Elzhi

Jason Powers (better known as Elzhi - often printed as eLZhi) is a rapper and a member of the Detroit group Slum Village. Elzhi joined Slum Village in 2001 while they were working on their third album, Trinity (Past, Present and Future).

Biography

Out of Focus

In 1998, Elzhi recorded a number of songs with Detroit hip-hop artist DJ Houseshoes with DJ Rios. These recording sessions yielded the material that would become the Out of Focus EP.

In late 2000, Elzhi acquired his master tapes and provided his close friends with cassettes of the Out of Focus EP in addition to 3 extra tracks. These few cassettes allowed the material to eventually leak onto the internet under the name "Unreleased Solo Project." CDs sold or distributed under this title are usually completely mislabeled with inaccurate tracklistings and credits.

925, Waajeed, and Jay Dee

In 1999, Elzhi became affiliated with the 9-2-5 Colony, a group formed by Nick Speed and Magestik Legend. The trio of emcees recorded only a few songs together: "Gun Talk," "Oh Shit" and "Farewell." "Farewell," produced by Lacks, is a song where each emcee spits a verse about their relationships with women. Elzhi reprises a verse he had originally recorded for the DJ Houseshoes-produced "What I Am," a discarded song from the Out of Focus sessions that eventually was released when the EP leaked onto the internet. "Farewell," like the rest of the 9-2-5 material, remains incomplete and unreleased.

In 2000, Elzhi became a frequent collaborator with Waajeed

. During their countless recording sessions, the pair would create an untold number of songs. "Stunted Growth" is one of the few tracks to ever emerge from this era of recording.

As Elzhi and Waajeed became closer in their collaborations, so did El's affiliation to Slum Village. Elzhi even had the opportunity to record songs using Jay Dee's beats ("Days and Nights Analyzin'" and "Concrete Eyes"), eventually leading up to Elzhi's national debut on Jay Dee's Welcome to Detroit. Elzhi's verse on the song "Come Get It" was acclaimed by Hiphopsite.com upon its release.

Slum Village

In 2001, with Jay Dee no longer an official member, Slum Village began recording their follow up to Fantastic, Vol. 2. During the sessions, Baatin invited Elzhi to collaborate on a few tracks. Recognizing their chemistry, Baatin and T3 invited Elzhi to become a full-time member, a choice enthusiastically supported by J Dilla.

Libido Sounds and the Future

In 2004, Elzhi and Nick Speed formed the Libido Sounds label in order to release Witness My Growth, a double CD compilation of Elzhi's unreleased solo material from as early as 1997. The double disc includes exclusive J Dilla collaborations as well as highlights from the Out of Focus EP. Production credits on the mixtape include to J Dilla, Waajeed, Karriem Riggins, Page Kennedy, B.R. Gunna, DJ Magnetic, Houseshoes and The Alchemist.

His first solo project with national distribution, The Preface, was released on August 12, 2008.

UK Tour With Black Milk

Elzhi was due to perform in London and Manchester with Black Milk on the 20th and 21st of March but was refused entry due to passport issues. Despite this Black Milk still performed both venues.

Discography

with The Breakfast Club

200?: "The Breakfast Club" (EP) (with Dwele, Lacks, Big Tone & 87)

with Slum Village

2002: "Trinity: Past, Present And Future"
2004: "Detroit Deli: A Taste Of Detroit"
2005: "Prequel To A Classic" (Mixtape)
2005: "Slum Village"

Solo

1998: "Out Of Focus (EP)"
2004: "Witness My Growth: The Mixtape 97-04" (Mixtape)
2008: "Euro Pass: An Exclusive Tour CD" (Promo)
2008: "The Preface"
2009: "Elmatic" (Mixtape)
2009: "The Feed"

Signed Music Artists