What a difference three years make! For fans of the collective of hit makers known as Slaughterhouse, the changes are obvious. Their debut self-titled album was released in 2009, under E1 Records. Selling under 19,000 copies in its first week, the crew’s individual buzz wasn’t enough to make for commercial success. This time around the crew has one of the year’s most highly anticipated albums with Welcome To Our House. Phaoroahe Monch, Kay Young and Fat Man Scoop features from the previous album are replaced by the bigger names of Busta Rhymes, Cee Lo Green and Swizz Beatz. And needless to say Eminem is the album’s executive producer, releasing the album under his Shady/Interscope label. Change has its pros and cons though for the Slaughterhouse crew.
The one constant on this album is the lyrical prowess of these gentleman. Whether they are involved in an intricate back and forth banter or dominating a 16-bar verse solo, they are going to impress with their wordplay and leave a punchline on you that makes you want to run the whole track back. The opportunity to hear them on multiple tracks with Eminem makes it worth a listen all its own.
The pressure on these guys to create a masterpiece is high, and no one knows this more than Eminem. It feels like he steered them in a direction he felt would be more effective for their mainstream debut, a direction that isn’t really what makes these guys reach their highest potential. Em does produce or co-produce more than half the album in addition to featuring on three tracks. Additionally, another Shady producer, Mr. Porter, produces another two tracks. Plus, two Skylar Grey features, a song about making it rain called “Throw It Away,” and a B.o.B feature??? Not saying Em thinks they need as much help as D-12, but Em clearly felt they needed assistance.
The On The House mixtape released a week ago feels a lot more genuine and true to the Slaughterhouse brand, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do to sell records. Welcome to Our House will do impressive numbers I’m sure, maybe even top the charts in a slow music week. And listeners will have songs like “Die,” “Goodbye,” and “The Other Side” to add to their Slaughterhouse hit collection.
Can’t help but wonder what’s next for Joey, Joell, Royce and Crooked though. All this new music and fans still won’t be satisfied for long.
Welcome To Our House receives a PAR
Rating:
P…Horrible
PA…Tolerable
PAR…Good
PARL…Kinda Great
PARLÉ… Classic
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