“ This year is the death of my old style”
There is a method to the madness. Danger Rich's mixtape Slaughter House II naturally goes in a slightly different direction than the original Slaughter House. Ironically, with a more commercial sound, it's more effective in penetrating the mind with the many messages that are lightly intertwined throughout the tape. Looking at tracks like “For the Rest of Your Life” , “Backpack Flow” or the hilarious “No Hair”, you can see that he isn't just saying nothing on the track..... shouts to mims. Its apparent that Danger is becoming a master at serving up knowledge without force feeding the listener.
Lyrically, the mixtape stands even with SH one,which is a plus and a minus. Its impressive in that you would think that he would have to sacrifice a little lyricism for the direction taken, but no, he has lyrics to spare, “Couldn't step foot in my zone with a motion offense.” Yet, there is a little disappointment for those looking for him to lyrically take it above the series debut. Still, nonetheless, he is miles above 95% of the mixtapes on the market.
On that note, I can't help but think of Jay-Z when he was in that zone spitting verses like that on the Dynasty intro, allowing us to see within his mind, to see the causes and consequences of his hunger pains....the motivation behind his hustle. Similarly , Rich has the potential to provide us with such material but only gives us small glimpses into his inner thoughts about his downfalls, regrets, and troubles. For instance, on “Walking Legend”, he briefly mentions, “ I was real fucked up when my mom left my dad.” There are similar notes of this sprinkled throughout the album, like on “Let the Beat Build” or “UPS is Hiring" on the latter spitting “I was fatherless, raised in the wilderness." Again, this sensitive subject is dwarfed and tucked in between lyrically hard hitting lines.
Understandably though, the mixtape is not an angry, mad at the world, emotional album. Its not Mood Muzik or The Marshall Marshall Mathers LP , nor is there evidence that he was going for that effect. Instead, there is a unique swagger with commercial potential that is laced with introspective moments. Ultimately, with his skill level, this formula works. The Slaughter House II shows growth and slightly surpasses SH1, with good replay value, definitely worth a listen. Although you can enjoyably play this in your earphones, its more suited for the SUV. Respect. |
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