Slum Village Villa Manifesto EP

Slum Village boasts, were still fantastic, everything we spit is classic on the intro to their new EP, dropping on Barak Records as a teaser for the full-length Villa Manifesto LP due out later this year. While this EP to this date has only been digital, Fat Beats is set to press the vinyl exclusively. Villa Manifesto EP shows promise because it captures many of the same elements from Slum Villages last self-titled album in 2005, while still moving them forward. The trio’s ultra-lyrical leg, Elzhi, has established more of a solo career since their last group album, and on Manifesto EP, he sounds even more confident and motivated than before. Nonbelievers, I line em up like a caesar, swing the cleaver, draw heat and give em the fever, he spews on the bar barrage of Nitro. Dexterous rhymes continue on Da Night, where T3, whos known for a style over substance approach, nearly gives his partner a run for his money. And listeners cant help but enjoy hearing Baatins one-of-a-kind voice, flow and charisma alongside his homies like its supposed to be. Villa Manifesto also excels sonically. In J Dillas absence, the group later enlisted most of their production duties to Black Milk and Young RJ, collectively known as B.R. Gunna. RJ contributes upbeat numbers for over half of the EPs songs, and Slum doesn’t miss a beat over Madlibs spacey, nostalgic sound on Money Right. Ironically, Dillas melodic sound and Slums female-friendly rhymes are most closely duplicated on Cloud 9, with a piano-driven backdrop from Aftermath producer Focus and a chorus by Marsha Ambrosius. If death, breakups and makeups cant break up Slum Village, industry politics wont either. If Villa Manifesto EP is emblematic of what the album has to offer, the group doesnt only have an opportunity to go full circle—they can add another layer to their legacy, altogether.