Rapper-producer Jay Dee left after the group's first national album, 2000's Fantastic, Vol. 2 (Barak) and rhymer Elzhi was added to the mix for 2002's Trinity (Past, Present And Future) (Barak/Capitol). Now, with the release of Slum Village's new album, the stunningly impressive Detroit Deli (Barak/Capitol), the group consists of just T3 and Elzhi. Throughout the changes, Slum Village's musical mission has remained constant: to deliver soul-stirring sonics that represent Detroit to the fullest. That vision is fully realized on Detroit Deli. Throughout the sensational 15-cut collection, T3 and Elzhi give listeners an intimate look at life in The D, from where they shop, hang with friends and eat to the type of cars they drive (check "Zoom") and what clothes they wear.
Slum Village represents the Midwest's funk heritage on the inspirational "Do You," which was produced by Jay Dee, and teams with Chicago's Kanye West on lead single "Selfish," a sly, piano-driven song where T3, Elzhi and West rap about their desire to have a monopoly with women. They then team with Ol' Dirty Bastard on the riotous "Dirty" about having to battle for a woman and deliver a Player's Hand Guide of sorts on the sensuous "Count The Ways," Both produced by B.R. Gunna.
Even though Slum Village excels at making this type of lighthearted music, they show on Detroit Deli that they also hit hard with more serious subject matter. On the moving, guitar-driven "Keep Holding On," they rap about people not losing faith in their lives, while on the stirring "Old Girl/Shining Star," T3 and Elzhi send a open letter of hope and support to single mothers working hard to survive.
"The inspiration came from my boy's niece who has a gang of kids and is out here struggling," Elzhi says. "She's stringing her kids around on the bus, just to get by. By me just looking at that, I'm like, 'I need to write a song because I know she's not the only one going through it.' Slum Village has never touched on ladies like that and everybody is calling girls hoes and Bs, dissing these ladies, so we wanted to touch the ladies in a different way."
The group also takes a different route on "Reunion." Jay Dee joins T3 and Elzhi on the insightful cut, which offers three different takes on the group's status. "It's like you're going through three state of minds at one time kind of in reverse," T3 says. "What we're trying to say is that we wish we were together, we might be together and then we're not together at all. We're trying to give you all the aspects of how people are coming at us, the type of stuff we're dealing with and kind of give you a glimpse of the stuff we're dealing with in the group."
Indeed, songs such as "Keep Holding On," "Old Girl/Shining Star" and "The Reunion" signal Slum Village's evolution; they mark the first time the group has let listeners in on their personal feelings. "I don't think people really know us and we never really touched on our emotions like that," T3 says. "We wanted to bring some realness, besides just the soul music. Elzhi, as a guy that saw Slum Village on the outside, he brought it to my attention that we never touched on serious topics and that we should try to touch on them more. I was with that and I have a lot to say, so why not?"
Detroit Deli also stands as Slum Village's most musically rich album to date. B.R. Gunna producers Black Milk and Young RJ, both 20 years old, handled the majority of the beats, while Kanye West produced "Selfish," Jay Dee handled "Do You" and T3 along with young RJ produced "Closer" and "Count The Ways." The beats are as divergent as the album's subject matter, ranging from soulful to futuristic, but they always remain powerful and innovative.
The same can be said for Slum Village's storied career. After releasing Fan-tas-tic Vol. 1 independently, Slum Village became one of hip-hop's hottest groups. While working on Fantastic vol. 2, they were joined in the studio by such luminaries as D'Angelo, Busta Rhymes, Kurupt, Pete Rock, and A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, among others. The resulting album became an underground classic and Slum Village was seen as the second coming of the Native Tongues (A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul) by member Q-Tip, as well as fans and journalists alike.
Jay Dee left the group after Fantastic, vol. 2 in order to work on his solo career, but Slum Village pressed on, releasing in 2002 the Dirty District mixtape and later that year its third album and first with new member Elzhi, Trinity. Many fans looked at rapper-producer Jay Dee as the group's backbone, but Trinity proved that Slum Village could provide without its sonic architect, as that album's single "Tainted" became the group's biggest hit.
