Image courtesy of the “SLAINE – INTERVIEW (Tinkiet Radio Show, Radio FMR) + BURN Live @ cabaret Underworld” Video posted on YouTube.
Slaine has proven to be a success in the booth and on the screen. The Boston underground rapper/actor, also known as George Carroll, has multiple independent albums and various group projects with underground giant La Coka Nostra. His most recent solo beast is 2014’s The King of Everything Else, a project featuring the likes of Vinnie Paz, Tech N9ne, Madchild, and Ill Bill. This album has Rite Hook, a slept on figure who raps and sings some of the best underground choruses in the world, on three of the songs. The features are carefully chosen and help Slaine create a complex piece of work.
Beyond pumping out strong verses, Slaine has appeared in The Town and Gone Baby Gone. He also plays a serial killer in Girl House, a film that should appease fans of the horror and slasher category. Slaine without doubt has a following and group of loyal fans, but I do feel like underground heads should be giving him even more attention.
The Boston product comes across as striking because his music is authentic. There’s braggadocios material mixed with drug content and demon battling. For those unfamiliar with Slaine’s sound, check out five of his best songs posted below. All five were selected on grounds of quality and having an accompanying music video.
“Bobby Be Real” (featuring Tech N9ne and Madchild)
It’s never a negative component having two of the best underground artists featured on a track. Slaine utilizes his best hook of The King of Everything Else here.
“Destroy Everything” (featuring Rite Hook)
A perfect example of what having Rite Hook on the chorus does for an underground joint. Slaine’s rapping is precise with a sound many are unable to duplicate.
“The Enemy” (featuring Rite Hook)
Technically classified as a song by both Slaine and Madchild, this savage track has a spot in the Girlhouse soundtrack. The video sends shivers and the lyrical content is disturbing but effective.
“Trail of Blood”
This is one of Slaine’s most thoughtful and effective storytelling pieces. The material is depressing to be clear, but it’s a testament to the rapper’s gritty edge.
“Zombie” (featuring Son Of Skam)
This is the weirdest out of the five, an oddity similar to Madchild’s strange videos. Nevertheless, Slaine captures a rock sound that should get any underground fan severely hyped.
Like Vinnie Paz, Madchild, and other underground animals, Slaine never pushes out watered down and creatively bogus raps. Peep my pieces on Vinnie Paz’s best material and the same for Madchild if you missed those. It’s great for fans with an ear for the underground that these artists frequently drop features with one another. If Slaine hasn’t been in your rotation, change that starting today. Then watch The Town, and if you’ve already seen it, watch it again.
Slaine is the only underground rapper to my knowledge who can say he’s appeared next to Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner in a movie. RESPECT.
