Elzhi Speaks On Baatin’s Passing (XXL)

With the sad and unfortunate passing of former Slum Village MC Baatin, XXLMag.com caught up with fellow group member Elzhi to find out how the group is coping.

Despite the death of Baatin, born Titus Glover, SV have decided to continue touring. “I’m not gonna talk about missing a member, I just say, you know we doing what we do,” he said. “We still gonna bring a live show to you and the tour has been cool.”

Although at first reluctant to speak about Baatin, Elz wanted to share his favorite aspects of the rapper with the true fans, not the people that became interested only after hearing about the fallen MC’s death. “Man, I mean the fans know what they remember about him,” he said. “I mean, you can’t… what he gives and what he gave to hip-hop you couldn’t get it nowhere, from not just the lyrics but the way that he changed his voice on every track or the way that he posed on a camera. Just his whole being was so different from what everybody else is doing. He’s always been eccentric and authentic and the real fans know that. The real fans know that.”

“The only reason why I’m not really saying too much is because, I mean, it’s a double edge,” he continued. “It’s people that kinda want to get in on the tail end and act like they knew what it was about and it’s some people that really know what it’s about and those people that know what it’s about know what it’s about without me speaking it out in a publication or speaking it out in a statement. They already know what it’s about and those are the people that I care about.”

Titus “Baatin” Glover was found dead on the 14000 block of Anglin Street in his hometown of Detroit on August 1. At just 35-years-old, he is the second member of the group to die after seminal producer J Dilla passed in February of ’06. Although the cause of his death is still uncertain, the Detroit Free Press reported that the MC had an ongoing battling mental illness and addiction. He suffered from schizophrenia. When diagnosed in 2002 he left the group for a short period, before recently returning. He will be featured on the group’s new disc, Villa Manifesto, scheduled for a September 22 release. –Max G with reporting by Clover Hope