Slum Village

Slum Village is the name of a hip-hop trio from Detroit, Michigan. The group started with rappers Baatin, Jay Dee, and T3. They grew up together in the Conant Garden neighborhood of Detroit and attended school at Pershing High School. The

Slum Village is the name of a hip-hop trio from Detroit, Michigan. The group started with rappers Baatin, Jay Dee, and T3. They grew up together in the Conant Garden neighborhood of Detroit and attended school at Pershing High School. The group quickly became popular in Detroit's underground hip-hop scene. Jay Dee also becamse a member of the production team known as the Ummah, who have produced hits for many R&B and hip-hop musicians. Slum Village's first album, 1996's Fantastic, Vol. 1, was never official released but became an underground classic. In 1998, the group opened for another hip-hip trio A Tribe Called Quest on their farewall tour. They released Fantastic, Volume 2 in 2000 on Barak Records. That same year, they released an album called Best Kept Secret under the alias J-88 which featured remixes and leftover material from their debut album. For the 2002 release of Trinity (Past, Present and Future) on Barak/Capitol Records, Elzhi was added to the group as Jay Dee's role was reduced. The album featured the single "Tainted". In 2002, Dirty District, a compilation of songs by Detroit rappers produced by member T3 and RJ Rice, was also released. The group became a duo consisting of T3 and Elzhi when Baatin left because of his diagnosis of schizophrenia before the release of their 2004 album, Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit). The album included the hit single, "Selfish", which featured rapper/producer Kanye West and R&B newcomer John Legend. In 2005, Prequel to a Classic was released which featured more unreleased material, followed by a self titled release in October of the same year.