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Slum Village

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Slum Village

Slum Village is a hip hop group from Conant Gardens, Detroit, Michigan.

The group was formed by three members: rappers Baatin (deceased, 31 July 2009) and T3, plus rapper and producer Jay Dee. Jay Dee left in 2002 to pursue a solo career with MCA Records and was replaced by Elzhi, after which Baatin also left due to health complications.

Jay Dee era

Baatin, T3, and Jay Dee grew up together in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Detroit and attended Pershing High School. The group steadily became popular in Detroit's underground hip hop scene. Jay Dee also became a member of the production team known as The Ummah, which produced the two last A Tribe Called Quest studio albums, as well as hits for a number of R&B and hip hop musicians. Slum Village's first album, 1996's Fantastic, Vol. 1, was not officially released until 2005 but highly sought after in underground circles. In 1998, the group opened for another hip hop trio, the above-mentioned A Tribe Called Quest, on their farewell tour.

Originally signed to the now defunct A&M record label, the group were forced to postpone the release of their official debut album due to label politics, but in June 2000 they released Fantastic, Vol. 2 on GoodVibe Recordings. Also that year they released an album called Best Kept Secret, under the alias J-88, which featured remixes and leftover material from Fantastic, Vol. 1.

Elzhi era

For the 2002 release of Trinity (Past, Present and Future) on Barak/Capitol Records, T3 brought in Elzhi to join the group as Jay Dee left to focus on his solo career. The album was a moderate success and contained the single "Tainted", produced by Karriem Riggins and featuring Dwele. Also in 2002, Dirty District, a compilation of songs by Detroit rappers largely produced by T3 and "RJ" Rice, was released.

The group then became a duo consisting of T3 and Elzhi, when Baatin became sick touring in France shortly before the release of their 2004 album, Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit) and departed to seek treatment [citation needed]. The album included the hit single, "Selfish", produced by Kanye West and featuring John Legend. The song samples a part of the intro to the hit song "Call Me" by Aretha Franklin. After parting ways with Capitol Records in 2005, they released Prequel to a Classic, a mixtape of mostly previously unreleased material, followed by a self-titled release in October of the same year.

Former member Jay Dee died on February 10, 2006 after being diagnosed with TTP and Lupus.[1]

T3 has said in a interview that slum village has reunited with Baatin and has added Illa J(J Dilla's Brother) to bring a Dilla effect. He is quoted "Slum Village is totally not that at all,” T3 adds. “I’m incorporating Baatin, and I’m putting Illa J in—not to take Dilla’s place, but just to have that essence of Dilla on this new project. I’m pulling together all the producers that we’ve used before—Black Milk, Wajeed , Karriem Riggins, Pete Rock and all the people who have been down with SV from day one.”[2]

Future projects by Slum Village include an album made with unused J Dilla beats[3], and an album produced mostly by Black Milk.[4]

Baatin passed away on July 31, 2009 at the age of 35. His was found dead Saturday, in his home on 14000 Anglin Street in northeast Detroit. [5] Medical examiners have said that there were no visible signs of trauma or foul play.[6] The cause of death currently remains unknown.[7] His death deeply affected the Detroit hip-hop scene.[8]

Villa Manifesto will be released on their Barak Records on September 22, 2009, featuring the late Baatin as well as the brother of the late J Dilla, Illa J.[9]

Solo work

After his leaving the group circa 2000, J Dilla had a successful solo career before his death in 2006.

Elzhi has released two mixtapes: Witness My Growth and Europass, and one album, The Preface, which was released on Fat Beats Records in August 2008. A demo tape with Dwele titled The Breakfast Club has also circulated.

Baatin's album Titus: Chapter 10, Verse 13 was to be released on the label Operation Unknown but has not yet seen official released.

T3 released a mixtape in 2006 titled Olio.

J Dilla's brother, Illa J, released an album titled Yancey Boys for Delicious Vinyl in 2008.

Discography

Studio Albums

Compilations

Singles

Appearances

References

  1. ^ allmusic Biography
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ YouTube - dropmagazine.com Slum Village Interview - Part 1
  4. ^ YouTube - dropmagazine.com Slum Village Interview - Part 2
  5. ^ http://www.detnews.com/article/20090805/ENT09/908050408/1424/ENT04
  6. ^ http://www.freep.com/article/20090805/ENT04/90805042/1035/rss04
  7. ^ Detroit Free Press
  8. ^ Detroit Free Press
  9. ^ Detroit free press 
 7.Rapper From Slum Village (Baatin)Dies Hip Hop Avenue
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