Slum Village

Infobox musical artist
Name = Slum Village


Img_capt = Slum Village in 2004
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Detroit, Michigan,
United States
Genre = Hip hop
Years_active = 1996–present
Label = [http://www.BARAKRECORDS.com/ Barak] (2005-present) Capitol Records (2000-2005) GOOD Music (2004-2006)
URL = [http://www.slumvillage.com/ SlumVillage.com]
Current_members = T3 (1996–present)
Elzhi (2002–present)
Past_members = Baatin (1996–2004)
Jay Dee (1996–2002) (deceased)

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

The group was formed by three members: rappers Baatin 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. The group has played a vital role Fact|date=August 2008 in the careers of several Detroit-based Hip-hop artists, such as Frank-N-Dank, Platinum Pied Pipers, Dwele, and Black Milk.

History

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 steadfastly became popular in Detroit's underground hip hop scene. Jay Dee also became a member of the production team known as The Ummah, who produced 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, 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, Baatin 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 Fact|date=February 2007. 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.

In his Slum Village years, Elzhi has released 2 mixtapes and one album, The mixtapes Witness my growth and Europass. His album The Preface was released on Fat Beats Records on the 12th of august,2008

Former member Jay Dee died on February 10, 2006 after being diagnosed with TTP and Lupus. Fact|date=August 2008

Future projects by Slum Village include an album made with unused J Dilla beats [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8_v4FJalhU YouTube - dropmagazine.com Slum Village Interview - Part 1 ] ] , and an album produced mostly by Black Milk. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-eHl0r7DWQ YouTube - dropmagazine.com Slum Village Interview - Part 2 ] ]

Discography

tudio Albums

*1997 "Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)" (official release: 2005 through Counterflow Records)
*2000 "Fantastic, Vol. 2" (GoodVibe Recordings)
*2002 "Trinity (Past, Present and Future)" (Barak/Capitol Records)
*2004 "Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)" ( [Capitol Records] )
*2005 "Slum Village" (Barak Records)

Compilations

*2000 "Best Kept Secret" (under the alias J-88) (Groove Attack Productions)
*2002 "Dirty District" (Sequence Records)
*2005 "Prequel To A Classic" (Barak Records)

ingles

*1999 "Get Dis Money" (Interscope)
*2000 "Climax" (GoodVibe Recordings)
*2000 "Raise It Up" (GoodVibe Recordings)
*2002 "Tainted" (featuring Dwele) (Barak/Capitol Records)
*2002 "Disco (Remix)" (featuring Ms. Jade & Raje Shwari) (Barak/Capitol Records)
*2004 "Selfish" (featuring Kanye West and John Legend) (Capitol Records)
*2004 "Do U" (Capitol Records)
*2005 "EZ Up" (Barak Records)

Appearances

*2000: "One-4-Teen (Funky For You)" (from the Bahamadia album "BB Queen")
*2000: "Thelonius" (from the Common album "Like Water For Chocolate")
*2001: "LTAH" (from the Hi-Tek album "Hi-Teknology")
*2003: "Wolves" (from the Phat Kat album "The Undeniable LP")
*2004: "Da Villa" (from the Pete Rock album "Soul Survivor II")
*2005: "Keep On" (from the Dwele album "Some Kinda...")
*2006: "Time Has Come" (from the Exile album "Dirty Science")
*2007: "Cuz I'm Jazzy" (from Guru album "")
*2007: "Action" (from the Black Milk album "Popular Demand")
*2007: "Gangsta Boogie" (from the Pete Rock album "NY's Finest")
*2007: "Got Me Goin' (Hip Hop)" (from the Statik Selektah album "Spell My Name Right: The Album")
*2008: "Brandy" (from the Dwele album "Sketches of a Man")

External links

* [http://www.slumvillage.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.dropmagazine.com/slum-village-video-interview/ Slum Village Video Interview at dropmagazine.com]

References