Slum Village, Pete Rock, Hezekiah, and Amxxr

The group was formed by a trio of rap battle loving pupils of Detroit’s Pershing High School, Jay Dee, T3 and Baatin, in the early 90s. They built up a following in the local underground hip-hop scene with their independent album Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol.1). Meanwhile Jay-Dee branched out into the production world and whilst trying to find a deal for Slum Village, he came into contact with A Tribe Called Quests’ Q-Tip. The pair formed a production collective known as “The Ummah” creating tracks for the likes of Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes and Whitney Houston.

With Jay-Dee, now renamed J.Dilla creating a buzz for himself as the latest hip hop prospect and securing an opening act slot for Slum Village on A Tribe Called Quest’s farewell tour in the late 90s, the album released their first official studio album, Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol.2) in 2000. The group found major success with their third album Trinity (Past, Present and Future) released two years later. This effort saw Slum Village chart in the top 10 in the US for the first time.

Founding member Baatin left shortly after this album due to health reasons, and was replaced by another Detroit MC, Elzhi. However, J Dilla then decided to leave to focus on his own solo career, and so Slum Village operated as a duo, with T3 and Elzhi. They found success as a duo, releasing a hit single alongside Kanye West and John Legend, entitled, “Selfish”.

After J Dilla’s untimely death in 2006, T3 decided to draft in his brother, Illa J, to recreate the feel of the original Slum Village line up. They released an album in 2010 called Villa Manifesto, before Elzhi decided to leave the group to go solo.

The son of a part-time DJ, who spun records to members of the Wembley cricket club in The Bronx, Pete Rock met his future recording partner CL Smooth during high school. Rock’s initial excursion into the hip-hop community came when he became a recognised DJ on New York WBLS radio show alongside Marley Marl. Known for using double copies of every record, allowing him to cut up and mix every track, it wasn’t long before Pete Rock became a respected and popular DJ. With the success of his DJ career Rock moved on to producing in the early 1990s and in 1991 collaborated with CL Smooth on the EP “All Souled Out”. The EP was well-received by critics and fans alike and led to the subsequent release “Mecca and the Soul Brother”, which was regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.

The duo then became the first act to sign with Elektra Records, managed by Eddie F of Heavy D and The Boyz, and Pete Rock proved himself as one of the three “Untouchables” producers alongside Eddie F and Nevelle Hodge. In addition to releasing his own material, Pete Rock produced for some of the most respected names in hip hop including Run-DMC, Nas, Jeru the Damaja, Public Enemy, and The Notorious B.I.G. Like its predecessor, Rock and CL Smooth’s follow-up “The Main Ingredient” earned critical acclaim from the musical press and a ever-growing fan base. After the release however the duo split and Rock went on to form the group INI in 1995, with the talents of Grap Luva, Rob-O and I Love H.I.M. The group’s debut was the 12” classic “Fakin’ Jax”, followed by the full length “Center of Attention”, which remained unreleased until 2003.

Pete Rock’s solo ambitions were realised in 1998 with the release of his debut full-length “Soul Survivor”. The rapper was subsequently dropped by the label Loud Records, however after signing with Rapster/BBE released “Petestrumentals” a collection of largely unreleased beats and instrumentals. In 2004 Rock released the follow-up to “Soul Survivor” entitled “Soul Survivor II”, which featured guest contributions from RZA, Talib Kweli and CL Smooth. The album marked the beginning of a relationship with Wu-Tang Clan, and in 2006 Rock produced three tracks for Ghostface’s “Fishscale” album. Rock’s next solo album “NY’s Finest” was issued in early 2008, earning favourable reviews and featuring the likes of Kool & The Gang, Redman, and Raekwon, followed by “Monumentals”, which appeared in April 2011 in collaboration with the rap group Smif-N-Wessun.