| Elzhi | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jason Powers |
| Born | 1979 |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, US |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Associated acts | Slum Village, T3, J Dilla, Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Royce da 5'9" |
Jason Powers (1979) (better known as Elzhi – often printed as eLZhi) is a hip-hop artist from Detroit, Michigan. Many Underground fans know him as "Detroit's Best Kept Secret". As a former member of Slum Village he now records as a solo artist. He is known particularly for his complicated rhyme schemes, involving polysyllabic ‘patterns’, internal rhymes and alliteration, as well as evocative imagery, simile and metaphor. On May 10, 2011, Elzhi released his highly anticipated mixtape eLmatic, produced by Will Sessions, as a tribute to to Nas’ classic debut Illmatic. The mixtape has received glowing reviews from critics and fans alike. In his youth he would make visits to the Hip-Hop shop in Detroit, where they had Open mic nights in where rapper Proof was the host. He would find himself surrounded by Detroit's most talented MC's such as Obie Trice, Phat Kat, Guilty Simpson, Royce da 59, One Be Lo, J Dilla, Baatin, D12, and even Eminem during his battling days.
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In 1998, Elzhi recorded a number of songs with Detroit hip-hop artist DJ House-shoes with DJ Rios. These recording sessions yielded the material that would become the Out of Focus EP. The project was abandoned due to his life getting in the way and no real viable outlet for music as opposed to California and New York. During the mixing process DJ Houseshoes passed the DATs onto Dilla who intended on remixing the whole album before his passing. [1]
In late 2000, Elzhi acquired his master tapes and provided his close friends with CD's of the Out of Focus EP in addition to 3 extra tracks. These few discs 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 mislabelled with inaccurate track-listings and credits. The project was later re-released in 2011 on his official website with a bonus 27min track showcasing verses from past features.
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 through their collaborations, so did El's affiliation with Slum Village. Constantly working on his music, Elzhi had the opportunity to record songs over some of Jay Dee's unused beats ("Days and Nights Analyzin'," "Concrete Eyes") and attracted the attention of Slum Village member T3, who took the young artist under his wing. T3 brought Elzhi to the attention of Jay Dee. This connection paved the way for Elzhi's national debut on Jay Dee's Welcome to Detroit album, for which he received his first ever pay check in the rap game. Elzhi's verse on the song "Come Get It" was acclaimed by Hiphopsite.com upon its release.
In 2001, with Jay Dee no longer an official member, Slum Village began recording their follow up to Fantastic, Vol. 2. During the sessions, T3 invited Elzhi to collaborate on a few tracks. One of the earliest of these was the "Aerodynamic Remix" by Daft Punk which was featured on the Kiss of the Dragon soundtrack. Originally, Slum Village intended Elzhi's presence on the album to be nothing more than a featured guest. But, recognizing their chemistry, Baatin and T3 invited Elzhi to become a full-time member, a choice enthusiastically supported by J Dilla. In July 2010 Elzhi officially announced his departure from Slum Village. Elzhi's manager Hex Murda was quoted in XXL magazine saying, “For all intents and purposes concerning Elzhi, Slum Village is defunct."
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.[2]
Even though Buttatones and Fashawn did it first, he recently released a homage retail mixtape on May 10, 2011 in honor of Nas's debut album called Elmatic where using the band Will Sessions they recreate the sounds of Illmatic in similar fashion. The Mixtaped was greatly received by hip hop fans and considered one of the best projects released in 2011. He has released two videos for the mixtape, "Halftime" and "It Ain't Hard 2 Tell" which has hit 500,000 views despite not being backed by a major label. He has also mentioned that a video for "Memory Lane" is in the works, and will feature footage from the Hip Hop Shop in Detroit. About.com ranked it #5 on its list of the 10 Best Mixtapes of 2011.[3]
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