XXL’s EIC Vanessa Satten had the opportunity to sit down with the Detroit lyricist and his newest signees—underground supergroup Slaughterhouse, which consists of Royce Da 5’ 9”, Joe Budden, Crooked I and Joell Ortiz, as well as buzzing Alabama upstart Yelawolf—to talk about their plans to take over the rap game as Shady 2.0.

According to Em, this new roster signifies a rebirth of his company Shady Records, which, founded in 1999, lost steam after several members parted ways (Obie Trice, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater) three years ago. “Slaughterhouse, it’s kinda phase two of Shady,” Em says in the story. “The new generation of Shady Records.”

While it was no surprise to rap fans that Marshall Mathers was interested in signing the super lyrical crew of his former rap partner, Royce, Em’s deal with up-and-coming Southern rapper, Yela, came as a surprise to the hip-hop nation. But, similar to Slaughterhouse, Em started out as a fan of quick-tongued Alabama MC. “I saw the video to ‘Pop the Trunk,’ and I was like, ‘Yo, this is fuckin’ dope,’ Em says. “I took the CD home that I had already had and started listening to the s***, and I was like, ‘Fuck, he can spit.’”

To read these stories and much more be sure to pick up XXL’s March 2011 issue, hitting newsstands nationwide on February 8. (Via Karen Civil)