Jay Dee still makes beats for Slum, just not all of them. On their second CD, Trinity the group has replaced Jay Dee with Elzhi, crafted some of their own soundscapes and put other producers on like Hi-Tek and Scott Storch.
“Our album, Trinity is subtitled Past, Present and Future, which is how we did the album,” explains T3, a.k.a. RL Altman, after settling into his Chicago hotel room. “We incorporated the past, which is the Fantastic, Vol. 2 [Slum’s debut] sound with our present sound, which is a little more club-ish, with a future sound which was produced by Jay Dee that’s way out there. We brought all three worlds together with the new element of a new member, Elzhi.” Citing examples, T3 lists some of the songs that fit into each category-past: “LaLa” and “Tainted;” present: “What Is This” and “Get Live;” and future: “Lets,” “Harmony” and “Insane.”
“Tainted,” their first single serves as the bridge between old and new. The jazzy beat grooves like Vol. 2, and with production by Karriem Riggins, it introduces Slum’s new crop of hot Detroit-based producers. Besides the Jay Dee-produced gems, “One,” “Hoes” and “Lets,” Slum expanded their beatmaking base to include Scott Storch’s “Get Live,” Hi-Tek’s “Slumber,” T3 and Young RJ’s collaborations, “Disco,” “All-Ta-Ment” and “Unisex” and Waajeed and Riggins on a few each. “This album is different from Vol. 2 because every song isn’t on the same vibe,” T3 points out [Jay Dee produced all of Vol. 2]. “We wanted to branch out musically and change up from song to song.” Slum’s change didn’t happen overnight. Their new beatsmen have always been around. Even their rookie member, Elzhi isn’t really new. “We knew El back in ’96 from the Hip-Hop Shop. That’s where lots of rappers used to meet, Eminem, D-12, Royce Da 5’9″. We’d have freestyle battles. Everyone in Detroit knew each other. I hooked up with Elzhi sometime in ’00 when I was looking for someone to manage. He was my first artist. We just decided to make him an official member because everything fit so well.”
Coming up as a competitive freestyler, Elzhi definitely raises Slum’s lyrical levels. So much so, the group decided to deep six all guest appearances “We had eight on our first album,” T3 emphasizes. “This time we wanted to showcase us, plus Elzhi’s already new.” On their latest, T3 and Baatin have improved their nouns and upgraded their verbs. “Most of my rhymes on Vol. 2 were spontaneous. I wanted to give you emotion, what I felt when I heard the music. I don’t like the fact that we were criticized for that because we were just trying to give people a feeling of how lyrics can blend with the music and be as one. I’m not trying to teach nothing. On this one, I’m a little more aggressive. I had a little more to say. I didn’t get as detailed as I wanted to but I still got a few points across. Baatin is coming from a whole ‘nother aspect. He was touching on singing and expressing different feelings. The other one was more fun. This one is more serious.”
AD LOADING...
Serious? OK. Elzhi does drop bombs like “Trying to finish this album while the economy’s falling/Drama be calling like it’s palming a dime and a quarter dialing.” But they also bust out with booty-shakers and more playful prose like “I was just chillin’ on my living room flo’, staring at you doing Tai Bo.” On the melodic “All-Ta-Ment,” the tongue-twisters give Busta a run for his woo-ha as they flow over a hypnotic, pounding bass and “Disco” transports you straight to the rink just like De La Soul’s “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays‘” did. Then on “One,” Jay Dee sets down a dark, penetrating track with haunting keys. It’s true, as T3 says, the group gives you some of everything on their latest and deliver a different vibe on each song.
Ever since Eminem reared his controversial head, most people expect every Detroit rapper to blast their mother and ridicule their enemies. But not Slum. They believe the underlying commonality shared by Detroit dwellers is creativity. “There’s not a lot to do there. People are private and in their own little worlds. Eminem is different from Slum Village from MC Breed from Royce. I kind of like that because sometimes everybody from the same place sounds alike.” Listening to their songs, it’s obvious Slum’s influences reach farther than rap. They vibe to artists who they feel push the creative edge like Stereolab and Radiohead. “I hope people identify with Slum Village on this album-who and what we are and that it says every time we make an album, we come with something creative, something that hasn’t been done.”
