Slum Village

Slum Village is a hip hop group from Conant Gardens, Detroit, Michigan. The group was formed by three members: rappers Baatin (deceased, 31 July 2009) and T3, plus rapper and producer Jay Dee (deceased in February 2006). Jay Dee left in 2002 to pursue a solo career with MCA Records and was replaced by Elzhi, after which Baatin also left due to health complications. Baatin, T3, and Jay Dee grew up together in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Det... more

Slum Village is a hip hop group from Conant Gardens, Detroit, Michigan. The group was formed by three members: rappers Baatin (deceased, 31 July 2009) and T3, plus rapper and producer Jay Dee (deceased in February 2006). Jay Dee left in 2002 to pursue a solo career with MCA Records and was replaced by Elzhi, after which Baatin also left due to health complications. Baatin, T3, and Jay Dee grew up together in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Detroit and attended Pershing High School. The group steadily became popular in Detroit's underground hip hop scene. Jay Dee also became a member of the 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. Slum Village's first album, 1996's Fantastic, Vol. 1, was not officially released until 2005 but highly sought after in underground circles. In 1998, the group opened for another hip hop trio, the above-mentioned A Tribe Called Quest, on... less