During an exclusive live chat on Reddit’s “Ask Me Anything”, Eminem answered a myriad of questions, but the most interesting was his pick for most underrated lyricist, which Mr. Mathers chose to keep “in-house”.
Slaughterhouse’s own Crooked I was Em’s choice for most underrated rapper of all time. Arguably, many people will debate his point, however, there’s no doubt that Crook’s lyrical ability isn’t fully recognized. Of all time/ maybe not that much.
WithJoe Budden long exiting from fan-favorite Hip-Hop group Slaughterhouse to pursue new and exciting business ventures, Lupe Fiasco began campaigning to replace the “Pump It Up” rapper in the hardcore rap group which was made up of Joe, Royce Da 5’9,” KXNG Crooked and Joell Ortiz.
— “DROGAS WAVE” & “BeatNPath” NOW PLAYING (@LupeFiasco) January 19, 2020
After learning about Lupe’s aspirations of joining the group Royce Da 5’9″ had no problem… quashing that notion.
In a recent interview with HipHopDX, Nickle-Nine explained that while Lupe Fiasco’s skill set wasn’t a problem and was even that of a “master,” the idea of Lupe replacing Budden on the Slaughterhouse roster would “never happen.”
“Nobody can replace Joe,” Royce bluntly stated. “Nobody can replace anybody from Slaughterhouse.” The Allegory artist went on to explain that if he, Crooked and Joell were to form a team with Lupe Fiasco “it wouldn’t be Slaughterhouse, it would have to be called something else.”
The Poultry Market?
Still, Royce isn’t wrong. Though Lupe is nice on the mic, his style would stick out like a sour thumb amongst the group whose gritty steez made them a favorite amongst hardcore Hip-Hoppers. Royce noted as much when in his breakdown saying “They’re two totally different kinds of rappers and people. So that’s not a swap.”
Regardless of how Royce felt, Lupe seems to have taken it in stride as he took to Twitter and posted a crying Jordan meme addressing 5’9″‘s dismissal of the idea.
On Friday morning, Eminem surprise-released a new album. His third LP since October of 2017 features an exciting guest list of MCs as well some ongoing jabs at rivals, including MGK, Brand Nubian’s Lord Jamar, and Joe Budden. This weekend, Budden responded to Music To Be MurderedBylyrics on episode #314 of his Joe Budden Podcast With Rory & Mal. At 20:00, Joe Budden, Rory, Mal, and Parks listened in on the Dr. Dre co-produced “Premonition” intro to Eminem’s 2020 LP. While Joe’s criticism of 2017’s Revival rollout became kindling in a fiery beef for the next year, the Slaughterhouse co-founder praised the new material. “I’ll tell ya one thing, buddy: that’s how you start a project,” Joe reacts. Minutes later, Budden continues, “People are gonna replay this album. This is the best we’ve heard him in a while—the best album we’ve heard from him [in a while].” Joe adds that he does not consider 2018’s Kamikaze to be a cohesive album as much as a response to critics. Eminem Has Just Dropped An Album Featuring Black Thought & Royce 5’9. Listen Here. However, Joe is alluded to on Music To Be Murdered By. At 47:00, Joe Budden waves off one diss on “I Will,” which features Royce 5’9, Kxng Crooked, and Joell Ortiz. Although not credited as a Slaughterhouse song, it marks the second appearance of the three active members of the group since 2018. Budden insists that while many listeners thought the song was going at Joe, he disagrees. “The Em line in that song, when he was tearing Lord Jamar’s ass up on old group flips, that led to ‘Your group is off the chain, but you’re the weakest link.‘ In a song featuring [members of] Slaughterhouse, I could see how that looked like it was about Joe. Joe says it was not. That’s about Lord Jamar, obviously, if you listen to the eight bars coming before it. You [listeners can] get your panties out the bunch.” On “Lock It Up,” which features Anderson .Paak, Eminem raps, “Try’na save at Kroger, so why would I give a f**k about back-stabbin’ Trader Joe for?” At 50:00, Budden reacts to the lyric which implies he is a traitor during some supermarket wordplay. “Trader Joe. That’s hurtful. [Laughs] That’s not right! [Laughing] That’s offensive, man. Trader Joe? I’m Joe. [Laughs] You’re telling me Joe is a traitor?” Budden and his co-hosts laugh at the lyric.
