To this day, some still spin fables of the Slaughterhouse album that never was. Originally meant to follow up their Shady Records debut Welcome To Our House, the sophomore project was ultimately shelved indefinitely, much to the dismay of fan and group member alike. With rumoured production from Just Blaze, the project was deemed by Budden as darker in nature, which naturally delighted fans hoping for a tonal shift. Plus, Just Blaze is a legend, and hearing his work on Slaughterhouse was an intriguing prospect to be sure. Sadly, the project eventually fell into a purgatorial state, kept alive through legend and water-cooler talk.
Now, Joe Budden has shared a look into what manner of discussion may have plagued the group. The "CCD of Spotify" took to Instagram to upload a clip of his "Pull Up" interview with KXNG Crooked, who officially announced his departure from Slaughterhouse earlier this year. Captioning the clip with a brutally honest confession, Budden sets the tone. "I never released this interview because some parts of this talk needed to stay right there, but I’ll be honest, I’ve watched it about 100 times this weekend," he writes. "Make trust important in all of your endeavors. I’ll talk about it later."
In the clip, Crook and Budden are in the middle of a heated debate over why Shady stopped funding the album. Joe cites a conference call, in which he inquired how many songs would be on a new Slaughterhouse EP. From the sound of it, the conversation led to the group "dropping everything they were doing to go record an album that the label didn't pay for."
Crook retorts by saying "why would they pay for something you're not going to promote, bro? You think they trust you to promote they records? You wouldn't even tweet the shit half the time! You think Shady Records trusts Joe Budden to promote the album?"
Joe: "You not saying the man who made his entire career off social media engagement would not engage with our album on social media, are you?"
Crook: I'm absolutely saying that promotional materials were not being tweeted out from your account. Absolutely. We have email threads about it.
[Joe stares at camera with "can you believe this man" face]
Joe: Ladies and gentlemen. This has been a special edition. This n***a tells me he has email threads.
Budden soon shared a second clip from the interview, in which the conversation continued. In this one, he's got the floor for the most part:
Joe: I think somebody somewhere made a lot of money. I don't think it was you, and I don't think it was me. Nor do I think it was Royce. Nor do I think it was Joell. That's thought A, in my very psychotic brain. Thought B is nobody made money, and the geniuses that I think Em and Paul are really really mismanaged our brand. I don't think it's because they tried to do that cause they were malicious. I think the same thing I thought then, when I was jumping up and down, screaming and kicking and having meeting after meeting with my brothers.
Crook: I can't let that rock.
Budden: But it's true! I said, and I quote, "we are not him." Is that true or false. ("him" no doubt referring to Eminem)
Suffice it to say, we want the full conversation, and hope that Joe drops the full thing soon. Though it may seem heated, remember, these men have dubbed themselves brothers on numerous occasions, and will no doubt argue from time to time. Their passion speaks volumes, and it's a shame the group never worked out. In any case, salute to Budden and Crook for engaging in an open and honest discourse.