Baatin | th

Born Titus Glover (after the Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus) in 1974, on Detroit's east side, Baatin got his start on the mic in 1986. In the early '90s, he befriended now-fallen rapper Proof (of D-12), and would accompany him to hip-hop nights at Stanley's Café and 1515 Broadway. In 1991, Baatin's hip-hop group, Ssenepod (dopeness spelled backward), changed it's name to Slum Village, which at the time, was made up of Jay Dee, Baatin and T3. Titus first christened himself Scandalous-T.

"When I got spiritual, I wanted a different name," he says, "Baatin is Islamic for 'hidden"

After Slum Village released 1997's Fantastic Vol. 1 and 2000's Fantastic Vol. 2, it added Elzhi to the group for 2002's Trinity — Past, Present and Future on Barak/Capitol records, and had a hit with "Tainted".

After dedicating 14 years of his life to Slum Village, Baatin decided to persue a solo career. He left his fans with hits like "Tainted" from the Trinity album, "Players" & "Climax" from the Fantastic Vol. 2 album to remember him by. His latest work, Baatin introduces a new rap style with tracks like "Howa" spittin' lyrics in an ancient Hebrew dialect, while displaying his vocal range on super soul tracks like "Girl". With his new career, Baatin plans to go to the top with his album "Titus" due out on Operation Unknown in early 2008, along with a string of new recordings.

He nods his head, as if there's a beat playing somewhere in his mind. "The sound in Detroit has a halo over it. The Motown sound and the riots left us with this ghost spirit. This is Gotham City right here. I just wanna make music that will stand the test of time."

He died 31 July 2009. REST IN PEACE. .