When underground hip hop fans listened to 2000’s Fantastic Part 2, the long-delayed Native Tongues 2.0 masterpiece from Detroit cult heroes Slum Village, few could have predicted that two of the three MCs running amok over some of in-house producer J-Dilla’s best beats would be dead by the end of the decade.
Fans still in mourning over Dilla’s 2006 death from Lupus were hit with another devastating blow when it was announced that group member Baatin died on August 1st at the age of 35. Baatin left Slum Village in 2004 after falling sick but recently reupped and was touring with the group as part of the mammoth Rock The Bells festival. Now Allhiphop.com is reporting that Baatin’s death may be crack-related. Sad, sad, sad. This leaves T3 and the criminally overlooked and underrated Elzhi as the surviving members of the group, though Dilla’s brother Illa J is apparently going to play a role in Slum Village’s future as well.