Joe Budden Flips Out On Eminem. He Says He’s Been Better Than Em For A Decade (Video) Two minutes later, at 52:00, Joe speaks more about his current status with Eminem. “The same way I feel like [Eminem] should stop dissing Lord Jamar, he should stop dissin’ me. [Laughs] Hey, whatever we had—that exchange when you did all the [multi-day interview segments with Sway Calloway], and whenever I said whatever I said on the pod’, it a moment in time. We had our exchange. It’s over. In 2020, I can’t harbor negativity not only towards one of the best rappers, but somebody I’m not angry at. That’s what I gotta stop doin’. I don’t be mad at the people I come in and kill. There’s no hostility after that.” “That’s why ‘Trader Joe‘ is hurtful a lil’ bit. Last week I was gonna come in here and play that [Kxng Crooked] record [‘I Luv Y’all’] where he said my name on a record.” The co-hosts say they were unaware of the song or the lyric from this month’s song, which pays homage to Above The Law’s “Black Superman.” “I know you didn’t [hear it], but he said my name on a record. I asked him. I tweeted him, ‘Why didn’t you ever say my name on a record when I was active?'” Budden says that his former band-mate suggests the energy has been different since the group disbanded. The podcast team say they love Crooked I. Joe agrees, adding, “You sensitive, but we love you.” Joe insists that he is at peace with everybody, including Kxng Crooked and Eminem. “I don’t have a problem with anybody.” The host continues, “Everybody has to do what’s best for them. Everybody has to move in a way that they see fit. So when it comes to [it], the word ‘traitor’ is just a little misleading. I have no beef with Em’; I have no problem with Em’. I’ve only ever had but so many conversations with Em’. I’ve been very consistent in my message though: the only problem or issue that I had was in how our business was set up. The end. Does that make me a bad guy? For having a different perspective for how the business should go or how we should be treated, or how we should be handled—especially when it’s our sh*t? Like, I know now, ownership is cool and all. But some of us were fighting for it then. I don’t think that should make me a traitor.” Joe Budden Says He Encouraged Slaughterhouse To Replace Him (Video) Parks the brings up Joe’s disparaging remarks about Eminem’s singles in 2017 while serving as a co-host on Everyday Struggle. “That’s surface. The deeper issue is I say ‘F*ck Paul [Rosenberg].’ And, f*ck Paul. I stand by ‘f*ck Paul’ only because of how loyal I am to Royce [5’9].” Joe is referring to Eminem’s longtime manager and business partner, Paul Rosenberg. “If you’re asking Joe Budden, I’m gonna always feel like Royce should be in a different position because of his alliance over there.” Mal says that he agrees with Budden. Joe continues, “I think that’s a Paul issue.” He re-states, “Why is Joe a traitor for doing what’s best for Joe?…My only beef with Em’ on the business relationship was his inability to adapt with the times and to separate brands. The end. There’s no ongoing [beef]. That’s it.” Before closing the subject, Eminem confronts a notion that he is purely money-motivated. “Then I seen some people on Twitter—[Slaughterhouse orchestrator and veteran rapper] Nino Bless was one of ’em, saying, ‘Let’s start calling Joe’s retirement what it is; he retired to chase money.’ Not fair. I don’t think that’s a fair assessment of Joe’s retirement! I was rappin’, chasin’ money too. [Laughs] I just didn’t get it; it didn’t work. When I stopped rapping, there wasn’t a dime coming from podcasting. We had no idea [that] podcasting was even about to balloon the way it was. So don’t say ‘Joe’s chasing money’ ’cause it worked. It’s not right, man.” Kxng Crooked Is Brutally Honest About The Breakup Of Slaughterhouse (Video) From there, the Saturday episode moves to other topics.
