What Happened To Slaughterhouse? Here's What The Former Members Are Doing Now
Once upon a time in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Slaughterhouse was a promising name among hip-hop fans. The supergroup, which consisted of prolific rappers like Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I and Royce da 5'9", brought an exciting, fresh sound on the table when they linked up for the first time in 2008 on Budden's album Halfway House. From there, they decided to form the group and released their debut self-titled album in 2009 to welcoming receptions from fans and critics alike. It was a promising start, indeed, especially given their big statuses in the rap game at the time.
Fast-forward to 2022, Slaughterhouse is nowhere to be seen or heard of. Soon after the moderately successful debut rollout, Slaughterhouse signed to Eminem's Shady Records and proved the laundry-list of talented artists who flopped under Eminem as their label president. They have been officially disbanded, leaving us one million-dollar question: what happened behind the curtains, and what have former members of Slaughterhouse been doing since they fell off the map?
8 How Promising Was Slaughterhouse?
After signing to Shady in January 2011, Slaughterhouse released their second album and their major-label debut, Welcome to: Our House, a year later. Commercially, it moved over 200,000 copies in the US alone and peaked at number two in the Billboard 200 chart, marking their most successful release to this day.
So, whatever happened to them since then? In short, the group was done because of creative clashes among the crews as there were too many creative and dominant forces in it. Eminem spoke to Sway Colloway during a 2018 interview that it was "because everybody wasn't on the same page of what their favorite songs were (for the third album). So I thought they were gonna go back, regroup, and try to make few more songs."
7 Royce Started His 'PRhyme' Project
While Slaughterhouse was on its course to their third album, which didn't eventually come out, Royce linked up with DJ Prime as a duo called PRhyme. They made their debut as a duo in 2014 and four years later, they revisited what they left off with PRhyme 2. The Detroit native also released his seventh album, Book of Ryan, and his eighth, The Allegory, respectively in 2018 and 2020. The latter received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album in 2020 albeit losing to Nas' King's Disease.
6 Joe Budden Became A Hip-Hop Pundit
On contrary, Joe Budden hung up the mic for good in 2018, and his explosive personality helped him found success as a hip-hop pundit on Complex's Everyday Struggle podcast. He'd talk about numerous topics ranging from music to sports as well as on The Joe Budden Podcast and on Revolt's State of Culture.
"When I suggested that they find probably another rapper to take my place and still put out music, they didn’t think that was the greatest idea, and that was years ago. That might’ve changed," Budden said in 2018 on how he once suggested they replace him, as XXL Magazine reported.
5 Joe Budden's Beef With His Former Boss Eminem In 2018
Slaughterhouse's breakup goes a little deeper than just creative differences - at least for Joe Budden. When Eminem put out Revival in 2017, a lot of people trashed the album to the ground, including the one Slaughterhouse member. Em wasn't merely close to the rapper-turn-pundit, but he couldn't help to question why he was critical about the album while Em did everything he could to pump the group he was in.
"But when I’m out here, flying around to different places and doing interviews and trying to use my platform to pump up Slaughterhouse every chance I get, and you’re using your platform to try to trash me?," Em said in a 2018 interview.
4 Joell Ortiz Left Shady Records & Became An Independent Artist
Joell Ortiz signed to Eminem's Shady Records as a solo artist during his time as a Slaughterhouse member. He was previously signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment after his explosive rise in the early 2000s, but left in 2008. However, he left Shady not too long after and released his third album, House Slippers, under Penalty.
"He said, ‘You couldn’t escape me if you wanted to, you back in the family.’ It’s a good thing. I know Dre honored that decision of mine because it validated the person that he thought I was, like a leader," Ortiz recalled meeting his old label president Dr. Dre while attending the Grammys in 2011 as a part of then-Eminem-led Slaughterhouse.
3 Kxng Crooked's Last Full-Length Album As A Solo Artist Was Released In 2017
In the meantime, Crooked has been keeping himself busy with his solo endeavors. His last solo album, Good vs. Evil II: The Red Empire, may be released in 2017, but the Long Beach rapper has been collaborating with many people on different projects.
He linked up with his Slaughterhouse mate Joell Ortiz for a joint album, H.A.R.D., in 2020, and detailed their perplexing relationship with the group in their second collaborative album in 2022, Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse.
2 What Have These Slaughterhouse Members Said About 'Rise & Fall Of Slaughterhouse'?
The title of the album is quite controversial, so what have the two other members, Royce and Budden, said about it? TL;DR: none of them were happy about the project. Royce took to Instagram to criticize the project and their attempt to "burn down" the foundation of the group without telling anyone, while Budden got into a heated debate with them during an Instagram live session back in March. Ouch.
1 Will There Be Any Slaughterhouse Reunion?
So, is there any sign of the Slaughterhouse reunion? Based on the recent comments that each member has been making against others, a nostalgic link-up may be far from the horizon. As mentioned, Crooked's latest collaborative album with Ortiz has raised several elbows especially from Royce and Budden, and it took a heated turn when the three latter rappers argued during a live Instagram session.
"If anybody spinning the narrative, it's y'all two gentlemen," Ortiz adressed Budden and Royce, adding, "Especially you, Royce. You out here talking about the 25 percent. You had 25 percent and you burned it down. You doing all types of mathematical equations about housing ownership and s**t. The bottom line is this: Crooked brought a bag to the table for something y'all ain't been f***ing with for a long time."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYrWivM%2BepZ6cXam8br%2FLmqygoKSav6m71KycZqCVp7K0edahmK1llqS%2FrrHRZqSepZKav7R5wKucZpyfnruoec2ormg%3D