Joell Ortiz & KXNG Crooked return to deliver an album that had been promised for years. After years of hype surrounding the supergroup, also consisting of members Royce Da 5’9 & Joe Budden, Ortiz & Crooked separate to deliver an album they claim is just because they wanted to rap. Yet, as the album art & recent Instagram Lives they have been going on, this album is more than that. It essentially functions as a tell all story of the group’s fallout, which is the farthest they could get from a reunion album.
They deliver an album that is drenched in drama & spite for each other. On the songs, they constantly claim its all love & want to look past it, but they never do on the actual lyrical content. There’s even a track titled “fukglasshouse,” which serves as a bitter chant at the unreleased album.
I’m Smoking Glasshouse pack tonight
RIP Glasshouse
Rest in procrastination
You was beautiful
I’m so sad I had to do it to you
Joell Ortiz & KXNG Crooked – Fukglasshouse
Anyone that has been following the group for any number of years is aware of the situation that caused the fallout. The one sided approach on this album doesn’t reveal anything, and anything that could’ve been revealed was unveiled in the IG Lives leading up to its release. We never get a breathe of fresh air, the album is held down by two of the best lyricists out overly focused on the dramatics.
Even with skipping the IG Lives, the new information here is minimal. They describe the label deals & actual numbers on paper, which may be interesting for people caught in label politics, but these are two rappers that feel like they received less shine than their other two group members. Its a chance at a new chapter, but they’d rather dwell in the past than proving why this will be different. There’s unfortunately not much to take away here, since its that’s all the duo seems to be concerned with. The only hope is that if there is a follow-up, they move past a now decade old fallout.