Back in 1996 and 1997, Slum Village was not the only group that occupied the time belonging to J. Dilla (then known as Jay Dee). Dilla had established a longstanding partnership with fellow Detroit MC, Phat Kat.

Known as 1st Down, the pair inked a contract with Payday Records (Jeru The Damaja, O.C., WC & The M.a.a.d Circle), that did not yield a completed project. Instead, Dilla would help release Fantastic, Vol. 1 while 1st Down would only drop a lone single. Phat Kat would go on to release a trio of solo albums, while appearing on albums by Dilla, Slum, Black Milk, and more.

For the first time in history, Heads get to hear some of what Payday missed out on. Known as Detroit’s Finest, the EP from ’96 and ’97 comes to the light in snippet-form, care of Sergent Records. Coming to a mere 250 copies of vinyl, the fully mastered EP is available for $65 a pop, shipping now.

Check the sampling:

ego trip! knew the time on this one.

Related: J. Dilla – Detroit Madness ft Phat Kat (Audio)