S. Samuel
Fans hoping to see Slaughterhouse's new Welcome to: Our House topple its competition as the number one-selling album next week will have to rally up hip-hop heads as its first-week sales projections have dipped.
Although still expected to debut in the Top 3, the group’s latest sales projections have it likely settling for second best.
Bolstered by strong sales from the Christian market, tobyMac should win the fight for #1 next week, the first Christian/gospel artist to do so in recent memory. Here’s how it looks headed into the Labor Day weekend, with no releases selling in six figures: *tobyMac (Forefront) 60-65k *Slaughterhouse (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) 50-55k Trey Songz (Atlantic) 40-45k *Alanis Morissette (Collective Sounds) 35-40k Now 43 (Capitol/EMI) 30-35k 2 Chainz (Def Jam/IDJ) 27-30k (Weakend Chart Preview)
A few days ago, the crew’s new LP had sales projections up to 60,000 copies.
In what is hopefully the calm before the September storm, it looks like tobyMac and Slaughterhouse will fight it out for #1 next week. The wild card will be sales from the Christian market for veteran tobyMac, the rapper formerly known as Kevin Michael McKeehan, whose Forefront album, Eye on It, is looking at sales of 50-60k. That puts it head to head for #1 on next week’s chart with Shady/ Aftermath/Interscope Eminem protégés and supergroup Slaughterhouse with their sophomore album, Welcome to Our House. The band features Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz and Royce da 5″9″. (HITS Daily Double)
Recently, group member Crooked I talked about the album’s importance and Eminem’s involvement on it.
“Eminem is arguably one of the most successful artists in the whole f*cking world,” Crooked I says. “And he signed Slaughterhouse. You can’t get much more successful than being signed to that guy. Wherever the project goes, that’s where it goes. Hopefully people will feel the music. I know we put our best foot forward.” While members of the group tease focus on solo careers post-album release, the quartet stays unified-but is willing to cut loose along the way. “As soon as the album comes out, you can find me at the local strip club, hanging off of the Hollywood sign,” Crooked I says. “We’ll probably do some shows, go out there and have fun with the fans. No doubt.” (Billboard)
Em joked about putting together Slaughterhouse’s long-awaited LP a few weeks ago.
“I’m actually finishing up one of the last songs for it, right now,” Em said in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid. “Today, as we speak. Yo, turn the snare up a little bit. Bring that kick down. [I’m mixing now during this interview?] Yeah. That’s why I’m not paying attention. It’s just me, man. Yeah. I rap their verses for them and then I present it to them like, ‘Yo, here’s how you guys should say this and here’s what you should say.’ It’s pretty much how we do it. [Who’s the most annoying?] Royce [Da 5’9] by far. [Physical confrontations?] Nah, we don’t have to go that far. We just know we have a mutual dislike for each other. And then we just leave it at that. The bad feeling’s mutual. We don’t like each other so we don’t get upset with what each other says or anything like that because we just don’t care.” (Shade 45)
Check out some recent Slaughterhouse footage below:
