Slum Village - Slum Village, Vol. 0

Slum Village, Vol. 0 rewinds the Detroit legends to the very beginning, collecting rare early recordings by the original trio of J Dilla, T3 and Baatin.

Made between 1994 and 1997, before Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1) spread hand to hand on bootleg tapes, these sessions capture three friends from the Conant Gardens neighbourhood figuring out a sound that would go on to reshape hip-hop. Long whispered about by devoted fans, the material finally surfaced in 2016, and this pressing marked its first appearance on vinyl.

Even at this early stage, Dilla's production is unmistakable: dusty, off-kilter drums, warm jazz and soul loops and basslines that seem to lean back in their chair. 2U 4U and Sentimental Love lean into the group's smooth, romantic side, while Ooo Wee and Yum Yum show off the loose, playful chemistry between three voices that had known each other since their school days.

With Dilla and Baatin both gone, these recordings carry an extra emotional charge. Raw around the edges and full of promise, they offer a rare window into the workshop where a new kind of soulful, swinging hip-hop was being built, one hand-programmed beat at a time, long before the rest of the world caught on.