"We've always stuck to our guns," T3 says. "We've never tried to change to get commercial success. We always just did what we did and when you do what you do, eventually somebody's going to have to give you your respect for having the courage to do what you do."
Now back where they started, Slum Village yet again thrills and delights fans and gains yet a larger audience hungry for the smoking beats under the hot lyrical talent of T3 and Elzhi. Slum has begun to bring more of their personal feelings to their music, allowing the listeners and fans to touch more on the emotions and realness and touched on more serious topics. Prequel to a Classic features previously unreleased joints and jams from Slum Village with production by B.R. Gunna, J Dilla and Kareem Riggins. The mixtape gives listeners the best of some of their material since Fantastic Vol. 1.
T3 has said in a recent interview that slum village has reunited with Baatin and has added Illa J(J Dilla's Brother) to bring a Dilla effect. He is quoted "Slum Village is totally not that at all,” T3 adds. “I’m incorporating Baatin, and I’m putting Illa J in—not to take Dilla’s place, but just to have that essence of Dilla on this new project. I’m pulling together all the producers that we’ve used before—Black Milk, Wajeed , Kareem Riggins, Pete Rock and all the people who have been down with SV from day one.”
J Dilla died on February 10, 2006 after being diagnosed with TTP and Lupus.
Baatin died on July 31, 2009.
www.slumvillage.com
2U4U
Slum Village Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I see you took it there
Wassup wit'chu?
Hey, what's up with you?
What you gon' do? (gon' do)
You want me, don't you? (you want me, don't you)
I know you do yeah (I know you do)
I want you too (I want you too)
I know it's me
Yeah, I know it's me
I hope it's me
See, when you noticed me (noticed me)
I noticed you (I noticed you)
Shoo, you say, "Whattup?" (You say, "Whattup?")
Whattup wit'chu? (Whattup wit'chu?)
The things you do, and who you do it to
Fuck what u do, I'm seein' you
I know it's good for you (Good for you)
It's just for you (It's just for you)
It's just for you (It's just for you)
It's just for you (It's just for you)
It's just for you
It's just for you
It's just for you
Don't need a chick
To be my chick
If you gon' be my chick
Then be my chick
Don't talk no shhh (Talk no shhh)
Who you wit'? (Who you wit'?)
Oh, you wit' him? (Oh, you wit' him?)
Then pack your shhh (Then pack your shhh)
I guess it's meant
For us to split
It must be meant
For us to split
I'll be the man (I'll be the man)
To understand (To understand)
I'll understand (I'll understand)
I'll be the man (I'll be the man)
See, what you do
It's up to you
It's up to you
What you do
It's up to you (It's up to you)
It's up to you (It's up to you)
It's up to you (It's up to you)
It's up to you (It's up to you)
It's up to you
It's up to you
It's up to you
Smile in my face to show me they nice
But behind my back, yo you be bringing the wack stuff
When you say ? on some stuff
You be on my diznick
Do that dance trick
Nah, everything you do, you fall back
Girl you lack, 'cause you be bringing the wack stuff
The fucking bitch is running his mouth
I ain't saying nothing, troop you making up
But you want my hmmm
And you want my hmmm
Girl, you want my hmm
I want your clit
In a special way (a special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
A special way (special way)
Say, come on, say, come on
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down, well, we put it down
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down, well, we put it down
Come on, if you feel this shit, then we put it down
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down, well, we put it down
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down, well, we put it down
We put the shit down, well, we put it down, we put the shit down
The lyrics to Slum Village's song 2U4U are about a man and a woman who have a mutual attraction for each other. The man is aware that the woman wants him, and he reciprocates those feelings. He encourages her to be with him exclusively, and to pack her stuff and leave her current partner. However, he also acknowledges that the decision ultimately rests with her. The song also touches on the topic of fake friends who smile in the singer's face, but talk badly about him behind his back. Despite this, the singer is unfazed and remains focused on his love interest.
