A gifted MC and outspoken critic of commercial hip-hop, eLZhi began his career rubbing shoulders with Waajeed, Dwele, and the other gifted Detroit artists involved in the city's flourishing late-'90s underground hip-hop scene. After an appearance on Jay Dee's groundbreaking 2001 album Welcome 2 Detroit, eLZhi joined the producer's crew, Slum Village. With Jay Dee spending more time with other artists, eLZhi would become the producer's replacement beginning with the group's 2002 effort Trinity (Past, Present and Future). Two more albums from the group — 2004's Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit) plus a self-titled effort in 2005 — would appear before eLZhi began focusing on his solo career with the 2008 release The Preface.