The eternal shelving of Slaughterhouse‘s sophomoric Shady album Glass House remains one of hip-hop’s great tragedies, especially given that it doesn’t appear likely we’ll ever get our hands on it. Especially not after the way Joe Budden and Eminemwent from collaborators to rivals, exchanging shots on records and podcasts alike. Yet, perhaps foolishly to be sure, fans have decided to remain hopeful that Slaughterhouse will rise again — even if it is by way of a years-old release.
Speaking on the My Expert Opinion podcast, Royce opened up about the status of the lost project, and what might need to occur before it stands a chance at releasing. As expected, Joe Budden plays a pivotal role in the saga, though Royce is clear to absolve him of all the blame. “There wasn’t always an issue between Joe and Shady,” he explains. “The issue with Joe and Shady now is just the way he voiced his opinion about Marshall’s album. Marshall didn’t like that. It wasn’t because he had an opinion about Marshall’s album, it was the way he publicly voiced it. I actually had a problem with that too. But me and Joe spoke about it.”
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Though Budden did apologize to Royce for putting him in an awkward position, Em has yet to receive the same treatment — a point that Royce is quick to point out. Even prior to the whole Revival-Gate incident, however, the Glass House album was facing a fair number of challenges. “There were things behind the scenes going on that brought certain vibes into the studio as well,” continues Royce. “Two people had some disagreements and some business dealings separate. I’m not gonna say who those two people were. And that caused a little something and then everybody in the group decided to go do separate albums.”
As for now, the group remains signed to Shady Records, inactive though they may be. “[Jpe] wants to get it released from Shady because he doesn’t want to release it through them,” says Royce. “But he’s basically saying he’ll still play ball. You know, ownership is a big thing to Joe right now. He’s evolving. Just in terms of understanding the importance of equity. He looks at the brand as something we built, which we did, you know.” As to whether Slaughterhouse will ever be able to come together on the same page, Royce isn’t entirely ruling it out – provided everybody is fully on board to commit.
“If we are not gonna do the album then I don’t even want to have conversations unless I know that everybody’s down to rap,” he clarifies. “I don’t want to force anybody to rap, man. Joe’s having a good time doing what he’s doing, Crook is super successful. Joell Ortiz just got married. I mean, I’m just happy where everybody is, where we are as men. I’m happy about that.”
