Slum Village

Formation and early years

Rappers Baatin and T3 along with producer J Dilla grew up together in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Detroit and attended Pershing High School together. It was here in 1990 that they formed the group, which originally went by the name of Ssenepod ("dopeness" spelled backwards). Around this time the group would hone their skills during open-mic nights at Detroit's Hip-Hop Shop along with a young Eminem. Ssenepod was renamed to Slum Village in 1991.

From 1996-1997 the group recorded their first album Fantastic (Vol. 1), however it was not officially released until 2005, 8 years after original recording.

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. 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.

J Dilla era

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 two last A Tribe Called Quest studio albums, as well as hits for a number of R&B and hip hop musicians. In 1998, Slum Village opened for A Tribe Called Quest, on their farewell tour. In 2001, J Dilla left Slum Village to pursue a solo career, however he frequently assisted Young RJ with production of the group's later albums.

J Dilla died on February 10, 2006, after being diagnosed with TTP and Lupus. 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.

Slum Village's 2015 album YES! features songs that were produced by Dilla before his 2006 death.

Baatin era

Titus Glover (March 8, 1974 – July 31, 2009), also known as Baatin, was an American rapper who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan part of the rap group Slum Village. Baatin started rapping as a student at Pershing High School in Detroit where he went by the names Scandalous-T, and Eazy-T among others.

In the early 1990s Glover adopted the name Baatin. He claimed the name (which is Arabic for 'hidden') was chosen to reflect a newfound spirituality.

Baatin remained as an active member of the group until the early 2000s. In 2002, shortly after the release of the group's third album, Baatin began to experience health problems, which interfered with the group's music and touring performances. In regard to his health problems, he said:

Suffering from mental illness and a drug problem, Baatin left the group in 2003. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. Baatin stated that he was "kicked out while in hospital", receiving a termination letter that was signed by both T3 and Elzhi, while in the hospital. He also held the group's label responsible. In an interview he stated:

After leaving the group, he began recording as a solo artist. During this period, he went by the name "Baatin the Slumlord." In 2008, the dispute was resolved and Baatin reunited with T3 and Elzhi, and worked on the group's sixth album Villa Manifesto.

Baatin died on July 31, 2009 at the age of 35. He was found in his home on Anglin Street in northeast Detroit. Following a homicide investigation, reports released by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, state the cause of his death was cocaine abuse and the manner of death was listed as accidental.

Baatin was survived by a son, Michael Majesty Ellis, a daughter, Aura Grace Glover, and a sister, Tina, all of Detroit.

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 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 of songs by Detroit rappers largely produced by T3 and "Young RJ" Rice, was released.

The group then became a duo consisting of T3 and Elzhi, when Baatin became sick while touring in France shortly before the release of 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 of mostly previously unreleased material, followed by Slum Village "Self-Titled" release in October of 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":

Villa Manifesto was 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 YES! on June 16, 2015, an album made with unused J Dilla beats, produced mostly by "Young RJ" Rice.

Solo work

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

Elzhi has released four mixtapes: Witness My Growth, Europass, The Leftovers: Unmixed tape and Elmatic and two albums: The Preface, which was released on Fat Beats Records in August 2008, and "Lead Poison", which was released in April 2016. 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, as well as a collaboration album with Frank Nitt titled Sunset Blvd in 2013.

Collaborated with Robert Strauss on track 'Girl' in 2007 released on Robert's Album 'Mr Feelings' (BBE)

Appearances