NEWS
EVENTS
Slaughterhouse live at HMV Forum
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 16th May 2012 | Osh
After a late evening spent at the office, in the time honoured tradition of the yuppie lifestyle i’m currently trying on, my editor kindly sent me to a concert of the rap supergroup Slaughterhouse, to relax and take notes. I wasn’t too familiar with any of the members except Royce da 5’9’’, whom I admired from his collabs with Silent Knight and DJ KO. Turns out Slaughterhouse are into hardcore hip hop shit.
The concert was opened by Smiler and Mystro in the short warm-up before the main act. Actually, there was little need for a warm-up - Slaughterhouse has a big and loyal fanbase in the Queendom, and the ones present were all in an enthusiastic mood even before the event took off. The four performers kept it live and lively throughout, with songs off their first album, as well as others which appeared in their individual releases. The “Welcome to: Our House” album is due in June and it can’t come early enough for the Brits who filled the venue last night. As with any group formed by already successful artists, Slaughterhouse is still defining itself, and differences in style are obvious between them, which only adds to their identity. Searching for common ground cannot be easy with these guys, all of them very talented and energetic, but with different backgrounds and lyrical techniques.
The show in itself was explosive - bursts of fast paced rapping, freestyle and even acapella between tunes, plus what appeared to be a friendly battle between the four MCs, were a blast for the crowd who loved it and showed great support. A sense of humour, if backed by ‘wordsmith’ skills can easily turn into a rap comedy show, off-da-dome, as it were, and after serious debate about the acoustics of the room and Royce’s quick freestyle, the unanimous conclusion was that anybody who tries to step to them will get their “cinnamon chimney” climbed into by the four mean poets. Word to the wise.
Aspirant underground MCs were throwing heaps of cds on stage at the end of the concert - demos probably, but there’s always the chance of the odd sex tape made by an overly eager bad girl, too young to be a groupie. Who knows? Bras weren’t thrown on stage because rap ladies don’t wear such constraining items.
Crooked I, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Royce da 5'9" have enjoyed playing at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town last night, and The Guestlist Network was there to make sure real hip-hop is promoted as it should. We will also get an interview with Slaughterhouse today, after they wake up from their Grey Goose binge, of course, so stay close to see what they think about things.
by Harry Cathead
