Joell Ortiz

Joell Ortiz is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. Joell Ortiz was born to Puerto Rican parents. Ortiz grew up in the Cooper Park Houses in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label. He was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of the March 2004 issue of The Source Magazine and was also selected as Chairman's Choice in XXL Magazine. During the same time Joell also went on to win the 2004 EA Sports Battle which earned his song Mean Business a spot on the NBA Live 2005 soundtrack. The same year he was offered a contract to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. The deal quickly went sour which caused Joell to start beef with Jermaine. Joell has since collaborated with KRS-One and Kool G. Rap. Joell released his street album called "The Brick: Bodega Chronicles" April 24, 2007 on Koch Records. The album was recorded while Joell was trying to get signed and going through some tough times personally. Even though he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, Dr. Dre allowed him to release the street album on Koch Records. The Brick features productions from Showbiz, The Alchemist, Domingo, Ho Chi from Killahertz Productions, Lil’ Fame of M.O.P., Novel, and Moss, among others. Guest spots include Big Daddy Kane, Styles P, Big Noyd, M.O.P, Akon, Immortal Technique, Grafh, Ras Kass, Stimuli, and Novel. Joell Ortiz is 1/4 of Super Group Slaughterhouse who drop their highly anticipated EP entitled, Slaughterhouse EP on February 8, 2011.

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Single: Call Me

Crooked I

Dominick Wickliffe, better known by his stage name Crooked I, is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. Crooked I is 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.

Joe Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Nino Bless for a track titled "Slaughterhouse" on his digital release, Halfway House. Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a super-group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after this song. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, building a buzz for their self-titled album, which was released through E1 on August 11, 2009. The album features production from Alchemist, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter, Streetrunner, and guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K. Young, and The New Royales.

On February 27, 2009 in Long Beach, California, Crooked I was allegedly shot at during a conversation with a fan. The conflicting early media reports on the incident in the following hours initially left people worried and uncertain on his condition, but he has since confirmed to MTV News and other media that he's alive and, while mentally distracted, physically well. Crooked I has declined to further elaborate on the incident, citing where he's from its against the code of the streets.

On November 10, 2009, Crooked I released a digital-only solo EP, Mr. Pig Face Weapon Waist. “It’s a spin off of my Slaughterhouse alter ego,” he said of the odd title, “cause I come out on stage with a pig mask and a Dickie suit on.” The EP also boasts guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, K. Young, M.O.P., The Horseshoe G.A.N.G., and of course fellow Slaughterhouse members, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Royce Da 5'9". In addition to production from Komplex, Scram Jones, Streetrunner, Frequency, and P. Silva.

After briefly considering plans to release a full length Mr. Pig Face Weapon Waist LP in January 2010, Crooked I revised his priorities and announced Million Dollar Story, to be released in 2010. Production for the album is to include contributions from DJ Khalil, The Alchemist, and newcomer Quest. In addition, Crooked I stated his intentions to get DJ Premier beats for the album. As of August 2010, Crooked I stated Million Dollar Story should be released in early 2011. It has now been confirmed the official release date for the album will be March 22, 2011.

The new owners of Death Row Records, WIDEawake Entertainment, released a Crooked I album called Hood Star on June 15, 2010. It has 15 songs Wickliffe recorded while signed to the label, with guest appearances from Juvenile, Too Short, Kurupt, Danny Boy, Ray J, Sisqo, and others.

On August 17, 2010, Crooked I released yet another EP, titled Planet C.O.B. Vol. 1, which features production from Rick Rock, Komplex, and more.

On December 1, 2010, the first single for Crooked I's official debut solo album, Million Dollar Story was released on iTunes titled "Villain", which features Gracie Productions recording artist Sally Anthony.

On January 12, 2011, after months of speculation, Slaughterhouse officially signed to Shady Records, along with artist Yelawolf.

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Single: Mr Pigface

Joe Budden

Born in Harlem, Budden lived in Queens until he was 12 and from there moved to Jersey City, which he still calls home. He is one of five boys (one older brother and three younger brothers - two are twin brothers). Budden heard music in his home (his father is an emotional multi-instrumentalist) and on the streets while he grew up.

