Elzhi facts for kids

Jason Powers (born May 12, 1978), known as Elzhi (or eLZhi), is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He used to be a member of the group Slum Village. Now, he creates music as a solo artist. When he was younger, he often visited the Hip-Hop shop in Detroit. There, he took part in open-mic nights hosted by another Detroit rapper named Proof.

Elzhi's Music Journey

Early Recordings: Out of Focus

In 1998, Elzhi recorded many songs with Detroit hip-hop artist DJ Houseshoes and DJ Rios. These songs were meant for an album called Out of Focus EP. However, the project was stopped because of personal reasons and problems getting the music out. During the mixing process, DJ Houseshoes shared the recordings with Dilla. Dilla planned to remix the whole album before he passed away.

In 2000, Elzhi got Dilla's original recordings. He gave CDs of the Out of Focus EP to his friends, along with three extra songs. Some of these CDs were shared online. The album was re-released in 2011 on Elzhi's official website. It included a bonus track with verses from his past collaborations.

New Connections and First Paycheck

In 1999, Elzhi joined a group called the 9-2-5 Colony. This group was started by Nick Speed and Magestik Legend. The three rappers recorded only a few songs together.

In 2000, Elzhi started working a lot with Waajeed. They created many songs together. One of the few songs from this time that was released is "Stunted Growth."

As Elzhi worked more with Waajeed, he also became closer to the group Slum Village. Elzhi often recorded songs using beats that Jay Dee (also known as J Dilla) had not used yet. This caught the attention of T3, a member of Slum Village. T3 helped Elzhi and introduced him to Jay Dee. This led to Elzhi's first big appearance on Jay Dee's album, Welcome to Detroit. He even got his first payment for rapping on the song "Come Get It."

Joining Slum Village

In 2002, Jay Dee was no longer an official member of Slum Village. The group began recording their next album. T3 invited Elzhi to work on some songs. One of the first was the "Aerodynamic Remix" by Daft Punk. This song was on the Kiss of the Dragon movie soundtrack.

At first, Slum Village only wanted Elzhi as a guest on their album. But they saw how well they worked together. So, Baatin and T3 asked Elzhi to become a full-time member. J Dilla strongly supported this choice. In July 2010, Elzhi announced that he was leaving Slum Village.

Solo Success: Witness My Growth and The Preface

In 2004, Elzhi and Nick Speed started their own music company. They released Witness My Growth. This was a double CD album of Elzhi's unreleased solo songs from as early as 1997. The album included special songs made with J Dilla. It also featured highlights from the Out of Focus EP.

His first solo album released widely was The Preface. It came out on August 12, 2008.

Tribute Album: Elmatic

On May 10, 2011, Elzhi released a mixtape called Elmatic. This album was a tribute to Nas's famous first album, Illmatic. Will Sessions recreated the sounds of the original album. Hip hop fans loved Elmatic, and it was considered one of the best projects of 2011. Elzhi released three music videos for the mixtape: "Halftime," "Memory Lane," and "It Ain't Hard to Tell." The video for "It Ain't Hard to Tell" reached over 1 million views, even without support from a major record company.

New Music: Lead Poison

In November 2013, Elzhi successfully raised over $37,000 through a Kickstarter project. This money helped him create and release his next studio album. After a long wait, Elzhi announced in January 2016 that his new album Lead Poison was finished. Lead Poison was released on March 11, 2016.

Jericho Jackson: A New Group

On December 31, 2017, 9th Wonder shared a short clip of new music online. He revealed that Elzhi and producer Khrysis were working on a project together. Their group was called Jericho Jackson, named after a character in the movie Action Jackson.

The project was officially announced on February 9 as Elzhi & Khrysis are Jericho Jackson. They released their first song, "Self Made," at the same time. Their second song, "Listen," featured Amber Navran. It was first shared by Billboard magazine on February 20. The album was released on February 23. Elzhi sang most of the songs, and Khrysis produced the entire album.

Discography

Solo albums

• 2008: The Preface
• 2016: Lead Poison
• 2020: Seven Times Down Eight Times Up

With Slum Village

• 2002: Trinity (Past, Present and Future)
• 2004: Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)
• 2005: Slum Village
• 2009: Villa Manifesto EP
• 2010: Villa Manifesto

Extended plays (EPs)

• 1998: Out of Focus
• 2000: The Breakfast Club (with Dwele, Lacks, Big Tone & 87)
• 2010: Out of Focus EP (re-release with 20 min bonus track)

Mixtapes

• 2004: Witness My Growth: The Mixtape 97-04
• 2005: Prequel To A Classic (with Slum Village)
• 2008: EuroPass: An Exclusive Tour CD (Tour CD)
• 2009: The Leftovers (Unmixedtape)
• 2011: Elmatic

Collaborative albums

• 2018: Elzhi & Khrysis are Jericho Jackson (with Khrysis as Jericho Jackson)
• 2022: Zhigeist (with Georgia Anne Muldrow)
• 2023: Heavy Vibrato (with Oh No)