Editor's Note: Listen to a selection of the songs mentioned here on a playlist at the end of this post, or click through to listen to all of the artists listed here on Rhapsody. If you're not a member, click here and listen to all of your favorite music as much as you want -- whenever and wherever you want!Slum Village hail from the same area as Eminem -- metropolitan Detroit, Mich. However, their worlds are strikingly different. Eminem may be the area's biggest celebrity, but his music draws as much from East Coast battle rap and West Coast G-funk as from Midwest horrorcore. Meanwhile, Slum Village are firmly rooted in the D, reflecting the city's cultural stew of neo-soul, electro-funk and techno. Their influence is profound and widespread, influencing much of hip-hop in the past decade.
It seems like most of the Detroit hip-hop scene has a connection to S.V., either through their six albums, Dirty District mixtapes or a guest appearance made elsewhere by the group's core members: J Dilla, RL "T3" Altman, Titus "Baatin" Glover and Jason "Elzhi" Powers. The group's unusually wide swath includes the late Proof, Eminem's mentor and right-hand man and the leader of D12, who recorded a track for Dirty District Vol. 3. (Speculation on whether Em ever met J Dilla -- or, tantalizingly, recorded with him -- is a favorite Internet parlor game.) Despite the house-party atmosphere of an S.V. jam, including the just-released Villa Manifesto, its music is unified in form. You know a Slum Village song when you hear it. Here are a few of the biggest names who used the group's recordings as a training ground for significant careers.
J Dilla: James "J Dilla" Yancey formed Slum Village with T3 back
in the mid-'90s, when he was known as Jay Dee. It was his cool blue
melodies and sharply struck drum snares that made Fan-Tas-Tic
Vols. 1 and 2
a sensation. To this day, many think Slum Village was just a conduit
for the late producer, even though he officially left the group in 2001
and changed his name to J Dilla (to avoid confusion with Atlanta
R&B/rap producer Jermaine
"JD" Dupri). Much has been written about Dilla's post-S.V. career,
from his shocking death from a lupus-related illness in 2006 to the
release of his classic Donuts
(which hit stores on February 7, three days before Dilla passed) and
subsequent canonization as one of the genre's greatest musicians.
Elzhi: After Dilla's departure, remaining members T3 and Baatin brought local rapper Elzhi into the lineup. While S.V. were already known (and often criticized) for their jazz-like scatting and chants, Elzhi was a refreshingly straight-up emcee who dropped deft yet literate raps any head could appreciate. His efforts helped make the group's first post-Dilla album, 2002's Trinity (Past, Present & Future), a surprising critical and commercial success. In 2008, Elzhi issued his first nationally distributed solo album, the excellent The Preface.
Dwele: On "Tainted," the hit single from Trinity, Slum Village introduced Detroit singer-songwriter Dwele to a wide audience. The next year brought his solo debut, Subject, which showcased Dwele's knack for jazzy, elegant melodies that recall George Benson and Donny Hathaway. Earlier this month, he released a new album, Wants, World, Women, and you can hear his wryly sensuous voice on the chorus to Kanye West's "Flashing Lights," which currently airs on TV as part of a Yahoo! commercial.
Waajeed: This enigmatic producer was one of several Slum Village recruited to pick up the slack after Dilla left. (Others include Young RJ and jazz drummer Karriem Riggins, who later collaborated with producer and Slum Village admirer Madlib.) Waajeed would soon unveil greater ambitions via his Bling47 label, which released a series of revered Dilla instrumental albums; and his Platinum Pied Pipers project, whose 2004 album Triple P certified the D as a new center of sinuously funky future soul. On his 2007 compilation The War LP, he worked with indie artists like acclaimed rapper Invincible and vocalist Tiombe Lockhart. For The Platinum Pied Pipers' 2008 follow-up, Abundance, he extended the post-millennial Detroit sound into early '80s funk and electro and '60s Motown pop.
Guilty Simpson: Per hip-hop convention, Slum Village surround themselves with hungry thugs always ready to drop a mean-mugging verse. Guilty Simpson, who got his shot on the 2002 mixtape Dirty District, is the most promising of the lot. Subsequently mentored by Dilla, he landed a guest verse on Dilla's classic remix of Four Tet's "As Serious as Your Life," then accompanied the iconic producer to Los Angeles for Jaylib, a superstar project with Madlib, and 2004's Champion Sound. Guilty subsequently signed with Madlib's label, Stones Throw, and released two hardcore rap albums, 2008's Ode to the Ghetto and this year's OJ Simpson.
