March 21, 2022

Kxng Crooked & Joell Ortiz "Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse"


A polarizing title, no doubt... what do we think of this: Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse? Joell Ortiz and Crooked I, burning down the group (Slaughterhouse) they helped create, alongside Royce Da 5'9 and Joe Budden. In these days and times, I think it's an obvious marketing plan, and it seems to have caught Joe and Royce off-guard and not really feeling the move... or their version of the story. To be expected, I suppose. Personally, I don't like the optics or roll-out at all, but who gives a shit what I think! These are two very skilled MCs -- although not my two favorites in the group -- and this isn't necessarily their best work, but it's still solid. Will it cause more beef than anything else? Probably more discontent than anything, but nothing serious, and nobody expects Joe to hop out of retirement to address it on record, (right)? I enjoyed most of Crook's and Joell's collaborative album, H.A.R.D., and Crook's "Life of a Bandana" still gets hella burn today. I guess we'll see how this plays out on Joe's podcast, Royce's live (+ music?), and obviously in the media. One thing for sure, do not play with Royce... he's got more than a rocket launcher on them, and most MCs for that matter.