Slum Village

Slum Village are one of the groups that pioneered hip-hop in Detroit. When founding members J Dilla and Baatin died, many thought that Slum was done. But original man T3 brought in long-time friend of the band Young RJ plus Dilla’s brother Illa J, and on they went. Slum Village will be here this month, on tour with Pete Rock, so we spoke to the band.S

Yellow Scene: How did the tour with Pete Rock come about?

T3: We go way back with Pete. We did four or five records together. We wanted to do something big and legendary, bringing it back. We thought that Pete Rock would be a good fit for us, so we called him up and he was down. I’m definitely excited about it. I don’t think we ever did a tour with Pete – I’ve done a couple of shows but never a full tour.

Young RJ: We did a nationwide tour last year. We try to do a couple of tours a year.

YS: Do you like coming to Colorado – do you get a good crowd here?

T3: My uncle’s actually there. We go once or twice a year. Denver’s pretty dope.

YS: What do you have planned for the set?

RJ: We always try to switch it up every tour. We’ve got a brand new show for this one – some songs we never do, new visuals – we’ve got a lot planned.

YS: What’s going on with Detroity hip-hop right now?

T3: There’s a lot going on with Detroit hip-hop. There are a lot of younger dudes coming up. Y’all know who the top dudes are, like Danny Brown. But we’re working with some new cats. Detroit always comes with a few guys. Everybody’s got their own unique sound.

YS: When this tour’s done, what do you have planned for the rest of the year?

T3: We’re going on another tour. We have an album coming out in May and we have a bunch of dates for that.

Slum Village plays with Pete Rock, Fresh Breath Committee, Evergrades, DJ Gatsby, and Indigenous Peoples at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom; 2635 Welton St., Denver; 303-297-1772; $5-$20.