Villa Manifesto Explained
Villa Manifesto is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Slum Village. It was released on July 27, 2010, via Ne'Astra Music Group and E1 Entertainment.[1] The recording sessions took place at RJ Rice Studios in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The album was produced by Young RJ, J Dilla, Hi-Tek, Kon Artis, Khrysis and Supa Dave West, with Craig Lane serving as co-producer. It features guest appearances from AB, Colin Munroe, Dwele, Keys, Little Brother, Phife Dawg, Posdnuos and Vice Verse.[2]
In the United States, the album debuted at number 37 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 21 on the Top Rap Albums and number 31 on the Independent Albums charts.
The album was supported with Villa Manifesto EP, released on December 15, 2009, and the lone single "Faster" b/w "Lock It Down", which was released on June 1, 2010.[3] An accompanying music video for the song "Faster" was released on July 12, 2010.[4] Villa Manifesto Instrumentals was released on October 23, 2012 via Ne'Astra Music.[5]
Background
Founding member Baatin, who reunited with the group in 2008 prior to his death the year after, worked on nearly twenty songs; unreleased vocals from J Dilla are featured on four songs. 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 contributed to the album, as well as production from Young RJ, making it the first Slum Village full-length 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.[6] However, in a subsequent interview with Billboard, 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".
Track listing
- Notes[7]
- Tracks 2 and 13 used previously unreleased instrumental tracks by J Dilla.
- Tracks 3 and 6 used previously unreleased J Dilla's vocals.
- Although J Dilla is listed as the main artist on the album cover, he is listed as "featured" artist on the track listing.
Personnel
- R.L. "T3" Altman III – vocals, co-executive producer
- Titus "Baatin" Glover – vocals
- Jason "eLZhi" Powers – vocals
- James "J Dilla" Yancey – vocals (tracks: 3, 6), producer (tracks: 2, 13)
- John "Illa J" Yancey – vocals
- Ralph James "Young RJ" Rice Jr. – vocals, producer (tracks: 1, 3–6, 9, 11, 12, 14–16), co-producer (track 13), recording, mixing, executive producer
- Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer – vocals (track 3)
- Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor – vocals (track 3)
- Kevin "Vice Verse" Perkins – vocals (track 3)
- Colin Munroe – vocals (track 5)
- Aaron "AB" Abernathy – vocals (tracks: 7, 13)
- Andwele "Dwele" Gardner – vocals (track 8)
- Takiesha "6 Keys" Richardson – vocals (track 9)
- Thomas "Big Pooh" Jones – vocals (track 12)
- Phonte Coleman – vocals (track 12)
- Chris "DJ Babu" Oroc – scratches (track 1)
- Sam Beaubien – horns arrangement (track 1), string arrangement (track 12)
- Lauren "L-Boogie" Johnson – percussion (tracks: 3, 5, 9)
- Craig Lane – additional keyboards (tracks: 3, 6, 7, 9), keyboards (tracks: 5, 12), co-producer (tracks: 5, 14)
- Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – live drums (track 6)
- Michael Mindingall – additional keyboards (track 7)
- DJ Dez – scratches (track 12)
- Vernon D. Hill – additional keyboards (track 13)
- Christopher "Khrysis" Tyson – producer (track 1)
- Supa Dave West – producer (track 7)
- Denaun "Kon Artis" Porter – producer (track 8)
- Tony "Hi-Tek" Cottrell – producer (track 10)
- Paris "Peezy" Johnson – recording, mixing
- Jeff Campo – mastering
- Jay Franco – mastering
- Mario "Khalif" Butterfield – art direction
- DJ Scrap Dirty – A&R
- Timothy Maynor – management
Notes and References
- Web site: Entertainment One : Slum Village . July 13, 2011 . . Wayback Machine.
- Web site: Jacobs . A . May 29, 2010 . Tracklisting For Slum Village's "Villa Manifesto" Revealed . September 22, 2024 . . en.
- Web site: June 2, 2010 . Dilla On Deck For Slum Village's "Manifesto", First Single "Faster" With Colin Munroe . September 22, 2024 . HipHopSite.Com . en-US.
- Web site: July 12, 2010 . Slum Village "Faster" feat. Colin Munroe official video . September 22, 2024 . YouTube.
- Web site: October 23, 2012 . Villa Manifesto Instrumentals by Slum Village on Apple Music . September 22, 2024 . . en-US.
- Web site: Jacobs . A . July 1, 2010 . T3 Confirms "Villa Manifesto" To Be Final Slum Village Album . September 22, 2024 . . en.
- Web site: Graff . Gary . June 30, 2010 . Slum Village ‘Manifesto’ Reunites Rappers Past and Present . September 22, 2024 . . en-US.