Though Slaughterhouse's Shady Records debut Welcome To Our House has been occasionally miscategorized as the quartet's first album, that is not actually the case. On August 11th, 2009, Royce Da 5'9", Joe Budden, KXNG Crooked (then Crooked I) and Joell Ortiz connected for Slaughterhouse, a fifteen track effort with production from Alchemist, Mr. Porter, DJ Khalil, Focus, Emile, and Streetrunner.
Allen Berezovsky/WireImage/Getty Images
Sonically more polished than their mixtape roots may have suggested, the project went on to tally 18,600 in sales during its first week. For many, Slaughterhouse was a solid effort from a group still establishing their chemistry; consider that their first collaboration only occurred on Joe Budden's 2008 mixtape Halfway House. In hindsight, however, fans have developed a renewed fondness for the eponymous debut -- a conclusion perhaps reached in contrast to the aforementioned Shady album, which continues to cause debate to this day.
Beyond their discography, however, Slaughterhouse has become accepted into the hip-hop group Hall Of Fame, with some even going so far as to label them the last truly great rap crew. As such, Slaughterhouse has taken on a renewed significance, one acknowledged today by both Joell Ortiz and Joe Budden. Taking to Instagram to reflect, Ortiz shared a photo of the album cover and declared that "11 years ago today the Earth shook." Budden, perhaps feeling wistful as the sight of his old tape, chimed in with a nostalgic message: "Vibes were created."
And then there was Sway Calloway, herein speaking as the audience surrogate, laying down the law. "Damn. Put out the next one already. Y’all stop playin," he writes, adding more fuel to the Slaughterhouse reunion speculation that has been brewing of late. While we wait, perhaps indefinitely, for that day -- you have one of two options. The first: revisit the eponymous debut on its anniversary. The second: spend some time reading our official interview with Crook and Joell, where the past, present, and future of Slaughterhouse are thoroughly addressed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDv7y9apTMs
