Villa Manifesto
| Company type | Studio album |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | July 27, 2010 |
| Headquarters | Farmington Hills , United States |
| Products | Hip hop music |
| Parent | Ne'Astra Music Group, E1 Entertainment |
Villa Manifesto represents the sixth official studio release from the American hip hop ensemble Slum Village, which was made available on July 27, 2010, through Ne'Astra Music Group in partnership with E1 Entertainment. The recording sessions occurred at RJ Rice Studios located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Production duties were handled by Young RJ, J Dilla, Hi-Tek, Kon Artis, Khrysis, and Supa Dave West, with Craig Lane contributing as co-producer. The album includes guest features from AB, Colin Munroe, Dwele, Keys, Little Brother, Phife Dawg, Posdnuos, and Vice Verse.
Upon its release in the United States, Villa Manifesto entered the charts at number 37 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, reached number 21 on the Top Rap Albums, and secured the 31st spot on the Independent Albums listings.
Promotion for the album included the earlier issued Villa Manifesto EP on December 15, 2009, along with the single "Faster" backed with "Lock It Down," which dropped on June 1, 2010. The music video for "Faster" debuted on July 12, 2010. Later, Villa Manifesto Instrumentals was released on October 23, 2012 via Ne'Astra Music.
Background
Baatin, one of the original members who rejoined Slum Village in 2008 before his passing in 2009, contributed vocals to close to twenty tracks; additionally, unreleased vocal recordings from J Dilla appear on four songs. Serving both as a reunion and tribute project, Villa Manifesto showcases posthumous contributions from Baatin and J Dilla alongside group members T3 and Elzhi. Illa J, J Dilla’s younger sibling, also participated, with production led by Young RJ. This album marks the first full-length Slum Village project to feature all six members. Founding member T3 described the title: "We call it Villa Manifesto because it’s a declaration to our audience after being absent for so long—reflecting where we stand today." Before its release, T3 revealed via Twitter that this would be their final studio effort; however, he later mentioned to Billboard that strong fan support might encourage another album.
Track listing
{{Track listing | all_writing = | extra_column = Producer(s) | title1 = Bare Witness | note1 = featuring DJ Babu | writer1 = | extra1 = | length1 = 2:30 | title2 = Lock It Down | writer2 = | extra2 = J Dilla | length2 = 3:03 | title3 = Scheming | note3 = featuring Posdnuos, Phife Dawg and Vice Verse | writer3 = | extra3 = Young RJ | length3 = 4:15 | title4 = Earl Flinn | writer4 = | extra4 = Young RJ | length4 = 3:04 | title5 = Faster | note5 = featuring Colin Munroe | writer5 = | extra5 = | length5 = 3:37 | title6 = 2000 Beyond | note6 = featuring ?uestlove | writer6 = | extra6 = Young RJ | length6 = 2:53 | title7 = Dance | note7 = featuring AB | writer7 = | extra7 = Supa Dave West | length7 = 2:45 | title8 = Don't Fight the Feeling/Daylight | note8 = featuring Dwele | writer8 = | extra8 = Mr. Porter | length8 = 7:24 | title9 = Um Um | note9 = featuring 6 Keys | writer9 = | extra9 = Young RJ | length9 = 3:33 | title10 = The Set Up | writer10 = | extra10 = Hi-Tek | length10 = 3:51 |}
- Notes
- Tracks two and thirteen incorporate previously unreleased instrumentals created by J Dilla.
- Unreleased vocal performances by J Dilla are featured on tracks three and six.
- Although J Dilla is credited as a primary artist on the album cover, he is listed as a "featured" artist within the track details.
Personnel
- R.L. "T3" Altman III – lead vocals, co-executive producer
- Titus "Baatin" Glover – vocal performances
- Jason "eLZhi" Powers – vocal contributions
- James "J Dilla" Yancey – vocals (tracks 3, 6), production (tracks 2, 13)
- John "Illa J" Yancey – vocal artist
- Ralph James "Young RJ" Rice Jr. – vocals, production (tracks 1, 3–6, 9, 11, 12, 14–16), co-production (track 13), recording engineer, mixing engineer, executive producer
- Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer – vocals (track 3)
- Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor – vocal feature (track 3)
- Kevin "Vice Verse" Perkins – vocals (track 3)
- Colin Munroe – vocal appearance (track 5)
- Aaron "AB" Abernathy – vocals (tracks 7, 13)
- Andwele "Dwele" Gardner – vocal performance (track 8)
- Takiesha "6 Keys" Richardson – vocals (track 9)
- Thomas "Big Pooh" Jones – vocal contribution (track 12)
- Phonte Coleman – vocals (track 12)
- Chris "DJ Babu" Oroc – turntable scratches (track 1)
- Sam Beaubien – horn and string arrangement (tracks 1, 12)
- Lauren "L-Boogie" Johnson – percussion elements (tracks 3, 5, 9)
- Craig Lane – keyboardist, co-producer (tracks 3–7, 9, 12, 14)
- Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – live drum performance (track 6)
- Michael Mindingall – additional keyboard parts (track 7)
- DJ Dez – scratching (track 12)
- Vernon D. Hill – supplementary keyboards (track 13)
- Christopher "Khrysis" Tyson – production (track 1)
- Supa Dave West – producer role (track 7)
- Denaun "Kon Artis" Porter – producer duties (track 8)
- Tony "Hi-Tek" Cottrell – production credits (track 10)
- Paris "Peezy" Johnson – recording and mixing engineer
- Jeff Campo & Jay Franco – mastering engineers
- Mario "Khalif" Butterfield – responsible for art direction
- DJ Scrap Dirty – A&R representative
- Timothy Maynor – management
Charts
Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart| Chart (2010) | Highest ranking |
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