Hell: The Sequel

Untitled

Hell: The Sequel is the debut EP by Bad Meets Evil, an American hip hop duo composed of Royce da 5'9" and Eminem. It was released on June 13, 2011 in some countries by Shady Records and Interscope Records and on June 14, 2011 in the United States.

Background

Main article: Bad Meets Evil

The duo also collaborated on their 1999 12-inch single "Nuttin' to Do" along with several other collaborations released the same year. However, as D12 rose to fame in the early 2000s, Eminem and Royce had a falling out resulting in both sides going their separate ways. The feud turned into a public rivalry between Royce and D12 and lead to Royce releasing three diss tracks aimed at the group. After disses were exchanged from both sides, Royce and fallen D12 member Proof reconciled their differences before Proof's death in 2006. Two years later, Royce was featured on D12's mixtape "Return of the Dozen Vol. 1" in 2008 and also joined the group on tour in Europe and Canada.

Rumors of Royce and Slaughterhouse signing to Shady Records began in late 2009 when Royce, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, and Joe Budden appeared alongside Eminem in the "Forever" video. After months of speculation and anticipation, Eminem announced in January 2011 that he had officially signed Slaughterhouse to Shady Records as the full report was made in the March cover-story for XXL Magazine.

Development

Two songs titled "Echo" and "Living Proof" were leaked onto the Internet in November 2010, causing speculation among fans about an upcoming Bad Meets Evil project: on April 25, 2011, the EP was confirmed, and on May 2, Eminem announced the EP's title Hell: The Sequel. The two songs will, however, be included as bonus tracks on the deluxe version of the album. The title is a direct reference to a previous Eminem and Royce collaboration, "Bad Meets Evil" on The Slim Shady LP as they end the song by saying "See you in Hell for the sequel, bad meets evil."

Royce da 5'9" stated that he reached out to Eminem for his next single "Writer's Block", and they started working on a project together.

The album features production from Mr. Porter, Havoc, Bangladesh, Sid Roams, Supa Dups and The Smeezingtons. Mike Epps, Slaughterhouse and Bruno Mars appear as guest artists. Canadian singer Liz Rodrigues sings the hook on the bonus track "Echo". Singer Claret Jai also sings the hook on the songs "Above the Law" and "Take from Me".

Eminem has said that the EP took over the course of 5-6 months, according to an interview on his radio channel, Shade 45.

Singles

"Fast Lane" was released on May 3, 2011 as the lead single from Hell: The Sequel through digital distribution. It was produced by Supa Dups and Eminem. The music video premiered June 8, 2011 at noon EST. Eminem and Royce da 5'9" performed their new single "Lighters" at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. It is set to be released to radios on June 14, 2011.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
XXL
HipHopDX
EW	B+

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Welcome 2 Hell"	Havoc; Magnedo7 (co)	2:57
2.	"Fast Lane"	Supa Dups, Eminem; Jason "JG" Gilbert (co)	4:09
3.	"The Reunion"	Sid Roams, Eminem	4:50
4.	"Above the Law"	Mr. Porter	3:29
5.	"I'm on Everything" (featuring Mike Epps)	Mr. Porter	4:31
6.	"A Kiss"	Bangladesh; BranNu (co)	4:34
7.	"Lighters" (featuring Bruno Mars)	Eminem, The Smeezingtons, Battle Roy	5:03
8.	"Take from Me"	Mr. Porter; "56" (co)	3:25
9.	"Loud Noises" (featuring Slaughterhouse)	Mr. Porter, Eminem	4:20

Deluxe Edition

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
10.	"Living Proof"	Mr. Porter	3:55
11.	"Echo"	DJ Khalil	4:55

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog	Ref
Germany	June 13, 2011	Interscope, Universal	CD, MD
United Kingdom		Shady, Interscope
New Zealand		Interscope, Universal
United States	June 14, 2011	Shady, Interscope
Australia	June 17, 2011	Interscope, Universal