The Butcher Shop Presented By Esham

In addition to Esham’s 2007 digital-download-only EP Lamb Chopz, The Butcher Shop… contains 17 collaborations with the legendary rapper-producer’s Detroit comrades. The compilation is testament to Esham’s imagination and versatility as a producer. Cunning and hallucinatory, “Lamb Chopz” is the perfect representation of Esham’s latter-day style. His love for rock music comes out in the psychedelic “Mr. Honeynut Cheerioz” and “Forgot About E,” which samples the bassline from Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire.” One of Esham’s favorite techniques as a producer is to borrow the sample from an iconic rap song, and mangle it up to make something new. Mastamind’s “Reel Life” is a strangled, funky reinterpretation of Jay-Z’s “Million and One Questions” while Bossalini’s “Black Orchid” is a woozier take on Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa.” While many of the supporting tracks are rather tame by Esham’s standards, Insane Clown Posse’s “Global Warming” is the perfect fusion of comment and content. Rappers Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J envision a landscape overtaken by simmering temperatures, as Esham provides them a beat of sluggish, groaning blues.