Trinity (Past, Present and Future)

Last updated
Trinity (Past, Present and Future)
Slum Village - Trinity.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 13, 2002 (2002-08-13)
Recorded2001–2002
Studio
Genre Hip hop
Length1:08:32
Label Capitol
Producer
Slum Village chronology
Best Kept Secret
(2000)
Trinity (Past, Present and Future)
(2002)
Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)
(2004)
Singles from Trinity (Past, Present and Future)
  1. "Tainted"
    Released: July 2, 2002
  2. "Disco"
    Released: November 5, 2002

Trinity (Past, Present and Future) is the third studio album by American hip hop group Slum Village. It was released on August 13, 2002, via Capitol Records. The recording sessions took place at RJ Rice Studios in Farmington Hills, Studio A in Dearborn Heights, and The Studio in Philadelphia. The album was produced by T3, Waajeed, J Dilla, Karriem Riggins, Young RJ, Black Milk, Ess Man, Hi-Tek, and Scott Storch.

Contents

The album peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 and number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. Its lead single, Dwele-assisted "Tainted", made it to number 87 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Overview

Trinity marked the group's first shift away from its original lineup, due to J Dilla's departure following Fantastic, Vol. 2 , to pursue a solo career. Longtime affiliate Elzhi, joined the remaining members; a move which was initially disapproved by hardcore fans, but with time has been accepted, and even praised.

Another major change was Slum Village's new recording home, Capitol Records, which would subsequently cause problems for the group. Although the first single "Tainted" was a respectable success, the album received poor promotion thereafter.

With the production element of Fantastic, Vol. 2 receiving the most acclaim the last time around, filling Dilla's shoes was always going to be a hard task for even the most competent trackmaster, but the team assorted for Trinity (including Dilla himself) didn't stray too far from the feel of the previous album. The beats are, perhaps, less jazzy and subtle but even further left of field on tracks like the aptly titled "Insane", and the first of three Dilla contributions, "One". The group's chemistry, while not as freeflowing and snappy as before, remained intact, and there seemed to be a more concentrated effort by each member to match each other's flows and subjects on the same songs.

While on tour to support the album, Baatin began to experience health problems, which led to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He was soon kicked out of the group while still in the hospital, which greatly upset him. The dispute was later resolved, and Baatin reunited with T3 and Elzhi in 2008, before dying of a suspected drug overdose in 2009.

Critical reaction

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 59/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-dud.svg [3]
HipHopDX 3.5/5 [4]
Pitchfork 4.5/10 [5]
RapReviews5/10 [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Fans were split between those welcoming the addition of Elzhi and those who were against it and felt that J Dilla was too instrumental in the group's previously established identity to be replaced.

Trinity (Past, Present and Future) was met with mixed or average reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 59, based on twelve reviews. [1] A few critics, however, wrote favorable reviews and gave praise for the group's original song concepts as well as Elzhi's lyrical abilities.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro 1"  T3 0:32
2."Intro 2" Waajeed 2:26
3."Insane"
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • O'Bryant
Waajeed2:37
4."What Is This"
2:25
5."Tainted" (featuring Dwele)
Karriem Riggins 4:26
6."La La"
  • Waajeed
  • T3 [c]
  • Young RJ [c]
  • Vernon D. Hill [c]
4:52
7."All-Ta-Ment"
  • T3
  • Young RJ [c]
3:42
8."Disco"
  • Powers
  • Altman III
  • Ernest "Que D" Toney
  • T3
  • Young RJ [c]
  • Vernon D. Hill [c]
3:05
9."Trinity (Interlude)"
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • Altman III
Black Milk2:09
10."One"
Jay Dee 3:50
11."Hoes"
  • Glover
  • Altman III
  • Yancey
Jay Dee3:28
12."Star (Interlude)" (featuring T. Banks)
  • Altman III
  • O'Bryant
T30:22
13."Star" (featuring Dwele)
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • Altman III
  • O'Bryant
Waajeed3:20
14."Slumber"
Hi-Tek 4:10
15."Let's"
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • Altman III
  • Yancey
Jay Dee5:18
16."S.O.U.L."
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • Altman III
  • Riggins
Karriem Riggins3:25
17."80's Skit"
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • Altman III
Slum Village 1:48
18."Unisex"
  • Altman III
  • Rice Jr.
  • T3
  • Young RJ
1:49
19."Love U Hate"
Ess Man3:38
20."Get Live"
Scott Storch 4:43
21."Harmony"
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • Altman III
  • Riggins
  • Hen Elliott
Karriem Riggins3:28
22."Who Are We (Interlude)"
  • Powers
  • Glover
  • Altman III
  • O'Bryant
T31:05
23.Untitled  0:04
24.Untitled  0:04
25.Untitled  0:04
26.Untitled  0:07
27."Fall in Love" (featuring Samiyyah)
1:35
Total length:1:08:32
Notes

Charts

Chart (2002)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [8] 20
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [9] 5

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References

  1. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Trinity (Past, Present and Future) - Metacritic". Metacritic . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  2. Bush, John. "Trinity (Past, Present and Future) - Slum Village". AllMusic . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  3. Christgau, Robert (January 21, 2003). "Consumer Guide: Escape Claus". Village Voice . Retrieved March 9, 2024 via www.robertchristgau.com.
  4. Oduro, Mike (August 15, 2002). "Slum Village - Trinity". HipHopDX . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  5. "Slum Village: Trinity: Past, Present and Future". Pitchfork . September 26, 2002. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  6. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (August 13, 2002). "Slum Village Trinity (Past, Present and Future)". RapReviews. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  7. Relic, Peter (September 10, 2002). "Slum Village: Trinity (Past, Present & Future) : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. Retrieved October 2, 2007 via Wayback Machine.
  8. "Slum Village Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  9. "Slum Village Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2024.