Elzhi (Slum Village) Interview
November 2005
MVRemix: Alright man, well the first thing I want to ask you about is the Chevy commercial.
Elzhi: It was some people that we knew, and basically, we gave the music to them in a proposal. When they heard our single, they were loving it.
MVRemix: It's cool for you guys to be heard in this capacity. Why do you think Chevy went with you?
Elzhi: They wanted to do a group that wasn't already fully established and big. Then also, we have the Detroit 
relationship, being from here, and that being the Motor city. In the end, I think it was moreso the music though.
MVRemix: You've made a lot of changes and major headway in your career, and you were in a brighter forefront with your last album. How does this new album compare to the previous work?
Elzhi: It's totally different. We went back to the original style. Soulful music! Our last album had more of a street edge. You know, plus we're independent now as well.
MVRemix: Why did you leave Capitol?
Elzhi: We always do what we want with the albums, and it wasn't really a freedom thing, but it was more with support. Under that structure, we were able to do what we wanted, but it was different though. This album brings us back to the essence. We're trying to capture our original fanbase. We're getting a better response with this record.
MVRemix: But being independent now, do you think that it will be difficult to reach the same people that you've been able to reach with the majors?
Elzhi: Oh no! We would have never gotten the Chevy situation being with Capitol. I think things will get bigger and better. Most labels today are independent anyway. A lot of people forget that. Some of the biggest labels are independent, like TVT. So it ain't really about that. It's about your records being in the stores and getting enough publicity.
MVRemix: I know you worked with a lot of the same people as your last albums, like Dwele. Did you work with anyone else?
Elzhi: this album is more like family. We didn't really feel the need to go and get any major artists to collaborate with us on this album. Dwele is our people though. He will probably be on every album. He's family. We got Fat Cat, and you know, a bunch of our people. Basically, it's the same people that we use on all of our projects.
MVRemix: What else is happening right now?
Elzhi: We've got shows coming up over the next few weeks. We're always touring. We stay on the road. Also, Chevy is doing the commercials with us. We also have our regular commercials out now that are promoting the cd. We're working on more music, new projects, mixtapes, and you know, everything! There's a lot of different situations.
MVRemix: Well it's good to see you're still out there and doing it. Where can we check you out online?
Elzhi: They can find us at www.barakrecords.com, and www.okayplayer.com
MVRemix: Any final thoughts at all?
Elzhi: Yeah, this album is made for people that like soulful music. If you're not into that, then don't waste your music. You're either into it, or not. I don't want to sugarcoat it or nothing. I just want people to be there with us that want to be there.
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