A desperate need for attention. That’s the conclusion reached by Slum Village member T3 concerning the controversy involving rapper Charles Hamilton.
The Harlem entertainer has drawn the ire of Detroit rap fans after mentioning producer/rapper Jay Dee as an executive producer on his recently released debut album This Perfect Life.
News of the “honorary” appointment was met with criticism from those close to J. Dilla such as rapper Marv Won and DJ House Shoes.
“I think the dude is just really immature and I think he’s just tryin’ too hard to get a buzz. And it ain’t necessary,” T3 told AllHipHop.com. “What he gotta understand is Detroit is not a happy town. Once you say something over here, its consequences…And most of the dudes that I came up with, like House Shoes and Marv Won, they going so hard on him that we ain’t even get a chance. I don’t even get a chance to go hard on him. I don’t feel like I have to even address [it]. Ain’t no more I could say that Marv didn’t say…”
Outrage over Hamilton’s remarks are the latest in a series of recent mishaps involving the rapper, who generated talk after a viral video surfaced of him being punched in the face by his girlfriend, Briana Latrise.
The incident, which occurred in May, was sparked after Hamilton rhymed during a rap battle with Latrisse about an alleged abortion she had after having unprotected sex with him.
A week after the video spread across the Internet, the couple issued a joint public apology for the incident.
The current controversy comes as hardly a surprise to T3, who remained skeptical about Hamilton’s relationship with his former group mate.
“I was like ‘Here he go again.’ First, it was the drama with battling people, getting beat in battles. Like ‘Ok, well you just gonna spontaneously battle people. And then he getting’ slapped. Now he…it’s just too much. It’s like ‘Here he go again,’ said the rapper. “Everybody knows that he don’t know Dilla. He never knew Dilla. I know that. Dilla ain’t make no music for him. Come on man. Stop it. That’s all I gotta say. Please stop it.”
With five albums to their credit as well as collaborations with various artists over the years, Slum Village is noted for their longevity as a group.
Slum Village’s current outing as part of this year’s Rock the Bells tour.
The trio, which includes rappers Baatin and Elzhi, is working on its forthcoming album Villa Manifesto.
The following are Rock the Bells tour dates featuring Slum Village:
June 27 First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre Chicago, IL June 28 DTE Energy Music Theater Detroit, MI July 5 Molson Amphitheatre Toronto July 12 Merriweather Post Pavilion Washington, DC July 18 Comcast Center Boston, MA July 19 Jones Beach Theater New York, NY August 1 Deer Lake Oark Vancouver, BC August 6 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Denver, CO August 8 San Manuel Amphitheatre Los Angeles, CA August 9 Shoreline Amphitheatre San Francisco, CA