An interview with J Dilla while on tour in The Netherlands
It's in four parts, so make sure to check them all.
I've heard snippets of this interview here and there, and it's apparent that this conversation with J Dilla is of vast importance to the hip hop community. He speaks extensively about his relationship with Slum Village, his encounter and subsequent collaboration with Madlib, and the issues of intellectual and artistic ownership in hip hop.
I'm not writing much because I'm watching it myself! Check ya'll tomorrow...
I've had a love/hate relationship with the current trajectory of hip hop music. Much of the recent work has placed an emphasis on lyrics that employ very few words but still communicate the emcee's wit and cleverness. It's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it challenges rappers to work within very narrow parameters while still practicing the age old ritual of artistic one-upmanship. However, it conversely acclimates the listeners to a much less syllabically rich lyrical tapestry. The audience is no longer able to process the same quantities of information.
I hope the efforts of emcees like Elzhi work to counteract this phenomenon. This type of ability should not go unnoticed. This is truly a dope track. I hope you enjoy.
If you are unfamiliar with the work of Nasir Jones I would suggest having a listen here, here, and here before watching the video below. These are selected track from his legendary 1994 release Illmatic, which was the inspiration and blueprint for Elzhi's latest project, ELmatic. Download a free copy of ELmatic at Elzhi's website here.
A couple days ago I posted a tribute to The Roots, a group of artists who have significantly affected my views on artistry and performance. I think Elzhi's collaboration with funk/soul/hip hop/experimental/jazz band Will Sessions is a wonderfully fitting example of the kinds of things capable with live instrumentation in hip hop. After having a listen to the original Nas tracks, then the Elzhi recreations, I must admit the flair and texture of actual instruments is much more appealing and inspires more interest and movement, at least with me. There's something about the inconsistency and unpredictability of live sound that catches my ear in a way programmed counterparts simply doesn't.
Don't get me wrong; my admiration for hip hop producers like Pete Rock, DJ Premier, and J Dilla. The feats they achieve with programmable instrumentation are nothing less than extraordinary. But every once in a while, I crave live sounds. Thankfully, this album delivers a healthy blend of both. Give it a listen. It's dope.
Here is a clip of Elzhi performing a quick verse at The Conga Room in Los Angeles during a Slum Village show in 2009.
For me, this is Elzhi's greatest asset as an emcee. His ability to write incredibly intricate verses, with loads of alliteration, assonance, hyperbole, and simile, makes him one of the most talented lyricists in this generation of hip hop artists. With the current climate of rap music I feel that although there is never a shortage of cleverness and wit, lyricism is at a premium. It's always refreshing to witness an emcee that is willing to take time working with the poetic limitations of rap.
This is an interview of Elzhi by The Hip Hop Chronicle UK. Decent interviews of this cat are hard to find.
Why is the camera moving around so much!? Hold still!
What's best about this dude is his genuine sense of humility and gratitude. I don't think Elzhi ever really planned to be as much in the (relative) limelight as he finds himself now. He's a former member of one of hip hop's most legendary groups, consistently mentioned as one of the most gifted rap lyricists working in this era, and is part of a small number of very talented emcees who carry torches for Detroit hip hop. I think all he ever hoped was to be a dope emcee and give some hot live performances. I have an immense amount of respect for this cat's accomplishments so far, but most especially for not losing himself along the way.
In addition to this video, I've found this written interview of Elzhi by Kevin Nottingham. (See here.) This is a very smart interview and fills in a lot of information most of the videos don't capture. I encourage you to have a look.
I remember living in Atlanta when Slum Villiage's sophomore effort Trinity (Past, Present, Future) was released in 2002. The big news with Slum Village at the time was the departure of J Dilla and the addition of a new emcee to the group, Elzhi. In those days, I would frequently visit the Saturday night radio show of my good friend Marcel and hang out at the station until the wee hours. It was during one of those visits when Marcel tossed me a station give-away copy of Trinity. I popped it in the cd player of my Jeep Cherokee and had a listen.
I think it took me until track four, "La La", before I fully integrated this gravity of Elzhi's introduction. But after I heard El say, "Gat slangin' with my arm in the shape of an 'L', lettin' my fingers walk/I never been down to earth, I just been deep in thought," I knew I was witnessing the emergence of an incredible artist. And even though Elzhi had been making the usual rounds in the Detroit hip hop scene, his involvement with Slum Village between 2001 and 2010 thrust him into the view of the most well-respected music makers in hip hop. He is the proverbial "favorite rapper's favorite rapper".
One thing to note about Elzhi's process is that he is a writer; he rarely, if ever, works in spontaneous rhyme. Therefore, finding a clip of him performing a non-written freestyle is next to impossible. (If you come across one, let me know!) So here's a quick clip of a written freestyle of his that was posted to youtube about a year ago. Check 'em out. He's ill.