New York rapper Joell Ortiz is going super Throwback Thursday. The hip-hop veteran has reflected on the day he signed to Dr. Dre‘s iconic Aftermath Records. Look and comment below!
Just over two weeks ago (November 14), Royce 5’9 released his second single of 2019. Now a music video, “Black Savage” features Sy Ari Da Kid, White Gold, CyHi The Prynce and T.I. The song re-contextualized the disparaging term by instead, wearing it as a proud title. The song now plays during NFL games as part of JAY-Z and Roc Nation’s partnership with the league. “Black Savage” also marks Royce’s most noteworthy production to date in a year where he’s expanded his repertoire. During the show’s 300th episode (“The London”) of The Joe Budden Podcast With Rory & Mal, Budden called up his former Slaughterhouse band-mate. Near the 70:00 mark, Joe tells his crew, “Let me tell you something: on that Royce – ‘Black Savages’ record, in my head, the third verse is me.” Then, Budden decides to call Nickel Nine. Moments into the friendly call, Joe says, “In my head, I move T.I., and I’m the third verse.” Royce laughed. As Joe’s co-hosts tease Budden that he’s out of shape from the microphone, Royce says he’s willing to work with his longtime collaborator. However, while joking around, Royce confirmed a followup to 2018’s The Book Of Ryan, named one of Ambrosia For Heads top albums of that year. Royce 5’9, T.I. & CyHi Use Bold Bars To Redefine The Meaning Of Savage (Video) “I’m telling you, my album gonna bring you out of retirement,” says Royce. At 75:00, Parks asks Royce if he produced the entire LP. In April, fellow Slaughterhouse alum Kxng Crooked confirmed that 5’9 was producing his group and moving behind the boards. “I produced the whole thing. The only reason I think it’s gonna make you want to rap, Joe, is because I could tell you’re just looking for a reason to want to rap. You’re literally baiting people into conversations to bait you into rap.” Last fall, Budden had a standoff with “Black Savages” guest CyHi. “I’m bored,” Joe admits with laughter, bringing up the CyHi situation. Royce says, “CyHi—that’s god-level” of his guest and the Budden challenger. At the top of 2019, Royce also released a la carte single “Field Negro.”Kxng Crooked Explains Why Slaughterhouse Needs To Release One Last Album#BonusBeat: Listen to the full episode (#300) of The Joe Budden Podcast:
Yesterday (November 14), Royce 5’9 released a powder keg of bars in the song “Black Savage.” Produced by the decorated MC, the song was posted on social accounts by the NFL, reportedly tied into JAY-Z’s Inspire Change initiative with the league. However, the song is not about football. Instead, the track—which comes at a time Royce has suggested a followup to 2018’s highly-acclaimedThe Book Of Ryan—is about redefining what it means to be labeled “a Black savage.” A firing squad of elite MCs, including T.I. and CyHi The Prynce join Nickel Nine to flip a disparaging term on its head and show what excellence really looks like. The new video, featuring all of the MCs, as well as singer White Gold on the hook, and veteran Atlanta, Georgia MC providing a bridge, opens with a quote. “You have to decide who you are and force the world to deal with you, not the idea of you,” attributed to author James Baldwin. With bold bars, these artists make a soulful song that demonstrates how savagery can be a virtue. It takes place in a stylish nighttime mansion party that celebrates the good life and heritage at once. Fellow Slaughterhouse co-founder Kxng Crooked makes a cameo in the visual. Royce 5’9’s Most Powerful Song Of His Career Is A Call For Solidarity & Pride Royce opens with an example of why he continues to reach new ground with his songwriting at the same time he begins a production career.