Black Music Month: Honoring Detroit hip-hop pioneers Slum Village
(CBS DETROIT) - June is Black Music Month.
Every week in June, CBS News Detroit is highlighting a different part of Detroit's Black music scene and showcasing the role that Detroit played in shaping generations of performers and its impact on broader American culture.
This week, Amyre Makupson, our Executive Producer Impacting Communities, sits down with Detroit hip-hop pioneers Slum Village.
Slum Village is known for their lyricism and underground sound. Today, the group is all about keeping their legacy alive.
T3 is the sole remaining original member.
Slum Village has had many members throughout its 20 years. Before it was Slum Village, it was known as Ssenepod - dopeness spelled backward - and the group consisted of Dilla, T3, Que D, Baatin and Wajeed. After Ssenepod broke up, then came Slum Village in 1996, formed by J Dilla, Baatin and T3.
In 1998, they landed their first record deal with Barak/AM Records. From there, they released albums such as "Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)" and "Fantastic (Vol. 2)."
When J Dilla left the group in 2001 to focus on his solo career, Elzhi stepped in and became a part of popular albums such as "Trinity (Past, Present and Future)" and "Detroit Dell (A Taste of Detroit)," which included the hit single "Selfish" and featured Kanye West and John Legend.
Today, T3 is joined by producer Young RJ., who joined the lineup in 2012 after producing for the group since 2001. J Dilla died in 2006 of cardiac arrest, and Baatin, who left in 2003 and rejoined in 2008, died in 2009.
With two decades' worth of music behind them, Slum Village considers its albums influential to the younger generation today.
The group was recently named one of Billboard's 50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time. Slum Village is releasing a new shoe collaboration with Puma in summer 2023 and is currently shooting a self-produced docuseries.