Dirty District

Community activists on a level that gives them few rivals in hip-hop, the Slum Village trio dedicated Dirty District, their 2002 mix tape for Sequel, to breaking over a dozen fellow Detroit MCs. Boasting a darker, dirtier sound than the group’s 2000 debut, most every track on Dirty District was recorded at one studio, with Slum Village compatriots Ralph James Rice and T3 overseeing the production. After T3’s own intro and a fresh track from Slum Village (“One”), Dirty District gets into it with dense tracks and excellent rapping by Lo Louis (“Throw That ‘D'”) and Elzhi (“Me and Mu”). Ironically, the best track was one of the few not recorded in Detroit: the Alchemist’s production of Twin’s “Big Twinz.” /John Bush