Slum Village

Slum Village is a hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formed by three members: rappers Baatin and T3 and rapper/producer Jay Dee, with the latter being replaced by Elzhi, after leaving in 2002 to pursue a solo career with MCA Records.

History

They 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.

For the 2002 release of Trinity (Past, Present and Future) on Barak/Capitol Records, Elzhi joined 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.

Present incarnation

The group then became a duo consisting of T3 and Elzhi, when Baatin left shortly before the release of their 2004 album, Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit). The album included the hit single, "Selfish", produced by Kanye West and featuring John Legend. After departing ways with Capitol Records in 2005, Prequel To A Classic, a mixtape of mostly unreleased material was released, followed by a self-titled release in October of the same year.

Former member Jay Dee passed away on February 10, 2006.