Elzhi

Jason Powers, known professionally as Elzhi, was born on May 12, 1978 in Detroit, Michigan. He began his career by participating in open-mic nights hosted by fellow Detroit rapper Proof. In 1998, he recorded the Out of Focus EP with DJ Houseshoes and DJ Rios. Elzhi's breakthrough came when he joined Slum Village after being invited by J Dilla in 2002. He contributed to several tracks on their albums including "Aerodynamic Remix" from the Kiss of the Dragon soundtrack. In 2008, Elzhi released his first solo project with national distribution, The Preface. In 2011, he released the mixtape Elmatic, a tribute to Nas' debut album Illmatic. Elzhi left Slum Village in July 2010 and continued his solo career with albums like Lead Poison (2016).