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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
CD Reviews / Mike McCray / News CD Review: Slaughterhouse's Slaughterhouse
Posted By Mike McCray on Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 10:53 AM
The Good: This album delivered more than its fair share of "oooh" lines. On "Killaz," Royce Da 5'9 spits "you fuckin with a killa/take your body, rape your body, dump it in the river/turn myself in then, beat the case for it then/turn around and put 'I really did it' on my Twitter" — not into murder rap but I had to admit that was clever.
All four styles meshed well but didn't break away from their distinctive regional sounds (Royce Da 5'9 - Detroit, Ortiz - New York, Budden - New Jersey and Crooked I - California).
The lyrical segues between verses put you in the mind of old school joints and made sure you we're never confused about who's on the mic. "Not Tonight," "Onslaught 2" and "Cut You Loose" are all solid. "Cuckoo" is far from a single but still hot, biting Jay-Z's "No Hook" over a hip-hop-meets-horror beat. "Pray" is a very truthful and autobiographical track with a great beat by RealSon, hot even without a Budden verse. "Raindrops" could be the theme song to a single parent upbringing, with Novel doing his best Jodeci on a Death Row-hook impression.
The Bad: The problem with lyricists is they have trouble turning hot lines into hot songs, and Slaughterhouse is no different. It says something that the most “nod-worthy” track, "The One," was a lyrical lightweight. Slaughterhouse’s empty lyrical threats were better suited for a freestyle on the corner than a studio album. I wish Pharaoh Monche had a verse on “Salute” rather than just singing the chorus. Some of the hottest tracks from the Internet bootleg weren't on the retail but could've definitely made the album better.
The Verdict: Chances are you'd never hear any of their songs on the radio below the Mason-Dixon but fans of lyricism will proclaim its glory while people just looking for good hip-hop will only bump it every now and again.
INFO:
Artist: Slaughterhouse
Label: E1 Music
Release Date: August 11, 2009
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