When it comes to taking credit, Louisiana can be proud of ‘Lil Wayne and company, while Houston has the likes of Slim Thug, Paul Wall, and a strong supporting cast making sure everything stays in order. Out West, the usual suspects are carrying on the tradition created by N.W.A. long ago, and as for Chicago—well a bald-headed vegan, some boisterous guy named Kanye, and another MC that goes by the peculiar stage moniker of Lupe Fiasco proved that there is more to the windy city besides Michael Jordan.

As for Detroit, their first rise to success came in the 60’s and the 70’s with the classic Motown sound that eventually swept the nation and took the world by storm. Today, the original Motown may have lost some luster, but another generation of musicians are doing everything they can in order to keep their historic customs alive. Artists like Eminem are probably the first to come to mind when mentioning the motor city, but the talent doesn’t stop with his royal shadiness and his merry men. If you read further down the line, then you’ll run into Guilty Simpson, producer/MC Black Milk, the battle-tested Royce Da 5’9’’, and a group simply known as Slum Village.

Most may know Slum Village due to its founding member J Dilla, and others might have jumped on the bandwagon when they released their most famous single to date, ‘Selfish.’ Whenever you did start listening to ‘The Villa’ (as they’re sometimes called) chances are the vernacular intelligence of Jason “Elzhi” Powers had a lot to do with it. The solo MC first joined the group at the time when J Dilla was making his exit, but the praised producer gave the sharp-witted lyricist his blessings.From there his unmatched wordplay was on demonstration for whoever’s eardrums were fully functional, and not just restricted to the limits of Detroit.

Even though he’s released projects like the Out Of Focus EP, Witness My Growth, and most recently Europass, his newest project The Preface will be the first one with national distribution. With an MC like Elzhi possessing the proficiency to manipulate the English language easier than Spencer Pratt controls Heidi Montag on The Hills, it looks like the artist assembly line that has kept the ‘D’ in contention for so many years won’t be getting shut down anytime soon.  

SixShot.com: When did you first get into Hip-Hop?

Elzhi: My older cousins used to break dance to Planet Rock and they used to listen to Run-DMC. My auntie had a lot of music too, and I remember her writing out the lyrics to ‘Jack The Ripper.’ But what really got me going was my cousin, because he would rap over ‘Doowutchyalike’ by Digital Underground. He would rap over the instrumental, and from there I was like, “WOW!” “This is crazy!” 

SixShot.com: What can people expect to hear from your album The Preface?

Elzhi: You’re going to hear a variety of music. Some people might know me from doing girl songs, some cats might know from doing ‘Welcome To Detroit,’ and some people might know me from my Out Of Focus EP where I got personal. On this album, I’m giving you all three of those as well as some other tricks up my sleeve. I’m just trying to let people know that I’m diverse.

SixShot.com: Is there a meaning behind the title?

Elzhi: The preface is at the beginning of every story, and this is just the beginning to my story. Some people may have a misconception of what I do, so this is giving the people more insight to what I can do, where I can take it, and where I can go into the future with it. 

SixShot.com: You’ve performed as a solo artist and of course with Slum Village. Is there any setting you prefer more than the other?

Elzhi: It really doesn’t matter, because I started off as a solo artist and before I got into Slum Village, T3 was actually managing my career. So I started off a solo artist, and right now there’s just more weight on my shoulders because I’m putting it out myself. But I can handle it; it’s all good. 

SixShot.com: Everybody always talks about how complex your style is. Is it a natural ability for you to put words together like you do, or is it something you’re constantly working on?

Elzhi: Well I grew up off of cats like Rakim, Kool G. Rap, and Lord Finesse. Those cats where the early developers of patterns and rhyme schemes. So I grew up off of them, and I basically starting building my own formulas. So I went from creating formulas with patterns to creating formulas with styles, and also creating new and different concepts. Right now, its real second nature to me man. I can hear a beat and that beat can allow me to rap a certain way that will allow me to think up a pattern just like that. I’m more like a scientist when it comes to writing.  

SixShot.com: But don’t you think you might be getting too lyrical in a world where people are becoming accustomed to ‘ring tone rap’ and gimmicks?

Elzhi: That’s the gift and the curse man. I was blessed with a gift, so why should I dumb-down the gift that I have? There’s going to be somebody out there that’s looking for ring tone rap—but if you’re looking for something that’s crazy creative and that you can listen to over and over again, and on your 50th time listening to it; you hear something you haven’t heard while opening up a whole new appreciation for the song, then you’ve come to the right place. Just come to “Elzhi.” F*ck that sh*t, you know what I’m saying? F*ck that simplistic-ass sh*t. Don’t get me wrong, I can write a simple rhyme, but I ain’t with that sh*t. I’m for diversity, and I like to get diverse with my sh*t. That’s the era I come from.     

SixShot.com: A lot of New York MC’s talk about how there’s no unity in the city. How would you describe the scene among Detroit MC’s?

Elzhi: You know what? I’m so proud of the city right now man. There’s so much unity in the city right now, and I feel like my manager Hex Murder is spearheading the movement right now. Under Hex Murder you got Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, and me. And through that you have Royce Da 5’9” who’s part of the crew along with T3. Its unity right now, and it’s just how it was supposed to be back in the day before Proof passed away and before [J] Dilla passed. This is how it was supposed to have been. Everybody felt like with their passing we had a duty, like we had to carry the torch. So the only way we’re going to be able to carry the torch like that is to unify. It ain’t nothing but a family affair out here right now, that’s why I feel like it’s going to pop for the ‘D’ any minute now.      

SixShot.com: I remember listening to your Europass album and how it was released overseas. Is there a difference between European fans and fans from the states?

Elzhi: There are Hip-Hop fans everywhere. I think with overseas, it’s newer to them so it’s crazy overseas lets put it that way—just the love that we get and just the things that they do. There might be a language barrier, but they will go online and look up the words to fully understand what we do. So it’s a whole different appreciation over there, but we still got cats that appreciate it over here as well. But there is so much bullsh*t over here too that’s kind of taking away from the real sh*t. Sometimes the audiences might not be packed over here, like it would be overseas.        

SixShot.com: Do you think that has do deal with the live show aspect? Some say it’s a dying art form. What’s your opinion?

Elzhi: Well I’m speaking for the ‘D’ right now, and recently the live shows haven’t been all that great. What people need to understand is not only does it take the artist, but the listener too. Both sides need to come together to keep this Hip-Hop thing alive. There are a lot of cats that try to do shows with certain people that own clubs; and some of these cats like to front. They do that because they don’t think you can bring in a crowd. So if the people really want to see these artists perform then they have to support them; you know what I’m saying? Because there might be a time where you won’t be able to see your favorite artist perform. So its up to me, it’s up to the next person that raps, and it’s up to the people that listen to the music to keep this Hip-Hop alive.