Slaughterhouse NYC Performance

Photo links:
Wire Image

(video courtesy of Dallas Penn)

Ahmad - 'Get Some Money And Go To Jail' Ft. Crooked I (video)

mini-press release below...

Ahmad Ali Lewis, best known for his seminal 1990’s nostalgic party anthem “Back in The Day”, is returning to the rap game with his long-anticipated sophomore album, The Death Of Me, set for release Tuesday, August 10th.

After taking a hiatus from music to complete his undergraduate studies at the prestigious Stanford University, Ahmad has been preparing for the release of The Death Of Me which kicks off with the lead single and video "Get Some Money & Go 2 Jail" featuring Crooked I, of the Shady Records super-group, Slaughterhouse.

"I wanted to provide for my family and secure my son's future, but also Stanford gave me the opportunity to learn things I felt I should have already known. I never left the music alone though, so in a way, this album is a culmination of a decade of work behind the scenes.".

The set also features members of the Living Legends and production by The Machine and Medicine. The Death Of Me will be released on Ahmad's own imprint WeCLAP.

Slaugtherhouse To Sign With Eminem's Shady Records?; Preps Tonight's Edmonton Concert

via Jam Canoe

Detroit rapper Royce Da 5'9", a.k.a. Ryan Montgomery, wants you to know his new supergroup Slaughterhouse is the best of the best.

But that doesn't mean he takes criticism lightly.

Some major names in hip-hop will shine at the Edmonton Event Centre tonight (Check The Rhyme concert Friday, April 16), including Del the Funky Homosapien, Pharoahe Monch and, of course, headliners Slaughterhouse -- a group that also includes Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I.

"Right now the message is just basically to convince everybody that we are the best, nobody's better than us," Montgomery says of his new crew's lyrical agenda.

Slaughterhouse formed after Budden featured the other three group members on a track from his Halfway House album, to overwhelmingly positive reactions from online fans.

The praise was too much to ignore, and the four veteran lyricists bring their A-games to the table on Slaughterhouse's self-titled debut album, which was released last year.

Critics have mostly been kind, but when someone knocks their rhymes, it smarts a bit for Montgomery.

"I think I hold what people think to a higher regard than I should. The writers and all of that, they get under my skin," he admits. "I look at all the reviews, I look at all the comments.

"There's a lot of artists that don't even pay attention to the comments because they don't wanna get moved by it, they don't wanna feel a certain way about it.

"It'll bother me, and I know I shouldn't be lettin' it bother me, but I'll let it bother me anyway and it'll push me harder next time."

Few rappers have hotter credentials than Royce. He's ghostwritten for the likes of Dr. Dre and P. Diddy, and has been turning heads since the late '90s when he formed a duo called Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem.

He later had a falling out with Eminem's group D12, which resulted in an ongoing public feud.

But the two have since made up, and though Montgomery isn't quite the celebrity his ex-cohort is, he has no self-pity.

"There's been times when I've been overlooked, or sometimes I feel a bit underrated, but I can only blame myself for that," he says.

He recalls past opportunities with record labels that he simply wasn't prepared for when they rolled around.

"When I signed my first deal, I got a multi-million dollar deal two times in a row. It was set up for me to just take off. I don't think personally that I delivered all of the right records," he says.

"I didn't have the mechanics of writing songs and making complete albums all the way down yet.

"I didn't know how to bring across my natural personality and nail interviews, and everything that comes along with catapulting yourself to the next level."

Now, he insists, he's "so prepared, it's pathetic."

And who better to help catapult Slaughterhouse than Montgomery's old partner in crime?

His quartet is currently primed to sign with Eminem's label, Shady Records, a branch of Universal.

"We've got the deal on the table right now," he says, adding the major label backing could take Slaughterhouse to the status of his most notorious collaborators.

"We conquered the underground already. Now we're ready to show people that we can take it to the next level."

But money and fame pale in importance to what he's really after: sweeping critical acclaim.

"I want to be looked at as the best ever," he says.

Slaughterhouse European Tour Highlights From Amsterdam & Hengelo, Holland

All fan shot footage below.







Above Wednesday, January 20 at Melkweg in Amsterdam Holland



Above Friday, January 22 at Metropool in Hengelo Holland

(Amsterdam footage courtesy of rolfsma, meller85 & BGizzle07141985)
(Hengelo footage courtesy of citrusbullfrog)

Slaughterhouse European Tour Highlights From Copenhagen, Warsaw & Stockholm

All fan shot footage below.





Above Saturday, January 23 at Gota Kallare in Stockholm Sweden





Above Sunday, January 24 at The Fresh in Warsaw Poland





Above Wednesday, January 27 at Loppen in Copenhagen Denmark

(Copenhagen footage courtesy of SupaJizzle)
(Stockholm footage courtesy of RichardRost)
(Warsaw footage courtesy of Adrianoshg)

Slaughterhouse European Tour Highlights From Prague, Helsinki & Oslo

All fan shot footage below.





