Slaughterhouse

According to reports, Eminem is attempting to bring longtime collaborator Royce Da 5'9's group Slaughterhouse over to Shady Records.

Hot 97 radio personality Miss Info claims that contract negotiations have already begun to bring the group -- Royce, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I -- over to Em's label. Their recent cameo in the video for Eminem's song 'Forever' is evidence that there is at least a mutual admiration between the artists.

"So here are the 'rumors' that I'm hearing ...That Slaughterhouse appearance in 'Forever,' was indeed a non-verbal announcement of the contract negotiations going on behind the scenes," wrote Miss Info. "For the past month, both sides have been working towards bringing the group to the Shady label. And that the gathering of Em and the guys at the shoot, is the first of more collaborations to come."

Royce and Eminem have been working together for over a decade. They formed a group together in 1997 called Bad Meets Evil, recording and releasing several songs, one of which was the original version of "Renegades." Jay-Z would later replace Royce's vocals with his own and release the song himself. Royce had a falling out with Em and his group D12, they later reconciled, and have been supportive of one another's careers ever since.

While the prospect of signing to Shady might seem like a dream come true for most independent artists, the label has a history of shelving talented, but not overtly commercial artists, from Stat Quo and Obie Trice to Bobby Creekwater, all of whom departed the label after languishing on the back burner.

While Slaughterhouse have a staunch following and a solid independent label, E1, behind them, the prospect of sharing Eminem's fanbase may still entice them to take their chances with a major label release. We'll be interested to see how it all plays out.

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