Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) is a
hip hop Trio with "
Vinnie Paz" and "
Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind" from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and "
Jus Allah" from
Camden, New Jersey. The group was founded by two high school friends,
rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and
producer/
DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In
1999 the
New Jersey rapper Jus Allah (James Bostick) joined the group to record the second studio album by JMT,
Violent by Design but left shortly after for reasons that remain unexplained. The track "The Rebuilding" (
2006) marked his unofficial return to JMT since the split, but made a full fledged return aside Vinnie Paz for the sixth studio album,
A History of Violence (
2008).
DJ Kwestion is also a part of the group, mainly scratching choruses on the turntable. Kwestion (or Kwes) is also a part of the group Skratch Makaniks. Kwestion was a replacement for JMT's previous tour DJ, Drew Dollars, who is no longer affiliated with the group.
JMT has collaborations with both regional MCs and rap veterans, including GZA, Kool G Rap, 7L & Esoteric, Sean Price, Ras Kass, Canibus, Percee P, Killah Priest, Immortal Technique, Virtuoso, Louis Logic, R.A. the Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, and Ill Bill. The group has sold over 250,000 albums in the United States and 400,000 albums worldwide, all of which were released independently.
History
Amber Probe EP and Psycho-Social LP
JMT officially debuted with the
Amber Probe EP.
"The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, And Electro-Magnetic Manipulation Of Human Consciousness" known as "The Psycho-Social" for short was released under Babygrande Records and is JMT's first full length LP. It featured 12 tracks and 6 bonus tracks. It is considered JMT's most groundbreaking and influential album.
Five Perfect Exertions EP and Violent By Design
Prior to the release of their first LP, Vinnie Paz had conceived the idea of forming a rotating, collaborative super-group of underground East Coast artists called the
Army of the Pharaohs (AotP).
1998 saw the first result of these efforts in The Five Perfect Exertions EP. The release featured
Virtuoso,
7L & Esoteric,
Chief Kamachi and
Bahamadia as well as Vinnie Paz himself. The EP was later remixed for JMT's next LP,
Violent by Design (2000), albeit without Chief Kamachi's verse.
The LP was originally titled "Nyugha Reincarnation of the Hologramic Christ". Vinnie Paz became noticeably more aggressive, abandoning his cosmic, paranoid rhyme style from The Psycho-Social CD for more violent lyrics. The LP also introduced Jus Allah, a founding member of JMT who had left for college but dropped out a short while after. A self-proclaimed five-percenter, Jus was present on every non-AotP track on Violent by Design as JMT's unofficial third member. Most of the lyrics in Violent By Design show Jus and Paz describing exaggerated ways of killing people as well as their metaphorical superhuman powers. Typically, they do this by combining themes of hardcore/gangsta rap with mythological or fantasy imagery.
The list of guest artists on this album was also their longest, including Mr. Lif, Planetary of OuterSpace, Louis Logic, Diamondback, Philip King Rappah,Coffee Gangsta Child L-Fudge, B.A. Barakus, J-Treds, Killa Sha, C-Baz and Tragedy Khadafi, plus a couple of odd phone-call interludes by Mr. Len.
During the course of Violent by Design's 1999-2000 recording period, Paz changed his alias to Vinnie Paz, inspired by the boxer of the same name. The reason for this has been reported to be the result of a short-lived rivalry instigated by fellow Philly underground rapper iCON the Mic King. Vinnie Paz decided to settle on his new moniker in order to prevent any further confusion. It was also around this time that he formally declared himself to be a follower of Islam, alluding to this fact several times on record.
Visions of Gandhi
In late 2001, JMT was made an offer by
Babygrande Records founder
Chuck Wilson to sign a deal. Jus Allah's uncertainty caused him to leave the group on good terms. Stoupe and Vinnie Paz closed their homegrown Superegular label and migrated to Babygrande. Before his
White Nightmare EP on Virtuoso's "Omnipotent Records" label, Jus was somewhat isolated from the entire Philadelphia underground scene; the two sides wouldn't talk to each other for over three years. Virtuoso was also estranged from JMT and AOTP for his support of Jus, among other reasons.
