Slum Village could arguably be The Temptations of the modern hip-hop era. Three marvelously talented lyricists stunned audiences, producers and rappers alike with their talents, however mounting tensions and personal issues surrounding late group member Baatin led to his leaving the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career. Celebrated producer Jay-Dee (largely known as J-Dilla) passed away in 2006, and the group introduced a new bandmate, Elzhi. Within a span of eight years, Detroit’s beloved underground kings have witnessed the passing of two members and a close friend, D12’s Proof. Through it all, T3 has stood strong, and maintained his love for Slum Village, and most of all, music.

How does it feel to represent the Hip-Hop underground, but remain such an in-demand phenomenon?
I feel that Slum Village is both underground and commercial, but it all depends on which records we make and at what time, where we fit in. The records we make cross over, and we can just still gain that underground recognition through it all.

“Actin’ Normal,” the first track that was released from the Villa Manifesto digital EP, was well-received from your Internet audience. Tell your fans what that was about.
The song is basically a comedy skit. It wasn’t meant to be a song at all. It started out as Baatin by himself and just ended up being a song.

How was it working with Marsha Ambrosius on Cloud 9?
It was dope. That came about in a crazy way, because her album never came out. I heard a lot of songs off of her album, and asked her if we could freak it. I’m sure [Dr.] Dre is sittin’ on a bunch of songs. I did a tour with her and India Arie back in the day when she was with Floetry.

You guys recently finished up the Rock the Bells tour, how was that experience for you?
It was lovely. I had a ball on that tour, despite the loss [of Baatin]. We found out during the tour, and we were in Canada. The only reason he wasn’t there is because Canada is really strict. He needed papers because of legal issues.

You reunited with Baatin, as well as with the original Slum Village, so all the guys will be back in full force. Should fans expect to hear the sound they loved on the release?
No, we don’t want to recreate the wheel. It’s going to be a mixture of a lot of sounds, from all of our albums. It’s going to be a lot of fun and unexpected. The album will have me, Illa J, Baatin and Elzhi. It’s been four years since we’ve all been on a record together.

You had mentioned in several interviews that you had needed Baatin’s energy, because Slum Village was collectively facing depression following Proof’s and Dilla’s passing. How did you gather the strength to move forward musically after those experiences?
We took a four year hiatus. On the fourth year, I decided that if Slum Village was going to do another album, after Dilla’s passing, I didn’t want to do nothing without Baatin; no matter what, I wanted to make sure I moved forward with Baatin. Whatever he was going through, I just felt like he needed to be there. Fortunately, we were able to make a lot of music with him.

How does it feel to have a feature-length cartoon being made by Jack Splash starring Lupe Fiasco as Baatin?
I think it’s great. I’m not mad about it. Baatin was an animated dude. What I don’t like about it is that it’s always the after-effect. We need to uplift our artists before a tragic event occurs.

What was it like for you to reunite with your counterparts?
It was refreshing and overdue. I’ve always loved working with these guys and even when we’re not together we have a mutual respect. So it was long overdue and almost bound to happen.

There were talks that there was existing controversy with Baatin before his untimely death. Do you care to discuss what had been going on with him after you’d reunited?
He was facing a lot of mental issues. He went through a drug stage, but when we were with him, we always made sure he was clean and focused. It was sad that things happened to him the way that they did. I try to think more about the positive parts instead of the hows and the whys.

You released a mixtape, and so did Elzhi. Are you or any other Slum Village members looking to delve into solo projects following this EP, or have recent events kept you more of a close-knit unit?
We will be releasing a 10-year anniversary in 2010 with unreleased versions of Slum Village songs, called Fantastic Vol 2.10. Elzhi is releasing another mixtape, and I am coming out with a solo project which will feature Black Milk on production and a track called “Monsters Under the Bed,” and a lot of creativity.

Whom do you accredit as your hip-hop inspirations?
Of course I accredit the greats, like Q-Tip, who has been there through it all. Raphael Saadiq, Common, and Big Daddy Kane are all greats in my eyes. I can never forget LL Cool J, he’s the reason that I began rapping and emceeing in the first place.

What do you think is totally wack that has been happening in the hip-hop game these days?
I think the lack of people going outside of the box, and people being comfortable with what works for other people, and fitting in a certain mold is totally wack. That goes for both the underground and the mainstream and commercial aspects of hip hop. There is nothing wrong with creativity.

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