Eminem The 'Perfect Boss' For Slaughterhouse

'When he comes in and listens to songs, it's not to critique them; it's to listen,' Joell Ortiz tells MTV News.

NEW YORK — For hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, chemistry is key — not just among the group, but with label CEO Eminem as well. So while Royce Da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, Crooked I and Joe Budden are busy working on their Shady debut, they are also getting to know Marshall on a personal level.

On the creative side of things, Em is keeping his distance, choosing to let SH find their way during the initial recording process.

"He's kinda walking eggshells around us creatively. He's telling us basically, 'Do exactly what y'all did last time. We're just gonna do it on a bigger level. Y'all don't need me to make records; y'all can do that,' " Royce said backstage at Rock the Bells of Slim Shady's involvement. "It's more of a bonding thing. They all play basketball at the studio, and it's just them getting to know him better and making his comfort level high with them, because he met them when we signed the deal."

In January, it was announced that Eminem had signed not only Slaughterhouse, but upstart rapper Yelawolf as well, when they all appeared on the cover of XXL magazine. Before the deal, Royce was the only member of Slaughterhouse with an Eminem relationship; the two have since released their Bad Meets Evil EP this past June.

"He's a great person, and I think that's one of the things that makes me most excited about the project," Joe Budden remarked. "Being with him, you just totally forget that he's one of the dopest rappers and he's so successful. He's a great person, and he's still a humungous fan of the culture and very much in tune with what's happening."

Joell echoed a similar sentiment: "He really is a fan too, though. He's a fan of Slaughterhouse. When he comes in and listens to songs, it's not to critique them; it's to listen."

Like Em, SH are celebrated for their complex lyricism. It is that lyrical dexterity where the quartet's bond with their CEO lies. "Me, personally, I really like getting his input. If I got five, 10 minutes to holla at him on something that I want to holla about, I'm just gonna seek input," Crooked I said. "It's a lot of artists out there that are signed to super-mega-stars and they can't even have that conversation."

There isn't a set date for Slaughterhouse's upcoming album, but during his "RapFix Live" appearance in August, Royce hoped to have a first single out by December.

No matter the release, as of now, Slaughterhouse believe Shady is the perfect label for them. "I just feel like he's the perfect boss for this group, and we couldn't have a better home," Ortiz said.


http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670369/eminem-slaughterhouse-partnership.jhtml