Photo courtesy of MAC Media
From its inception the Detroit-based group Slum Village has undergone many incarnations. J Dilla left the group to pursue a solo career. Baatin was ousted from the group due to erratic behavior, only to be invited back into the fold years later. Elzhi was removed from the group due to financial discrepancies. The one constant in each version of Slum Village has been T3.
The lead emcee enlisted the help of rapper/producer Young RJ and the younger brother of the late J Dilla, Illa J, to pump new life into SV for their seventh album, “Evolution.”
In the summer of 2013 The Real Hip-Hop spoke to Slum Village about the decision to carry on the SV legacy, the contributions of late members J Dilla and Baatin, and their album, Evolution.
TRHH: Is the album title Evolution about the music or the makeup of the group?
Young RJ: It’s both. We’re constantly trying to keep our sound new and fresh. It’s obvious that it’s an evolution of the group, it’s a different formation. It just speaks to everything that’s going on with the brand right now.
TRHH: Why’d you decide to use PledgeMusic.com to help complete this album?
Young RJ: It’s not to complete the album. All Pledge is doing is giving us a way to give our fans certain things that we could never do, for instance, an iPod with all our music in it and an original sign from the “Selfish” video. The album is already done and getting prepped and pressed to come out. We look at it like it’s no different than doing it through our own website.
TRHH: Tell me about the single Forever.
T3: “Forever” is based on a true story. I was going through something with this girl I was dating. It was one of those late nights and I was in the studio searching. I made a beat real quick and started writing about my emotional whirlwind. I thought I was really going to be with this particular woman forever and it turned out not to be. The next morning, I played it for J and he fixed up the beat. He laid his verse and then [Illa] J laid his, and that’s how that went down.
TRHH: Was there ever any thought of stopping Slum Village and doing the solo thing?
T3: Every day [laughs]! You know what happened is we evolved past all that. We went through a lot of ups and down and a lot of situations. Of course, we have days where we don’t wanna do it, but right now we’re so strong I couldn’t imagine us not doing it. We go through those situations and feel like that. I remember when Dilla decided to do his own thing one of my best friends told me to stop Slum Village then. That means you wouldn’t have had Tainted or Selfish or none of that! That was at the beginning.
Every album someone tells me to can this. When I get out there and we perform and I see fans react to these new records as well as the old classics then I know this is what we wanna do. We have a purpose to do it now because we’re upholding legacy with Dilla and Baatin. It’s a brand and a staple in Detroit. We’re the first of our kind to do what we did in Detroit and make an avenue for other emcees to come out. All of that makes me want to keep this going.
TRHH: RJ, were you always an emcee or is this a new thing for you?
Young RJ: About four years ago I started doing the emcee thing. I used to rap a long time ago when I was a youth, at like five. That’s how I met T3 and the original formation of Slum. We were on the same label at that time. It’s another way to showcase your tracks and what you want to do. It’s a different platform.
TRHH: Illa J, were you apprehensive at all about filling your brother’s shoes in the group in a way?
Illa J: That was funny [laughs]. I don’t really think about that. When I think about my brother, I think about my brother, James. I don’t think about Dilla, I don’t think about Jay Dee, I think about my brother.
TRHH: J Dilla is revered in Hip-Hop circles but I wanted to talk about Baatin. Talk a little about what Baatin brought to the game that may be overlooked by some.
Illa J: He’s a monster in the studio. He was a super-talented dude. I feel like people overlook him. Dude got mad skills.
T3: The thing about Baatin is he was like creative energy. He can do anything. He can sing, rap, beat box, make tracks, he was just a super-talented dude. Not only that, the energy that he brought on stage. Baatin was just a unique character. He was kind of like the mojo for the group — that extra creativeness. That’s what people don’t know. I don’t think they saw the full spectrum of his talent. Right now, we’re sitting on a whole album that Baatin did where he did nothing but beat box and sing. It ain’t out yet but it’s crazy, and he did this way back in the day. He was on some Bobby McFerrin stuff.
TRHH: What can fans expect to hear when Evolution drops on June 25?
Young RJ: They can hear a slap in the face. It’s a reality check. It’s good ass Hip-Hop. We’re doing what we wanna do and that’s the beauty of it. You do what you want to do and people still enjoy the music. It’s like a double-win. They can expect to hear hard Hip-Hop beats, classic Slum Vill, but also a new twist to it. The subject matter is different than what the normal subject matter is. We still got the girl joints, but we’re going more in depth with our personal lives and the places that we’re at, at this moment. We got Havoc from Mobb Deep on there, we got Blu, Jazzy Jeff, Rapper Big Pooh, Raheem DeVaughn, Earlly Mac, which is an up-and-coming rapper from Detroit, we got Action Figures — it’s family based. Just expect to hear some good music and support that real Hip-Hop. The more y’all support it, the more we can keep bringing y’all the good music.
Stream the Slum Village Discography:
- Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)
- Fantastic Vol. 2
- Trinity (Past, Present and Future)
- Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)
- Slum Village
- Villa Manifesto
- Evolution
- Yes!
- F.U.N