Slum Village

Fixtures of Detroit's underground hip-hop scene, Slum Village managed to persevere despite several line-up changes, mental illness, and deaths in the family. The group originally formed in the mid '90s as the trio of Baatin, T3, and the soon-to-be legendary DJ/MC Jay Dee. The latter left in 2002 to concentrate on a solo career and his burgeoning production career as part of the fabled Ummah team. Sadly, he passed away in 2006 from complications due to Lupus. Jay Dee's was the skilful rapper Elzhi, who would stay on following Baatin's departure due to struggles with schizophrenia. Despite the upheavals, Slum Village released a number excellent recordings that harked back to hip-hop's True Skool era, replete with jazzy licks, clever lyrics, and a consciousness vibe associated with a bygone era in rap.

• hip hop/rap