“I don’t believe in your white Jesus and Last Supper’s / I place value on brothers who never had justice / I am a Black savage / Ali and Foreman in Zaire, fighting for Black magic / Rifles and flag jackets / Mama was suicidal, Papa had bad habits / Product of true survival / Rocker, like Black Sabbath / Hoppin’ up out the Chevy / Pac, Biggie, and Machiavelli / O.G., like Nas and Reggie / Culture like ‘Ox’ in Belly / Vulgar like Akinyele / Focused like Dr. Sebi / We did it your way, but now the culture is boppin’ to our Sinatra medley / I’m limitless energy / They gimmicks and imagery / Kendrick, Cole, and the Kennedy’s / Lyrical Holy Trinity / General of the city / They into promoting silly beef / Keepin’ it Willie D / Weezy on the ‘A Milli’ beat / Dreamchaser facing the enemy like my ni**a Meek / Tyler Perry writing my winning speech like it’s Emmy week / Heart of gold, never sold my soul, gun weighs a ton / Hov tellin’ Lori Harvey no at the Roc Nationbrunch,” he raps. CyHi opens the song with a melodic nod to Kurtis Blow and Lauryn Hill. “If I ruled the world / I would return all the gold that was stole’ / We upholster the nose on the Sphinx, it’s a world war / They try’na take the soul outta Soul / Ni**as say I sold out; I never sold out a show,” he begins, pointing out some historical savagery. “I don’t hang with pawns / I’m Genghis Khan,” he charges a few bars later. CyHi’s Atlanta neighbor T.I. closes out the song, addressing the people who judge him for his past. “You could never be me / Knew who I was before I got out the trap to sell the CD / I been shoulder-to-shoulder with gangstas facing LAPD / Felony after felony, still they be yellin’ me free / Now, my philosophy / Is no possession or apostrophe / ‘Cause ain’t no use bein’ in prison; you ain’t gotta be / Ironically, we dodge a crazy cracker with hammers / Just how they used to dodge a ni**a with braids and bandana / Man, it been more mass-killin’s than its been days in the year / Wonder if fighting for it worth it as much as leaving it here.” The former felon-turned-mogul admits the mistakes of his past without being shy about condemning the violence permeating society, and reminding his listeners where it seems to come from. Royce 5’9’s Book Of Ryan Is A New Chapter & Proof That He Is 1 Of Hip-Hop’s Greatest MCs This Detroit-to-Atlanta connection marks one of the most potent collaborations of 2019. Royce 5’9 is two-for-two (following the explosive “Field Negro”) in a relatively quiet year to date. New music from Royce is currently available on the official Ambrosia For Heads Playlist. T.I. & Teyana Taylor Hunt Traffickers & Abusers In A Powerful New Video#BonusBeat: Royce 5’9’s making of “Black Savage” episode:
The weekend might be done-done but that’s not stopping Jonny Fastlane for giving you those last-minute hip-hop updates. The Brooklyn native dishes on Louisiana rapper Kyyngg getting shot, Kodak Black‘s teddy bear selling out, Royce Da 5’9 sharing a throwback Slaughterhouse pic and more. Let’s talk hip-hop!