Above Saturday, January 30 at Bla in Oslo, Norway





Above Sunday, January 31 at the Virgin Oil Co in Helsinki, Finland





Above Tuesday, February 2 at Lucerna Music in Prague Czech Republic

(Prague footage courtesy of MartinKonig1)
(Helsinki footage courtesy of vitunkoala)
(Oslo footage courtesy of YoungLmixtapes & JoJoo00)

Slaughterhouse European Tour Highlights From Budapest, Vienna & Zurich

All fan shot footage below.





Above Thursday, February 4 at Planet in Vienna Austria







Above Wednesday, February 3 at A38 in Budapest Hungary





Above Friday, February 5 at Dynamo in Zurich Switzerland

(Vienna footage courtesy of lexstradamus & KidizinSane)
(Budapest footage courtesy of leniwi)
(Zurich footage courtesy of SwissLady1)

Crooked I Interview With BallerStatus

BallerStatus.com: When I first heard the title of your EP, Mr. Pigface Weapon Waist, I automatically thought of the law boys.

Crooked I: (laughs)

BallerStatus.com: I'm thinking, "Okay, what's this about?" How did you decided on that title for your EP?

Crooked I: When we do Slaughterhouse shows, I used to come on stage with a pig mask. So, a lot of the fans started calling me "Pig Face" ... Then the "Weapon Waist" came from a song that I did ... "The Warriors". That's on Royce Da 5'9's Street Hop. They call me "Weapon Waist." Everybody in Slaughterhouse, they say, when I'm drunk, they say I become Weapon Waist. My temper is this short.

BallerStatus.com: Now, what kind of material is going to be on it?

Crooked I: When I first made the EP, it was for the summer. I made that EP a long time ago. I wanted to make some summertime music for Cali. When you're in Cali and it's summer, people like to drop their tops and people like to ride around. That's what I did it for. What ended up happening was one of the songs had a sample on it ... the particular group, which I don't wish to name right now, because I have more samples from this group. They didn't want to clear that particular sample. So, it took a long time, like back and forth back and forth. Pretty soon, the summer was over by that time.

Now, the concepts on there were very rebellious, because, like I said, when I get too many drinks in me, that's Weapon Waist, right there. He got a short temper, so the concept was like very rebellious. Like Jay-Z did "Death of Autotune" -- It's like they want to see the death of West coast sh**. I could feel it, you know what I mean? I can feel it. I've been all around the world. I've been in this industry for a long time. A lot of people want to see the death of West Coast sh**. So, the whole thing was, we're not buying it. This is what we're doing, so accept it! That's where it came from. I don't know. (laughs)

Read the full Crooked I interview here:
BallerStatus - Crooked I Keeps It 100 — Talks Industry Politics, the New West, Ghosting Writing & More

Slaughterhouse First Week Expected Sales At 22K *correction*

Preliminary numbers via hits daily double, which tallys sales before Nielsen Soundscan officially publishes their numbers each Wednesday.

**edit** It's official, Slaughterhouse - Self Titled does 18K on Nielsen Soundscan first full week sales.

Slaughterhouse announce release date

On July 7th 2009, E1 Music is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated debut album from Slaughterhouse -- the hip hop super-group featuring four of the most lyrical MCs in the game -- Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9", Joe Budden and Crooked I.

The group came together only 10 short months ago when Joe Budden was working on a song for his "Halfway House" album and enlisted the services of Crooked I, Joell Ortiz and Royce Da 5'9" for a song called "Slaughterhouse." Inspired by the vibe of track and the immediate chemistry of the four rappers, a plan was immediately made to form the super-group. Several songs and a handful of viral videos later only created increased demand and curiosity from fans. Hip-hop heads demanded to hear more! And now they'll be able to.

The fearsome foursome is now in the studio recording songs for its official upcoming debut album. The album will feature production by The Alchemist, Streetrunner, DJ Khalil and Denaun Porter.

Among working track titles of songs set to be included on the album are "Not Tonight," "Microphone," "Number 1" and "Cuckoo."

Slaughterhouse member Royce Da 5'9" weighs in, "This group is really something special and this summer I'm excited to show the world what we have to offer! If you thought that we were just gonna release a few tracks to the net and then disappear you are in for a very rude awakening."

Joell Ortiz adds, "We did an entire album in 6 days! When you genuinely love what you're doing everything is effortless. It was like a long party. I can't wait for the fans to experience this album."

Alan Grunblatt, Executive VP/GM of E1 Music, offers, "Slaughterhouse is the most exciting new group to hit the hip hop scene in many years. I'm thrilled to be working with old friends Royce, Joell, Crooked and new friend Joe Budden."