''Villa Manifesto'' is the sixth studio album by Detroit hip hop group Slum Village. It was released on July 27, 2010, via

E1 Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...

Background

''Villa Manifesto'' serves as both a reunion and a memorial album. Two late founding members of the group (Baatin and J Dilla) appeared posthumously as main artists of the album alongside T3 and Elzhi. Illa J, J Dilla's younger brother, is also featured on the album, as well as production from Young RJ, making it the first Slum Village LP to feature all six members. Founding member T3 stated: "I wanted to pull the whole squad together. The reason why we call it ''Villa Manifesto'' is that it was a statement we want to give our people because we had been away for so long. What we're doing, what's going on, how we're feeling and where we're at today." Before the album's release, T3 stated on Twitter that it was their final studio album. However, in a subsequent interview with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', he clarified: "If this album does phenomenal and the supporters just overwhelm me, I wouldn't have a choice but to do another record -- and I believe this record could be phenomenal for us."T3 Confirms "Villa Manifesto" To Be Final Slum Village Album
/ref>

Music

Baatin, who has reunited with the group in 2008 prior to his death the year after, has worked on nearly twenty songs, and unreleased vocals from J Dilla are featured on four songs. Guest appearances includes

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

, Little Brother, Colin Munroe, Dwele and Phife Dawg. A bulk of production was handled by Young RJ. The album also features productions by

Mr. Porter Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1974), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, and more recently simply Denaun, is an American rapper and music producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12 until its disbandment in 2018. ...

, Dave West, Khrysis, Hi-Tek, T3, A&R DJ Scrap Dirty Violator Djs and unreleased production from J Dilla.Tracklisting For Slum Village's "Villa Manifesto" Revealed
/ref>

Singles

*"Faster" has been confirmed as the first single, featuring Canadian singer Colin Munroe, and was released on June 1, 2010. A video for the song was made and released on July 12, 2010.

Track listing

;Sample Credits *”Lock It Down” uses a previously unreleased instrumental track by J DillaGraff, Gary. “Slum Village ‘Manifesto’...”. Billboard. 30 June 2010. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957564/slum-village-manifesto-reunites-rappers-past-and-present *”Scheming” uses previously unreleased vocals performed by J Dilla *”Earl Flinn” samples ” Johnee Jingo” by Todd Rundgren. *”2000 Beyond” samples “ Funky Drummer” by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Rys, Dan. “22 Rappers who Sampled James Brown’s ‘Funky Drummer’”. XXL. 1 August 2014. http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/08/22-rappers-james-brown-funky-drummer/#photogallery-1=19 *”2000 Beyond” also uses previously unreleased vocals performed by J Dilla *”We'll Show You” uses a previously unreleased basic instrumental track by J Dilla

Personnel

* DJ Babu - Scratches (1) *Sam Beaubien - Horn arrangement (1), String arrangement (12) *DJ Dez - Scratches (12) *Vernon D. Hill - Additional Keyboards (13) *Lauren “L. Boogie” Johnson - Percussion (3, 5, 9) *Craig Lane - Keyboards (5, 12, Additional on 3, 6–7, 9) *Michael Mindingall - Additional Keyboards (7) *Colin Munroe - Additional Vocals (Sung by) (5) *

Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

- Live Drums (6) *Vice Verse - Poetry performed by (3)

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums E1 Music albums Slum Village albums Albums produced by J Dilla Albums produced by Mr. Porter Albums produced by Hi-Tek Albums produced by Khrysis