Three. De La Soul called it the magic number, but for soul-hop collective Slum Village, three is a way of life. It's three guys from Detroit - T3, Baatin and newcomer Elzhi -- making their third album, Trinity (Past, Present and Future), representing . . . well, let them explain. "It's three different perspectives," Elzhi says, citing their recent anthem "Tainted." "T3 is talking to a girl about what's up with her man. Baatin is speaking about past experiences within the industry. Me, I'm with a lady, and I'm like, 'You say you're down for me, but are you gonna rub my back, you gonna fix me some green tea, let me know what's up?' "

Coherent? Maybe not, but that's part of their charm. Trinity thrives on the trio's clash of personalities and styles, which allows the funky club anthem "Disco" to coexist with spacier jams and philosophical musings -- think A Tribe Called Quest by way of Radiohead. "Kid A was bananas!" the usually staid Baatin screams, as his band mates furiously nod. But it is Motor City alum Eminem they revere the most. Both camps grew up in poverty near Detroit's Eight Mile Road and spent the first half of the Nineties honing their craft at the now-defunct Hip-Hop Shop. "When Em was on, it was inspiration," T3 remembers. "He took as many battle scars as we did for this thing called universal music, man. Like us, like Slum, we never seeked out to be in the forefront, it just kind of happened."

KIRK MILLER
(September 27, 2002)