Hot on the heels of our feature of The Preface in VMP Hip-Hop, we bring you eLZhi's 2011 mixtape masterpiece Elmatic. Originally released as a free mixtape in 2011, the album would make eLZhi a beloved figure in the underground blog rap scene then taking shape, establishing him as one of the brightest spots in a then-exploding Detroit rap scene.

Between paying his dues at Hip-Hop Shop, building a buzz from his Out of Focus EP, and enjoying more visible success after joining the renowned group Slum Village, Elzhi always had a one-of-a-kind penchant for lyrical wizardry. With multilayered rhyme schemes, uncanny metaphors, and inventive concepts, he persistently had a case as the most gifted rapper in his city — even when Eminem dominated the charts. 

But ...