

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

roots

The Roots have consistently been the best live show I have seen. They are so good and satisfying that I haven’t been to a GEORGE CLINTON and P-Funk All-Stars show in several years. There was a time that I never missed a P-Funk date in NYC. Evar! Now I have trained my live show energies on the Roots residency at the Highline Ballroom.

roots

If there was a complaint about the Roots it was that there studio album didn’t match the level of their live performances. I may have made that argument myself. I’m unrealistic to imagine that a studio album can contain the electricity of a venue packed with several hundred people. Still… I’m patiently waiting for the Roots album to drop that will be the undeniable classic that their talent deserves.

roots

This week’s Highline show was special to me because of all my friends that had made the trip to see the show after reading all the drops here on this site. My homey from the DMV and fellow sneaker fiend JaiSlayer came through with some of his homeys. Polotron finally made the trip downtown as well. I see you too TeLisa D.

roots

The Roots are going hard with their latest single ‘How I Got Over’. It’s a tour de force when you hear this song performed live. Black Thought goes in like James Brown x Kool G Rap x Al Green. The music defies description because it seamlessy blends soul music, rap, and R & B. It makes them all one sound. I fux with the Roots mainly for shit like this song which shatters the idea of what a Hip-Hop band should be.

roots