Slaughterhouse — Slaughterhouse EP

There's a hogtied pig in the center of the cover of the second effort of the hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, on a white background, the names of the performers on the four sides and the name of the group in white on a red background. As in the debut album, the title isn't there. There really isn't. So, the record is called Slaughterhouse, again. Until now, this name is a track of joe budden (2008), the name of the group (2009), the group's first album (2009) and the group's first EP (2011). Fantasy continues to be a word that fails to enter the vocabulary of these four boys. The group wants to sign with Eminem's Shady Records, at a certain point it doesn't seem to be able to do it anymore, then it's done. But the album still comes out on E1. Not bad. However, it's not the same as releasing with Eminem's label, I guess.

This EP consists of six tracks, including three remixes, for a total of just under half an hour of listening: it's a tremendous improvement over the album released two years ago, much of the merit lies in the fact that there's less material to deal with. The rest doesn't change much. The production is as bad as before, but less bad than that debut: behind the keyboards are M-Phazes, Mr. Porter, Black Milk, Sean C & LV and Frequency. They've all made at least a good rhythm or a good album in their producing career, but not here. Sean C & LV, in particular, make you question whether the Hitmen have ever done anything good in their entire career. Yes, I remember things like "Life After Death" only after, mea culpa. Rap is still hardcore, this is a street rap EP where the guys keep the winning formula of the album and do the same things all the time in a fairly generic way on still too rigid and plastered beats, it's a coherent follow-up from this point of view. It sells few copies and is their latest with the E1.

The guest department is made up of Dres of Black Sheep acting the hook in the opening track, Iffy in an eight-minute piece that never feels essential and that I recommend to skip quietly, and The LOX. If you've ever wondered what would happen if LOX were in a cut with an average rap group, here comes the answer: it's an impressive massacre, the guys steal the show very easily. Sheek Louch starts strong in this remix of "Put Some Money on It", has a great crisp and smoothness flow, Ortiz follows but doesn't care, then Jada spits relaxed, effortlessly, before Styles P with his dirty, raw, flowing style. LOX MCs kill the cut, excellent, would be perfect with good beat. Then of course, there would be the others, but you can also stop listening (Crooked I has a commendable delivery and still rips the track, in any case). 6/10.