Overall, the song is about being direct in expressing one's feelings and desires. The singer tells the woman that he wants her, and leaves the decision up to her. The song also highlights the importance of being aware of fake friends and staying focused on what truly matters.
Line by Line Meaning
You look and stare
I notice you eyeing me
I see you took it there
You're thinking about us being together
Wassup wit'chu?
What's going on with you?
Hey, what's up with you?
What's going on with you?
What you gon' do? (gon' do)
What are you thinking about doing?
You want me, don't you? (you want me, don't you)
You're attracted to me, right?
I know you do yeah (I know you do)
I'm sure that you do
I want you too (I want you too)
I'm attracted to you too
You wanna do me
You want to be intimate with me
I know it's me
I'm aware that you're interested in me
Yeah, I know it's me
I know you're interested in me
I hope it's me
I hope that you're interested in me
See, when you noticed me (noticed me)
When you first saw me
I noticed you (I noticed you)
I saw you too
Shoo, you say, "Whattup?" (You say, "Whattup?")
You say, "What's up?"
Whattup wit'chu? (Whattup wit'chu?)
What's going on with you?
The things you do, and who you do it to
Your actions and who you're with
Fuck what u do, I'm seein' you
I don't care what you're doing, I'm interested in you
I know it's good for you (Good for you)
I know it would be enjoyable for you
It's just for you (It's just for you)
It's only for your pleasure
Don't need a chick
I don't need a girlfriend
To be my chick
I don't need to be in a relationship
If you gon' be my chick
If you want to be intimate with me
Then be my chick
Then let's be intimate
Don't talk no shhh (Talk no shhh)
Don't say anything negative
Who you wit'? (Who you wit'?)
Who are you with?
Oh, you wit' him? (Oh, you wit' him?)
You're with someone else?
Then pack your shhh (Then pack your shhh)
You can leave if you're with someone else
I guess it's meant
I think it's supposed to happen
For us to split
For us to not be together
I'll be the man (I'll be the man)
I'll handle things maturely
To understand (To understand)
To comprehend
I'll understand (I'll understand)
I'll try to understand
See, what you do
Your actions
It's up to you
It's your decision
I guess it's meant
I think it's supposed to happen
For us to split
For us to not be together
It's up to you (It's up to you)
It's your decision
Smile in my face to show me they nice
People pretend to be friendly to me
But behind my back, yo you be bringing the wack stuff
But they talk negatively about me when I'm not there
When you say ? on some stuff
When you're talking about me
You be on my diznick
You're obsessed with me
Do that dance trick
Show off
Nah, everything you do, you fall back
But you don't actually do anything
Girl you lack, 'cause you be bringing the wack stuff
You're boring and unoriginal
The fucking bitch is running his mouth
You're talking shit about me
I ain't saying nothing, troop you making up
I'm not saying anything, you're making things up
But you want my hmmm
But you want to be intimate with me
And you want my hmmm
You're attracted to me
Girl, you want my hmm
You want to be intimate with me
I want your clit
I want to be intimate with you
In a special way (a special way)
In a unique and special manner
Say, come on, say, come on
Let's go
Come on, if you feel this, well, we put it down
Let's enjoy ourselves together
We put the shit down, well, we put it down, we put the shit down
We have a good time together
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: James Dewitt Yancey, R.l. Altman Iii, Titus Glover
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jimboyuu
that drop at 5 seconds kills me, love it
@jamaallee8302
I thought I was the only one that felt that way
@sb-qw9mb
@Jamaal Lee nvm that xx I very appreciate 7666; minutes to
@renabecton1457
Didn't D'Angelo and his band make this beat?🤔
@4DIVID7
It literally hums 22222 uuuu 444 uuuu
@costasonix
Indeed
@bleevnme1779
20 years later, in 2019, and I'm STILL banging this like it came out yesterday!! TRULY TIMELESS
@JF-gl9vi
Still banging too
@MrChickenstalker
Dilla the greatest of all time
@Moon.boi__
not surprised, dilla is just a legend