Slum Village is about to release their third album,
Detroit Deli, but have lost member Baatin, who as Baatin The Slumlord,
hopes to find solo success.
Reduced to the pair of T3 and
Elzhi, Detroit Deli is being billed as the group’s most musically
rich album to date.
The 15-song collection takes listeners on a journey
through life in their Detroit hometown, from where the group hangs, shops, eats
and lives.
The song “Reunion” offers three different
versions of why the group has gone through a number of line-up changes since
their 1997 break through album Fantastic Vol. 1.
“It’s like you’re going through
three state of minds at one time kind of in reverse,”
T3 explained via statement. “What we’re trying to say is that we wish
we were together, we might be together
and then we’re not together at all. We’re trying
to give you all the aspects of how people are coming at us, the type of
stuff we’re dealing with and kind of give you a glimpse at the stuff we’re
dealing with in the group.”
According to rapper T3, this album is the first
time that listeners were allowed a glimpse of the group’s personal feelings
surrounding their ever changing status.
“I don’t think people really know us
and we never really touched on our emotions
like that,” T3 continued. “We wanted to bring some realness, besides
just the soul music. [Newest member] Elzhi
as a guy that saw Slum Village on the outside,
he brought it to my attention that we never touched on serious topics
and that we should try to touch on them more. I was with that and I have
a lot to say, so why not?”
Detroit Deli boasts production from former
group member Jay Dee, BR Gunna producers Black & Young RJ and Kanye West,
who produced and appears on the first single, “Selfish.”
It also
features appearances by MC Breed, Ol Dirty Bastard, John Legend,
Dwele and others. The album is slated to hit stores June 29th.