In the year 2003, Budden released his debut solo studio album, Joe Budden. It included Budden's 2003 Grammy-nominated summer hit "Pump It Up", and was also featured in the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious and the video games Def Jam Vendetta & Def Jam Fight for NY. The song "Focus" was also featured in the game and Joe Budden was also a character. Its second single was "Fire" featuring Busta Rhymes, which was in the movie Mean Girls. The song "Drop Drop" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Cradle 2 the Grave. Joe has hinted in many songs that he was a recovering drug addict. Joe has reaffirmed his position as a recovering addict several times through multiple outlets.

After his debut album, Budden's sophomore release titled ‘The Growth’ was hampered due to the label's problems with Joe and his Def Jam seniors not happy with the direction of his music. The production of the album appeared to end up in a development hell and was ultimately not released. 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.

In December 2007 Budden signed a multi-album deal with Amalgam Digital and released his independent debut Padded Room as well as Mood Muzik 3: The Album, Halfway House, and Escape Route.

Joe Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz and Nino Bless for a track titled "Slaughterhouse" on one of his Amalgam Digital releases, Halfway House. Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after the first song they made together. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, leading up to their self-titled album, which was released through E1 on August 11, 2009. The album features production from Alchemist, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter, Streetrunner, plus guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K. Young, and The New Royales. The group signed with Shady Records on January 12th, 2011.

Many of Joe Budden's relationships with women have been in the spotlight, most notably his 5 year relationship with model Tahiry. He is currently dating model Esther Baxter. He has also been romantically linked to models Gloria Velez and Somaya Reece.

Budden has a son from a previous relationship. In 2010, he was wanted by New Jersey police in relation to unpaid child support payments.

Budden has also been in the spotlight for his numerous controversies with other rappers including Ransom, Game, Saigon, and an incident involving several members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

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Single: Fire

Slaughterhouse

Stay tuned for the Slaughterhouse group to be posted up

Knobody

Since the age of 16, Knobody has been busy developing his unique blend of rhyme & spoked word (coined as \"Rappetry\") to become one of the most recognized young emcees in the Bay Area hip-hop scene. Knobody began his career selling EP\'s of his rhymes in &; around the streets of the Bay for $2 a pop. He showed his passion &; dedication to the craft a few years later, when what began as a joint effort between several fellow artist became his 2001 solo debut \"Tha Book of Mathieu\". With a great deal of underground buzz & success of the album & subsequent mixtapes, in 2006 Knobody took his talents across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco where he dominated Philip Drummonds monthly \"Beats, Rhymes & Life\" song competition at the Element Lounge. Dont mistake him for a battle rapper though, the point of the contest was to craft the best complete song, not to freestyle or diss the other emcees. His reign as champion only ended when he was asked to step down & become a judge of the competition to give the other rappers a chance. From there, Knobody\'s career began to gain serious momentum. In late 2006, Hieroglyphics emcee & resident A&R man, Casual, happened to be at a show that Knobody was performing at. Casual couldn\'t stop listening to the CD Knobody had given him months earlier, &; within weeks Knobody was negotiating a deal with Hiero Imperium to become the first member of their new Triple i League crew. Casual has high praise for him- \"Knobody\'s well of rhymes runs deep. The only other emcee I\'ve heard who can stay on the same subject throughout a song without having to switch up is Eminem.\" Anyone who is familiar with Casuals formidable skills knows that this is not praise to be taken lightly. In September 2007, Hiero Imperium released Knobody\'s first (official) project \"Tha Clean-Up\", a heavy hitting, fully realized album that aims to do what a clean-up hitter does on a baseball team: smack one out of the park. Knobody has re-teamed up with Da Beathoven(Scion/Roland 2007 King of the Beats Champion), Retro(the Tones), & other friends & fellow artist and in 2011 is set to release his follow up, tha GO AHEAD, Knobody looks to pick up right where he left off...\" With his next album highly anticipated, & touring in & around the country becoming a regular thing, one thing is certain...the \"Kno-Show\" is just getting started!!!

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Single: On My Job