Legendary US hip-hop group Slum Village have been announced as part of the line-up of the next edition of the Back to the City International Festival on October 10 in Johannesburg. It’s a special milestone for a festival that founder Osmic Menoe has tried to position as one of the most vibrant celebrations of hip-hop culture in Africa.

“Back to the City has always been about celebrating hip-hop culture in its purest form while creating a platform where local and international communities can connect,” Menoe said of the booking. “Bringing Slum Village to South Africa is a significant moment for fans who understand the influence of Detroit hip-hop and the lasting legacy the group has built over decades.”

Emerging from Detroit in the early 1990s, Slum Village are considered foundational figures who helped evolve the sound of hip-hop and R&B with a signature style that is most well-known for the soulful jazz-sampling production of the late great J Dilla. Along with rappers T3 and Baatin, J Dilla formed a trio that would go on to help shape the neo-soul movement and modern alternative hip-hop.

J Dilla died in 2006, the year before Back to the City’s first edition, and Baatin followed in 2009 but Slum Village lives on. T3, the last remaining member of the original line-up continues the group’s legacy as a duo alongside longtime collaborator and producer Young RJ. Together they’ve carried the name through albums like Villa Manifesto and YES, tracks like Selfish with Kanye West and John Legend and, more recently, F.U.N., a project featuring Cordae, Larry June and Eric Roberson.

Slum Village's influence runs deep in SA hip-hop circles, where Dilla's irreverent drum programming and sample-chopping techniques have inspired a generation of local producers. Many of them cite his catalogue as a formative reference point despite the Detroit-born producer having never performed on South African soil. For the producers and the fans who grew up on J Dilla’s production, T3 and Young RJ's appearance offers a rare chance to experience the lineage live.

Back to the City International Festival takes place on 10 October 2026 at Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown, Johannesburg. Tickets are available via Webtickets.