By: Ismael AbduSalaam
AllHipHop.com has confirmed that Baatin (Titus Baatin Glover) of Slum Village has passed away.
While no details are available regarding cause of death, the veteran rapper's body was found early this morning in the 1400 block of Detroit's Anglin Street.
The body was then transferred to the Wayne County medical examiner's office, where Baatin's next of kin made a positive identification.
Friends of the rapper have been sending out condolences via Twitter throughout the day. “R.I.P. baatin of slum village forever,” wrote singer Dwele on his page.
In a summer filled with celebrity deaths, producer 9th Wonder advised fans to remember artists while they are still living.
“RIP Baatin of Slum Village; let’s celebrate our people while they are here,” 9th reflected. “We are losing folk.”
Baatin was the founding member of the group Slum Village, along with J Dilla and T3.
Together, the trio released two influential albums in Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1) (1997) and Fantastic, Vol. 2 (2000).
In 2002, Dilla left the group to pursue a solo career, and lyricist Elzhi was added. Baatin himself left the group before the release of their 2004 LP Detroit Deli after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The group experienced further hardship when musical backbone J Dilla passed away in 2006 following a long battle with Lupus. Earlier this week, T3 had confirmed with AllHipHop.com that Baatin had rejoined the group.
“The whole thing is I felt like the fans wanted Baatin to come back. And I felt like I really didn’t want to do another album without Baatin. I wanted his energy,” T3 explained. “I found him and he was ready. He seemed like he had his stuff together. So that’s how the whole wheel started spinning for this new Slum Village album because basically, for the last couple of years, we dropped an album but we were going through a lot of depression. Dilla passed and then Proof passed. I really didn’t feel like doing no music. I wasn’t inspired. I was really just going through my thing.”
Brooklyn emcee Talib Kweli was also at a loss regarding the recent passing, revealing that partner Hi-Tek was set to DJ for the group tonight.
“I’m at a loss right now,” Kweli stated on Twitter. “Hi-Tek was set to dj for Slum Village tonight. RIP Baatin. More influential than you can imagine. Slum Village forever.”
Baatin was 35 years old at the time of his death.
At press time, there has been a public remembrance gathering set for Sunday (August 2) at the Elements Gallery, located in Detroit on 2125 Michigan Ave.
AllHipHop.com will continue to develop this story as more details emerge.
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