Mid-2003 saw the release of JMT's third LP, Visions of Gandhi. In an interview, Vinnie Paz said the title was inspired by Foxy Brown's verse in Nas's song "Affirmative Action", and expresses the need for a prominent figure of non-violent social change such as Gandhi in a post-9/11 world.
Stoupe, now supplied with a professional studio in New York, also expanded his variety of production, incorporating grand orchestral samples and a stronger Latin feel. In response, some longtime fans felt let down by Vinnie Paz's lyricism and delivery, as well as the abundance of slick, upbeat loops adopted by Stoupe . Nevertheless, the album helped expand the group's audience as its popularity and commercial success continued to grow.
Legacy of Blood and Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell
A little over a year later, JMT continued their creative streak with
Legacy of Blood, this time intentionally keeping guest artists to a minimum. Carrying with them their lessons from Gandhi, Stoupe and Vinnie tried to strike a balance between the past two albums. Vinnie Paz also added a more personal aspect to his lyrics, most notably in the last song "Before the Great Collapse".
In February, 2005, Babygrande officially announced that Jus Allah had signed on to the label after reconciling with his former partners. Babygrande released his long-awaited debut LP, All Fates Have Changed, in May of that year. However, after a dispute with label CEO Chuck Wilson soon after the album's release, Jus left Babygrande and denied any new association with JMT.
In March, 2006, a reunited Army of the Pharaohs released The Torture Papers LP. The crew now consisted of Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Apathy, Celph Titled, Planetary & Crypt the Warchild of Outerspace, King Syze, Faez One, Reef the Lost Cauze, and new Jedi Mind Tricks hype-man Des Devious. This time, however, Virtuoso and Bahamadia were not featured and are no longer associated with the Army.
The fifth Jedi Mind Tricks album, titled Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell, was released on September 19, 2006. The release coincided with the beginning of the album's supportive tour, which kicked off in New York City's Time Square. The album was widely acclaimed, unlike the group's two previous albums, which both received mixed reviews. A large part of the acclaim was due to the album's lyrical and musical diversity, both missing from their previous efforts. The album featured the single "Heavy Metal Kings" with Ill Bill, the Shara Worden-assisted "Razorblade Salvation", and the storytelling track "" with R.A. The Rugged Man. A day after the release of the album, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks did an interview with The Breakdown, a show on ItsHipHop.tv where he discussed the album and his thoughts on Jus Allah.
In early 2006, rumors spread that the group had reunited with estranged member Jus Allah, and that he would be featured on Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell, but no collaboration appeared. However, on September 20, 2006 a newly-recorded Jedi Mind Tricks/Jus Allah collaboration, produced by Brods, titled "The Rebuilding" appeared online. Jus is also planning to release his second album, The Colossus, in the summer of 2007. In a January 2007 interview Paz stated that Jus will be featured on the group's upcoming sixth album, titled A History of Violence In the interview he states that "I'm back in the group [and that] I'm focused on... putting out the next Jedi Mind Tricks album... a History of Violence."
Enemy Soil
They recently started their own record label called Enemy Soil which features Reef The Lost Cauze, Dutch (Stoupe's side group), Vinnie Paz (solo), Jedi Mind Tricks and Army of the Pharaohs.
They have planned a huge line up of releases for 2010. Vinnie Paz just put out his solo album "Season of the Assassin" on June 22, 2010. Jus Allah is also dropping a solo album coming soon titled: MMA (Meanest Man Alive). They are also coming out with plans for a new Jedi Mind Tricks record in 2011, named "Violence Begets Violence" . Army of the Pharaohs has a new album called The Unholy Terror which was released on March 30, 2010 and had an early release date on undergroundhiphop.com. Reef the Lost Cauze recently has put out his new album on Enemy Soil titled "Fight Music" on June 8, 2010, a collaboration with Guns & Butter. Stoupe also teamed up with Liz Fullerton and put out "A Bright Cold Day" on June 8, 2010 through Enemy Soil & Dusty Pockets.
