Untold Story of Detroit Hip Hop

The new documentary "The Untold Story of Detroit Hip Hop" is a documentary narrated by Chuck D that covers two sections of Detroit hip hop from the years 1982-2000, and 2000-2011. The documentary features artist commentary from artists such as Proof, Dilla, Eminem, Slum Village, and Big Herk. The main purpose of this documentary is an attempt to unify the heart of Detroit hip hop due to its different confrontations that take place between artists such as Insane Clown Posse, Kid Rock, Royce da 5'9" and Eminem. Royce da 5'9' and Eminem came up in the rap scene together, but due to different career paths and choices, the two have been looked at as having animosity towards each other. Royce da 5'9' states "A lot of people think that there is animosity between Eminem and me, but they would be shocked to know that I was influential in his early life and career". What this documentary intends to do, is finally put a cap on the state of Detroit hip hop and the feuds that take place between it's local artists that have reached exponential fame. Below, I have posted a trailer of the documentary that has yet to claim a release date.

Phat Kat

Phat Kat AKA Ronnie Cash, is an MC from the east side of Detroit. Phat Kat first began rhyming in high school after seeing the hip hop group Whodini perform live in 1984. In 1994 he met Jay Dee, an aspiring producer at the time. Together they formed 1st Down, and were able to be signed to Pay Day Records through Gang Starr (whom they met by chance at a local record store). Due to the lack of support and promotion from their label at the time the group was short lived. However, this did not stop the two from making hits together even after the crash of 1st Down. The two continued to collaborate on different projects such as Slum Villages Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1). Phat Kat was often called the fifth member of Slum Village, and would go on tour with them and A Tribe Called Quest. Upon getting in touch with Detroit DJ, House Shoes, Phat Kat released some 12" and shopped around for his own label deal. He soon reached the attention of Virgin UK Records, who were impressed with what they heard. Unfortunately before he could release what would have been his debut album, the staff at Virgin UK was fired, and Phat Kat was subsequently dropped. He however was able to surface with his masters and would soon release The Undeniable LP in 2004 on Barak Records with J Dilla handling the production. Upon leaving Barak Records and signing with Stones Throw Records (the home label for many other local Detroit MCs), Phat Kat would release Carte Blanche in 2004, his most critically recognized work. Phat Kat's next scheduled release is Katakombz which should be dropping this coming March on Look Records.

Danny Brown the "Hybrid"

Danny brown is a Detroit MC born in 1981 who emerged in the mid 2000's painting pictures with rhymes about his different encounters with drugs and different situations in his life. Along with his sense of humor, Brown has a unique style of hood and hipster which make for interesting rhymes. Brown's real last name is Sewell and first debuted with the group Reser'vor Dogs. The group had made it far enough to even be noticed by Roc-A-Fella records but in the end a deal was never struck. Although this deal was never struck, an A&R helped assist Brown with the release of his mixtape Detroit State of Mind. Danny Brown came close at one point to signing with G-Unit Records after releasing his mixtape with Tony Yayo called Hawaiian Snow. 50 Cent (a rapper I'm sure everyone is familiar with) shot down the idea due to Brown's fashion sense. Eventually Brown became a part of the record label Fool's Gold and released his highest profile mixtape of that point XXX. In a recent interview with RollingStone.com, Brown was questioned about Childish Gambino's recent release, a rapper better known as stand up comedian Danny Glover. Brown responded with " Hey, at least it's better than Mac Miller's [release]... If I see him, I’m just going to have to apologize to him, like, 'Man, I just want to apologize for hating you so much. Because I’m not going to stop. You’re probably a cool guy. I don’t feel violent in any way, but I really hate you. I hate your music, man.' It’s just bad." I guess somebody is not a fan of Mac Miller (can't blame him). At the moment Danny Brown is not interested in any major labels at the moment although receiving offers, he feel's he's at home with Fools Gold Records.

Elzhi, Detroits Best Kept Secret

For those of you that do not know who Elzhi is, than you are surely missing out on Detroit Hip-Hop. For those of you that may need a refreshment of memory, Elzhi is one of "Detroit's Best Kept Secrets". The rapper reigns from  Detroit and has traded verses with some of the best including J-Dilla, Eminem, and Proof. He is largely acclaimed for having been a part of the famous hip hop group Slum Village. Unfortunately, when Elzhi joined Slum Village in 2002 (on the album Trinity), J-Dilla was not present due to his pursue in a solo career. As of late Elzhi has been working on his solo career, releasing The Preface in 2008 and ELmatic last year (hit the link for the download). In the link to the video I have posted below, Elzhi talks about his up-bringing into the hip hop game and some major influences that he was surrounded by at the time. Enjoy...

Last Donut of the Night, Remembering J Dilla...

Sadly today marked the anniversary of one of the greatest Hip-Hop producers to ever lay hands on the MPC, James "J-Dilla"Yancey, known by some as Jay Dee. After being hospitalized for pneumonia at the age of 32, "Dilla" as his friends used to call him, was diagnosed with Lupus which shortly there after ended his life, but not his legacy. Dilla led a remarkable and influential life when it came to music. He produced with some of the greatest including the Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, and his  group Slum Village. The dedication that Dilla contained was unimaginable, working on his last album Donuts, from his death bed. The process behind making the album was a simplistic setting, using only a stack of old vinyl and a stripped down set up. The completed album had achieved a sort of resonance that no one forsaw coming. Donuts was released on February 7th, Dilla's 32nd birthday. A few days later on February 10th, he died of Lupus. The album is a testament to his life, and while it is not a defining sound of Dilla's, its a sound that best describes his personality. Throughout the album there are traces of messages left for his audiences, for example the 31 tracks featured on the album are a tribute to his age, despite him having lived a little longer than he expected. Listening to the album gives the audience a sense that Dilla was just having fun, despite his grim conditions, and that creating the album was a sort of therapy dealing with his last days. You could probably make the title out to be a metaphor for the circle of life, however sometimes it could be interpreted that Dilla's favorite food was donuts, and not try to look at it any deeper.
To honor the late and great James Yancey, this Friday Detroit will be holding a memorial concert at The Filmore. The name of this event will be called "Dilla Day Detroit". In his remembrance, artists such as Danny Brown, Busta Rhymes, Phat Kat, and Phife from A Tribe Called Quest will be making an appearance. In the famous words of Dilla...TURN IT UP!!!