With Joe Budden’s mouth and his aggressive opinions he’s been in a whirlwind of conflict, possibly attracting more bad press then good. Unfortunately things got taken out of context, media got involved and friends came to the defense of their brethren. What manifested was the beginning of a beef that had the talent and heart to become monumental as well as possibly dangerous for the newer Slaughterhouse.

Some people consider battles apart of Hip-Hop’s foundation. Everyone wants to be the best, no one wants to lose, so then, isn’t a little competition necessary. Weren’t we always taught, boys will be boys, let them fight, in this case battle and then move on. Even if an actual battle wasn’t Joey’s initial intention, he only attacked Meth’s rhyming ability, not his lifestyle. Is it too much to ask our rappers to ’show and prove’? If you don’t agree with statements, prove us wrong. Is rap above that now, are some on a pedestal too high that they shouldn’t be questioned, ever?

Some would agree with the latter. Method Man is nearly legend status, The Wu will remain prominent in history. ‘Who are you, internet rapper, to question the status of greatness?’ ‘Who are you to doubt the Meth’s skills when you’ve just recently been dropped from your label?’ But when these questions arise is it safe to conclude that it’s more about that which is killing Hip-Hop then the actual music? The status, the history, the money, and not the actual present skill that lies within these rappers, rap itself? maybe, maybe not. Either way, the situation has seen it’s end, and we’ll never actually know who will win between the two lyrical beasts.

When the beef escalated and Inspectah Deck become involved, both parties saw where this was going. Being that Slaughterhouse is a new, although well-equipped group, beef with Wu-Tang probably wouldn’t cook well within their future. And who wants that problem, when the real cause is bringing back Hip-Hop? Currently on the Rock The Bells, Slaughterhouse is putting the lyrics back into the music and saving the aggression for the tracks. The Jones Beach stop became the official show in which Slaughterhouse deemed the beef, dead. No longer interested in the problems they could gain with Hip-Hop’s hottest veterans.

-Ashley M. Browder