Kxng Crooked is the latest respected Hip-Hop lyricist to segue into driving dialogue in the music media. Recently, the Long Beach, California lyricist also known as Crooked I launched Crook’s Corner. Taking a concept from his hashtag of longstanding Hip-Hop discussions on social media with peers and fans, the MC has partnered with HipHopDX to host guests in conversations about Rap music and culture. Following a recent appearance by Tech N9ne, the C.O.B. O.G. welcomes his Slaughterhouse co-founder Royce 5’9 to the Corner. With the full episode arriving Saturday (June 1), a segment released previewing the discussion. “The most debated song, in my opinion, in Hip-Hop history, is ‘Renegade,'” Crooked I begins, referring to JAY-Z and Eminem’s 2001 Blueprint collaboration, embedded below. “That is a split down the middle: ‘JAY-Z had the best verse’ [versus] ‘Em’ washed JAY-Z on his own sh*t’ debate. That argument goes on forever.” Royce 5’9’s Most Powerful Song Of His Career Is A Call For Solidarity & Pride Crook’ points out that Royce 5’9 was originally on “Renegade,” before JAY-Z. That version of the Eminem-produced song is embedded below. “I was signed to Sony/Columbia [Records], and Marshall was executive producing my album. We were gonna do two songs that were gonna make the album.” The other song, “Rock City,” ended up on Royce’s debut LP of the same name, which eventually released independently in 2002. “Rock City” became a video single ahead of the album, even though both tracks had been recorded. “I just thought it was okay,” Royce recalls of “Renegade.” The track was made a few years removed from the pair’s Bad Meets Evil material in the late 1990s. “We had did so many songs together where we was just kind of rapping. I just thought it was okay, and it just one of them joints that was just kinda sitting.” Eminem called Royce some time later, expressing his desire to send the track to JAY-Z. “I’m such a fan of both. Jay is definitely one of those people that I definitely always wanted to see [Eminem] work with. So when he sent it to him, and he did it, that’s when it started sounding great to me,” Nickel Nine admits with a laugh. “I think what people are arguing is they’re arguing preference at that point. You’ve got two guys that do two different things, and they’re so good at what they do that they figured out a way to join the two worlds together. People who prefer JAY-Z’s content, what he talks about and the way that he approaches the beat, they’re always gonna say that he got the better verse—because they like his style of Rap better. But whether one is more lyrical than the other, like we said, it’s subjective.” Kxng Crooked Discusses The Times Hip-Hop Tried To Cancel Eminem & Defends Him At 2:50, Kxng Crooked asks Royce if he would like to “weigh in on that debate.” Nickel responds, “I don’t think it’s one of them kinda songs, man. I don’t think it’s one of those kinda songs ’cause it didn’t sound like they were trying to tear each other’s head off; they made a song. I mean, I prefer the way that Em’ attacked the beat a little bit better,” Royce admits. Crooked adds, “Yeah, his cadence was crazy on that.” Royce continues, “I’ve heard both of them go crazier, just on some super-lyrical sh*t.” Although 2018 saw the disbanding of Slaughterhouse, Royce, Kxng Crooked, and Joell Ortiz rapped together on the “Timberlan’d Up (Remix),” a free download supplement to Apollo Brown and Joell’s Mona Lisa album. Royce 5’9 Discusses His Relationship With J Dilla (Video) Notably, Royce 5’9 is currently producing a project from Kxng Crook’s proteges, Family Bvsiness (formerly Horseshoe Gang). Crooked confirmed the news during a recent and comprehensive sit-down with adam22 and the No Jumper Podcast. #BonusBeat: A playlist of JAY-Z and Eminem’s “Renegade” followed by the Royce 5’9 version:
“Me and Joe Budden, we’re not friends like that. We didn’t go to the same f*cking high school or something. So I get that part. But when I’m out here flying around to different places and doing interview sand trying to use my platform to pump up Slaughterhouse every chance I get and you’re using your platform to f*cking trash me. I’m one of the things that keeps this sh*t moving. You’re doing something, you’ve got a voice in hip-hop so you actually could be affecting the ship a little bit because you don’t owe me nothing. But I’ve never got into a f*cking interview and been like, ‘Joe Budden sh*t is f*cking trash. That last album he put out is f*cking trash.’ So that’s kind of the attitude I took to this whole album, Kamikaze. What if I gave everybody my opinion about them?” (The Kamikaze Interview Part 2)
“Where we had left it, about two years ago, was everybody came in and some of the guys in the group picked certain beats and some of the guys didn’t feel those beats were like the other beats and it was like definitely enough songs to put an album out but for the most part it wasn’t a complete picture because everybody wasn’t on the same page with what their favorite songs were. So I thought they were going to go back home, regroup and try to make a few more songs. I didn’t hear anything from that and at that point I started getting really deep with Revival. I was recording everyday. So a couple months go by and from what I understand it to be, what I was told, I didn’t hear this first-hand but Joe said ‘Slaughterhouse ain’t hot right now. We don’t have a buzz. We need to put out a mixtape.’ From that point, everybody started branching. Royce went and did his album. PRhyme. Everybody started doing their own solo sh*t so I thought they were just happy with that. They just wanted to work on their own albums for a while and we’d just come back and visit this or whatever. When we made the first Slaughterhouse album, Welcome to Our House, that was another album that I felt like, ‘Holy sh*t. People just literally trashed this. They trashed this album.’ It was a huge f*cking backlash. ‘Nah, this ain’t what we want to hear. It sounds too polished.’ You’re critiquing these guys that are f*cking wordsmiths.” (The Kamikaze Interview Part 2)
While many Heads may have become fans of Kxng Crooked (fka Crooked I) during his time with Slaughterhouse, the Long Beach, California native had a significant fan-base as a solo artist all the way back to 1995. In fact, for a time he was the flagship artist of Death Row Records. However, after a frustrating and near fruitless stint on Suge Knight’s storied West Coast label, he really made his mark by starting the trend of dropping weekly freestyles/tracks. He launched the brilliant marketing campaign in the Spring of 2007 and ended it a year later. Yes, he dropped an impressive 52 joints in that span.