Mayer Hawthorne: DJ Haircut may be the most unlikely of the many Detroit musicians to land a credit on a Slum Village album. The Ann Arbor DJ was part of Athletic Mic League, a leader in the area's backpacker scene, when he got to add a few rhythm scratches to "Things We Do" from 2004's Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit). It took a few years before Haircut developed into Mayer Hawthorne, the blue-eyed soul revivalist behind 2009's A Strange Arrangement.
Black Milk: By the time rapper-producer Black Milk appeared with his group BR Gunna on 2004's Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit), the S.V. brand was falling apart. Baatin, who was struggling with drug addiction and mental problems, had mysteriously disappeared from the lineup. (He tragically passed away from a drug overdose in 2009.) Now reduced to T3 and Elzhi, the group would subsequently lose its major-label deal with Capitol. The next year, it spent much of its fifth album, Slum Village, angrily disputing industry notions that it was a has-been. If Slum Village were increasingly (and erroneously) seen as a relic, then Black Milk would soon be hailed as Detroit's future, thanks to solo albums such as 2007's Popular Demand, 2008's Tronic and the upcoming Album of the Year.
Elzhi: After Dilla's departure, remaining members T3 and Baatin brought local rapper Elzhi into the lineup. While S.V. were already known (and often criticized) for their jazz-like scatting and chants, Elzhi was a refreshingly straight-up emcee who dropped deft yet literate raps any head could appreciate. His efforts helped make the group's first post-Dilla album, 2002's Trinity (Past, Present & Future), a surprising critical and commercial success. In 2008, Elzhi issued his first nationally distributed solo album, the excellent The Preface.
Dwele: On "Tainted," the hit single from Trinity, Slum Village introduced Detroit singer-songwriter Dwele to a wide audience. The next year brought his solo debut, Subject, which showcased Dwele's knack for jazzy, elegant melodies that recall George Benson and Donny Hathaway. Earlier this month, he released a new album, Wants, World, Women, and you can hear his wryly sensuous voice on the chorus to Kanye West's "Flashing Lights," which currently airs on TV as part of a Yahoo! commercial.
Waajeed: This enigmatic producer was one of several Slum Village recruited to pick up the slack after Dilla left. (Others include Young RJ and jazz drummer Karriem Riggins, who later collaborated with producer and Slum Village admirer Madlib.) Waajeed would soon unveil greater ambitions via his Bling47 label, which released a series of revered Dilla instrumental albums; and his Platinum Pied Pipers project, whose 2004 album Triple P certified the D as a new center of sinuously funky future soul. On his 2007 compilation The War LP, he worked with indie artists like acclaimed rapper Invincible and vocalist Tiombe Lockhart. For The Platinum Pied Pipers' 2008 follow-up, Abundance, he extended the post-millennial Detroit sound into early '80s funk and electro and '60s Motown pop.
Guilty Simpson: Per hip-hop convention, Slum Village surround themselves with hungry thugs always ready to drop a mean-mugging verse. Guilty Simpson, who got his shot on the 2002 mixtape Dirty District, is the most promising of the lot. Subsequently mentored by Dilla, he landed a guest verse on Dilla's classic remix of Four Tet's "As Serious as Your Life," then accompanied the iconic producer to Los Angeles for Jaylib, a superstar project with Madlib, and 2004's Champion Sound. Guilty subsequently signed with Madlib's label, Stones Throw, and released two hardcore rap albums, 2008's Ode to the Ghetto and this year's OJ Simpson.
Mayer Hawthorne: DJ Haircut may be the most unlikely of the many Detroit musicians to land a credit on a Slum Village album. The Ann Arbor DJ was part of Athletic Mic League, a leader in the area's backpacker scene, when he got to add a few rhythm scratches to "Things We Do" from 2004's Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit). It took a few years before Haircut developed into Mayer Hawthorne, the blue-eyed soul revivalist behind 2009's A Strange Arrangement.
Black Milk: By the time rapper-producer Black Milk appeared with his group BR Gunna on 2004's Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit), the S.V. brand was falling apart. Baatin, who was struggling with drug addiction and mental problems, had mysteriously disappeared from the lineup. (He tragically passed away from a drug overdose in 2009.) Now reduced to T3 and Elzhi, the group would subsequently lose its major-label deal with Capitol. The next year, it spent much of its fifth album, Slum Village, angrily disputing industry notions that it was a has-been. If Slum Village were increasingly (and erroneously) seen as a relic, then Black Milk would soon be hailed as Detroit's future, thanks to solo albums such as 2007's Popular Demand, 2008's Tronic and the upcoming Album of the Year.
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
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