Slum Village
Slum Village is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formerly composed of the rappers Baatin (1974–2009), T3, and rapper / producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Records. Elzhi joined in his absence, after which Baatin also left due to health complications.
"J-88" redirects here. For the German Condor Legion fighter group, see Jagdgruppe 88.Following J Dilla's death in 2006 and Baatin's death in 2009, T3 remains the sole surviving member of the original lineup. Over its history the group has been through several line-up changes, which once included J Dilla's younger brother Illa J, but now the group exists as a duo of T3 and producer Young RJ.[1][2]
Formation and early years[edit]
Rappers Baatin, T3 and producer J Dilla grew up together in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Detroit and attended the same high school, Pershing High School.[3][4] Slum Village was founded by Baatin, T3 and J Dilla.[5]
From 1996 to 1997 the group recorded their first album Fantastic (Vol. 1),[3] however it was not officially released until 2006, 9 years after original recording.[6]
Slum Village signed their first record deal in 1998 with the now defunct Barak/A&M records. Due to internal politics with the label, the group was forced to release their 2000 album Best Kept Secret under the alias "J-88". Best Kept Secret featured remixes and leftover material from the heavily boot-legged Fantastic, Vol. 1.[4] That same year Fantastic, Vol. 2 was released on GoodVibe Recordings, which featured appearances from Busta Rhymes, Common, D'Angelo, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Pete Rock, Kurupt, and Q-Tip.[3]
J Dilla era[edit]
Fresh out of high school, the group steadily became popular in Detroit's underground hip hop scene. However, by the mid-1990s J Dilla was already a well known hip-hop prospect, with a string of singles and remixes to his name, working on projects with Janet Jackson, Pharcyde, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, and Q-Tip among others. In 1995 he was invited to become a member of a production team known as The Ummah, which produced the fourth and fifth A Tribe Called Quest studio albums, as well as hits for a number of R&B and hip hop musicians.[4] In 1998, Slum Village opened for A Tribe Called Quest, on their farewell tour.[1] In 2001, J Dilla left Slum Village to pursue a solo career.[3]
J Dilla died on February 10, 2006, after being diagnosed with TTP and Lupus.[7] In light of his game-changing impact in the world of music production, many high-profile artists mourned and paid tribute to him following his death.[8]
Slum Village's 2015 album YES! features songs that were produced by Dilla before his 2006 death.
Elzhi era[edit]
For the 2002 release "Trinity (Past, Present and Future)" on Barak/Capitol Records, T3 brought in Elzhi to join the group as J Dilla 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 songs by Detroit rappers largely produced by T3 and Young RJ"Rice, was released. The group then became a duo consisting T3 and Elzhi, when Baatin became sick while touring in France shortly before the release their 2004 album, Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit) and departed to seek treatment. 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 mostly previously unreleased material, followed by Slum Village "Self-Titled" release in October the same year. In a 2008 interview, T3 announced that Slum Village had reunited with Baatin and had added Illa J to bring a "Dilla effect": cquote|I'm incorporating Baatin, and I'm putting Illa J in — not to take Dilla's place, but just to have that essenceDilla on this new project. I'm pulling together all the producers that we've used before — Young RJ, Waajeed Karriem Riggins, Pete Rock and all the people who have been down with SV from day one.[21] Villa Manifestowas released under Koch Records on July 27, 2010, featuring Baatin. In July 2010, Elzhi decided to pursue his solo career and left the group. In recent interviews, T3 stated that he had not talked to Elzhi since he departed the group. Slum Village released YESon June 16, 2015, an album made with unused J Dilla beats, produced mostly by "Young RJRice.[22]