Now, a dozen years later, a rejuvenated Kxng Crooked is back on his weekly grind. He is already on his 11th installment of the 2019 run. This week’s edition is named after popular comic book character “Bishop,” who is a time-traveling mutant cop from the X-Men. This is fitting because these next level bars could easily be from the future.
Over a beat that borrows its loop from Ice Cube’ “Bird In The Hand,” Crooked catches bodies like they were falling from the sky. He makes sure to name-check Cube right at the start of his barrage as a “what up.” His delivery and lyrics are so aggressive that it almost feels like he’s in an URL battle.
He really hit the nails on the head when he kicks, “I rap like I started the whole Hip-Hop universe / Swallowed the God particle / And omitted a Nas article / I call an audible / The fans are gonna cheer / But the casual fans only want ‘the album of the year’ / And the purists only want an album with Premier / Meanwhile, I’m in Cali, khakis sagging on the pier / Like, what’s happening over here? / I only rap with juggernauts / Them other ni**as is scared, they studio doors double-lock / Picture that making my hustle stop / Still rocking wearing watches I can’t pronounce like this Hublot…Hublo / I don’t know.”
While many Heads may have become fans of Kxng Crooked (fka Crooked I) during his time with Slaughterhouse, the Long Beach, California native had a significant fan-base as a solo artist all the way back to 1995. In fact, for a time he was the flagship artist of Death Row Records. However, after a frustrating and near fruitless stint on Suge Knight’s storied West Coast label, he really made his mark by starting the trend of dropping weekly freestyles/tracks. He launched the brilliant marketing campaign in the Spring of 2007 and ended it a year later. Yes, he dropped an impressive 52 joints in that span.
Now, a dozen years later, a rejuvenated Kxng Crooked is back on his weekly grind. He is already on his 11th installment of the 2019 run. This week’s edition is named after popular comic book character “Bishop,” who is a time-traveling mutant cop from the X-Men. This is fitting because these next level bars could easily be from the future.
Over a beat that borrows its loop from Ice Cube’ “Bird In The Hand,” Crooked catches bodies like they were falling from the sky. He makes sure to name-check Cube right at the start of his barrage as a “what up.” His delivery and lyrics are so aggressive that it almost feels like he’s in an URL battle.
He really hit the nails on the head when he kicks, “I rap like I started the whole Hip-Hop universe / Swallowed the God particle / And omitted a Nas article / I call an audible / The fans are gonna cheer / But the casual fans only want ‘the album of the year’ / And the purists only want an album with Premier / Meanwhile, I’m in Cali, khakis sagging on the pier / Like, what’s happening over here? / I only rap with juggernauts / Them other ni**as is scared, they studio doors double-lock / Picture that making my hustle stop / Still rocking wearing watches I can’t pronounce like this Hublot…Hublo / I don’t know.”
