Following the success of Halfway House and The Padded Room, it appears that Joe Budden and Amalgam Digital are ready to release another album, which will be entitled The Great Escape.

Joe Budden has stated that the album is actually the final piece of the concept trilogy, as he finally finds salvation and freedom from a sense of confinement that had defined his life and career. The Great Escape is slated to be one of Joe Budden’s best efforts yet (I feel like we hear this line whenever an artist releases a new album), and will feature several established producers and artists, which is a notable change from his usual formula. Joe Budden and Amalgam Digital have announced that The Great Escape will be released in both CD and digital form on October 13th, 2009, with two additional bonus tracks available when purchased digitally on www.AmalgamDigital.com.

In addition, Amalgam Digital and Joe Budden will release a prelude to The Great Escape by releasing a digital-only album, entitled Escape Route, in July of 2009. Joe Budden has said that Escape Route will give fans a taste of what to expect from him on The Great Escape. Escape Route will be available exclusively at www.AmalgamDigital.com.

Could Escape Route be one of the four EPs that each of the four Slaughterhouse members (Royce Da 5’9″, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, and Joe Budden) have announced? We already know Royce Da 5’9″ is releasing The Revival on July 7, 2009. It only makes sense that Escape Route will be one of the four. This is going to be an incredible summer/fall for the Slaughterhouse quartet, as we now know of these four EPs, the Slaughterhouse album, Street Hop, and The Great Escape? It is, without a doubt, a good time to be a real hip hop fan. Good hip hop music is back!