Dec 18, 2011         Editorials         by admin

Things seem to be looking up since Eminem's 2005–08 hiatus. Lucky Detroit fans were recently treated as the Shady 2.0 boys (Eminem, SlaughterHouse and Yelawolf) gathered for one night to perform 2.0 Boys together for the first and only time in Em's hometown. 

Shady Records now has two of the finest MCs on their roster (Eminem and Royce Da 5'9"). SlaughterHouse as a group has not been in existence for all that long but the teams’ individual accomplishments are impressive. 

The group formed in late 2008 after Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", and Nino Bless appeared on the song Slaughterhouse from Joe Budden's album Halfway House. They decided to form a group, minus Nino Bless, and named the group after the song.

Their self-titled debut album was released on August 11, 2009 on E1 Music. The album was reportedly recorded over a six day period in early June. For those not familiar with the crew, Planet Urban has decided to break it down a little for the uninitiated.

Crooked I is from Long Beach, California and currently CEO of his own record labels, Dynasty Entertainment and C.O.B. Digital as well as Senior Vice President of Treacherous Records. Before starting his own label, he was also signed to Virgin Records and Death Row Records.

On December 1, 2010, the first single for Crooked I's official debut solo album, Million Dollar Story was released on iTunes titled Villain. On March 21, 2011, Crooked I released the Million Dollar Story EP to tie fans over until the album was released. It featured two brand new songs and two previously released tracks.

More recently Crooked I announced a new digital EP titled In None We Trust - The Prelude, is set to be released on December 13th and will include guest appearances from Glasses Malone, Jay Rock, Mistah F.A.B., Horseshoe G.A.N.G., Coniyac and K. Young. On November 22, 2011, the first single from the EP titled No Competition was released to the internet. 

Joe Budden reps Jersey City, New Jersey. After his self-titled debut studio album, which included Budden's 2003 Grammy-nominated hit Pump It Up Budden signed a multi-album deal with Amalgam Digital in 2007 and released his independent debut Padded Room as well as Mood Muzik 3: The Album, Halfway House and Escape Route.

Budden’s move was made due to Def Jam’s problems with Joe and the direction of his music. Continued disagreements between Budden and Def Jam forced the two sides to part ways. However, Budden managed to release the first and second installments of his Mood Muzik mixtape series while on Def Jam, and the series has been met with critical acclaim.

Joell Ortiz is from Brooklyn, New York. Though signed to Aftermath, Ortiz released an album titled The Brick (Bodega Chronicles) April 24, 2007 on Koch Records. In an October 31, 2010, interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Joell Ortiz discussed his relationship with Eminem and the flood of record labels that have flocked to sign him after his Free Agent album was released. He also spoke of Eminem's excitement at working with him.

In 2011 Ortiz became an unsigned independent artist, after failing to sign with SRC Records, also rumors about Ortiz signing to Shady Records as a solo artist were cleared and completely false. Ortiz has released a collection of mixtapes including Who The F*@k Is Joell Ortiz? (2004), Road Kill (2009) and Defying The Predictable (with Novel) (2010).

Royce Da 5'9" is a longtime associate of Eminem and has ghostwritten for the likes of P. Diddy and Dr. Dre. Royce made his first impact on the scene with the DJ Premier-produced single Boom which gained him underground recognition and eventually resulted in the two working together more closely.

Royce had a falling-out with Eminem's group D12 which resulted in a heavy rivalry between the rapper and five of the six members, with Royce releasing three diss tracks aimed at the group. The rivalry between Royce and former friend Proof of D12 caused the two to be arrested and jailed after they drew guns. The feud ended eventually and Royce was featured in a mixtape of D12 released in 2008 called Return Of the Dozen. 

In 2004, he released his second and most critically successful album to date, Death is Certain, charting with another Premier-produced single, Hip-Hop. After Royce reconciled with Eminem, the duo started working again on new music and released Hell: The Sequel on June 14, 2011. There are plans for Eminem and Royce to record a Bad Meets Evil LP in 2013 after Eminem's next solo record.

With guys like this on deck, Shady Records and SlaughterHouse as a group certainly have a lot more in the fridge to put on the chopping block.