Discography
Albums
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The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness
Released: November 4, 1997 (Re-released May 6, 2003 on Babygrande Records)
Label: Superegular Records
Sales: 25,000 copies
Singles: "I Who Have Nothing"
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Violent by Design
Released: October 3, 2000 (Re-released May 25, 2004 on Babygrande Records)
Label: Superegular Records
Sales: 50,000 copies
Singles: "Heavenly Divine"/"Trinity", "Genghis Khan", "Retaliation"/"Blood Runs Cold"
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Visions of Gandhi
Released: August 26, 2003
Label: Babygrande Records
Sales: 50,000 copies
Singles: "Animal Rap", "Kublai Khan", "Rise of the Machines"
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Legacy of Blood
Released: August 24, 2004
Label: Babygrande Records
Sales: 50,000 copies
Singles: "Before the Great Collapse"/"On the Eve of War", "The Age of Sacred Terror"/"Saviorself"
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Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell
Released: September 19, 2006
U.S. Sales: 75,000 copies
Label: Babygrande Records
Singles: "Heavy Metal Kings"
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A History of Violence
Released: November 11, 2008
U.S. Sales: 11,205
Label: Babygrande Records
Singles: "Monolith","Godflesh"
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Violence Begets Violence
Released: September 13, 2011
U.S. Sales:
Label: Enemy Soil
Singles:
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EPs/Singles
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Amber Probe EP
Released: 1996
Label: Superegular Records
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"Heavenly Divine"
Released: 1999
Label: Superegular Records
B-Side: "Trinity" (featuring Louis Logic & L-Fudge), "Heavenly Divine (Remix)"
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"Raw is War" (
Vinnie Paz)
Released: 2000
Label: Direct Records
B-Side: "Language is Fatal" (featuring Doap Nixon, Jus Allah & Planetary)
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"Genghis Khan" (featuring
Tragedy Khadafi)
Released: 2000
Label: Superegular Records
B-Side:
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"Retaliation"
Released: 2001
Label: Superegular Records
B-Side: "Blood Runs Cold" (featuring Sean Price)
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"Animal Rap" (Arturo Gatti Mix) (featuring
Kool G Rap)
Released: 2003
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side: "Animal Rap" (Micky Ward Mix)
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"Kublai Khan" (featuring Goretex &
Tragedy Khadafi)
Released: 2003
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side:
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"Rise of the Machines" (featuring
Ras Kass)
Released: 2004
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side:
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"Before the Great Collapse"
Released: 2004
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side: "On the Eve of War" (
Julio César Chávez Mix) (featuring
GZA),"On the Eve of War" (
Meldrick Taylor Mix) (featuring
GZA)
|-
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"The Age of Sacred Terror"
Released: 2005
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side: "Saviorself" (featuring Killah Priest)
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"Heavy Metal Kings" (featuring
Ill Bill)
Released: August 1, 2006
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side:
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Compilations
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The Greatest Feature
Released: June 23, 2009
Label: Babygrande Records
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Jus Allah discography
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"White Nightmare" (EP/Single)
Released: 2002
Label: Omnipotent Records
B-Side: "Reign of the Lord"
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"All Fates Have Changed" (Full-length album)
Released: May 10, 2005
Label: Babygrande Records
Singles: "Pool of Blood"/"Hell Razors", "G-O-D"/"Supreme"
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"Pool of Blood" (featuring
GZA) (Single)
Released: 2005
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side: "Hell Razors" (featuring Evil Dead)
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"G-O-D" (Single)
Released: 2005
Label: Babygrande Records
B-Side: "Supreme"
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"MMA (Meanest Man Alive)" (Second full-length album)
Released: 2011
Label: Enemy Soil
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References
External links
Official Jedi Mind Tricks website
Official Babygrande website
Official CrackSpace page
Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Category:Musical groups from Pennsylvania
Category:Musical groups from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Category:East Coast hip hop groups
Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Category:1990s music groups
Category:2000s music groups
Category:Horrorcore groups
Category:Underground rappers