Look up meridian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Meridian, or a meridian line may refer to:

Earth science[link]

• Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
• Meridian (geography), an imaginary arc on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole
• Meridian arc

United States geography[link]

• Meridian, California (disambiguation)
  • Meridian, Humboldt County, California
  • Meridian, Kern County, California
  • Meridian, Santa Clara County, California, a place in Santa Clara County
  • Meridian, Sutter County, California
• Meridian, Colorado
• Meridian, Florida
• Meridian, Idaho
• Meridian, Mississippi
• Meridian, New York
• Meridian, Oklahoma (disambiguation)
  • Meridian, Logan County, Oklahoma
  • Meridian, Stephens County, Oklahoma
• Meridian, Pennsylvania
• Meridian, Seattle, Washington
• Meridian, Texas
• Meridian Township, Clinton County, Illinois
• Meridian Charter Township, Michigan

Arts and entertainment[link]

Print[link]

• Meridian (novel), novel by Alice Walker
• Meridian (comics), comic book series published by CrossGen in the early 2000s
• Meridian, a literary journal published by the University of Virginia
• Meridian (W.I.T.C.H.), a fictional realm in the Italian comic book series W.I.T.C.H.

Film and television[link]

• Meridian: Kiss of the Beast, 1990 movie
• "Meridian" (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), episode of the series
• "Meridian" (Stargate SG-1), an episode of Stargate SG-1
• Meridian Broadcasting, ITV station for the south and south-east of England

Business[link]

• Meridian Audio, Ltd., British manufacturer of audio equipment
• Meridian Bank, bank based in Serbia
• Meridian Credit Union, a credit union based in Ontario, Canada
• Meridian Energy, New Zealand electricity generation and electricity retailing company
• Nortel Meridian, a popular PBX telephone system
• Meridian Mall, Meridian Township, Michigan, US
• Meridian Mall, Dunedin, New Zealand

Education[link]

• Meridian High School (disambiguation)
• Meridian Technology Center, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States

Transportation[link]

• Meridian (train), British Rail Class 222 trains
• MS Meridian, cruise ship constructed in 1961
• Meridian (schooner) Shipwreck Site, sunken schooner in Lake Michigan
• Piper Meridian, turboprop model of the Piper PA-46 aircraft

Other[link]

• Meridian (Chinese medicine), or channel, for blood and qi
• Meridian (perimetry, visual field), polar coordinate system for the visual field
• Meridian F.C., an English non-league football club
• Meridian Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D. C.
• Meridian Manor, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D. C.
• Meridian Mansions, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D. C.
• Meridian Records, a record label
• Meridian (Nosgoth), the capitol of Nosgoth in Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
• Meridian (horse), American Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of 1911 Kentucky Derby

People with the name[link]

• Meridian Green, California-based folk musician

See also[link]

• Meridian 59, online game
• One Meridian Plaza, an office building that burned down in 1991 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
• Meridian Hill Park, a park in Washington D.C.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

August Burns Red
August Burns Red in Bonner Springs during 2008's Warped Tour. From left to right: JB Brubaker, Jake Luhrs, Dustin Davidson, Brent Rambler, and Matt Greiner.
Background information
Origin	Manheim, Pennsylvania
Genres	Metalcore
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Solid State, CI, Hassle
Associated acts	Bells
Website	www.augustburnsred.com
Members
Jake Luhrs JB Brubaker Brent Rambler Dustin Davidson Matt Greiner
Past members
Jon Hershey Josh McManness Jordan Tuscan

August Burns Red is an American metalcore band, from Manheim, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2003, the group began their first performances while a majority of the members were attending their senior year of high school, and soon began playing shows around Lancaster, before being signed to CI Records, and afterward, Solid State Records. The group is primarily known for their heavy breakdowns and odd-meter riffs. They cite Between the Buried and Me, Misery Signals and Hopesfall as their main influences.

History[link]

[edit] Formation and Thrill Seeker (2003–2006)

August Burns Red was founded in March 2003 when all the members were attending high school.^[1] The original practice sessions of the band began in drummer, Matt Greiner's old egg house and basement on the Greiner family's farmland. After playing many local shows within Lancaster, they recorded their first EP, titled Looks Fragile After All with label CI Records in 2004.^[2]

Vocalist Jon Hershey eventually quit the band during the same year, which led to Josh McManness to take on the position as lead singer,^[3] and after several months of playing with McManness, August Burns Red signed to Solid State Records in 2005.^[4] Hershey would later go on to form post-rock band Bells.^{[5][better source needed][6][better source needed]} August Burns Red released Thrill Seeker, their first full-length album, on November 8, 2005. In 2006, drummer Matt Greiner was endorsed by Truth Custom Drums following the release of the album.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Messengers (2006–2009)

Vocalist Jake Luhrs joined the band in 2006. He is the band's third and current lead vocalist.

McManness departed from the band in 2006, exhausted by the band's constant touring. He was replaced with Columbia, SC resident, Jake Luhrs during the same year. Bassist Jordan Tuscan also left the band in 2006 for similar reasons as McManness. He was replaced by bassist Dustin Davidson, a friend of the band. The band's second album, Messengers, was released on June 19, 2007. Marking the debut for Luhrs fronting the group, it managed to become the band's breakthrough album, reaching number 81 on the Billboard 200.^[7] The album has sold a total of 108,000 copies as of May 2011.

Throughout 2008, August Burns Red toured with several acts across North America and Europe to promote Messengers. From April to May they toured with As I Lay Dying and Misery Signals across the United States and Canada.^[8] In September and October of that same year, they headlined a tour with A Skylit Drive, Sky Eats Airplane, Greeley Estates, and This or the Apocalypse in the United States.^[9] The band also visited Europe for a month-long headlining tour in November, playing in Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, The United Kingdom, Republic Of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and France.

After this series of tours, the band recorded two covers of popular songs. They recorded an instrumental version of the classic song, "Carol of the Bells" for the X Christmas compilation album, which was featured in trailers for the film, The Spirit, released Christmas Day 2008. They also recorded a cover of "...Baby One More Time" by pop singer Britney Spears for the Punk Goes Pop 2 compilation album, released in March 2009.

On February 24, 2009, the band released an EP, entitled Lost Messengers: The Outtakes. It contains material that is related or was decided not to be included in the final, mastered version of Messengers.^[10] August Burns Reds' first trip to the Middle East took place on March 6, 2009 with the band playing at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival. The band's last tour before their next album release took place in the United States, where they toured with metalcore band All That Remains throughout April and May.^[11]

[edit] Constellations (2009–2011)

To promote their upcoming album, August Burns Red released several new tracks and a music video during June 2009. The tracks Thirty and Seven, Existence, and Ocean of Apathy were all released on the 15th,^[12] 21st, and 29th, respectively. A music video for the song Meddler was also released during this month.^[13] On July 7, a week before the album's release, August Burns Red began streaming the full album on their Myspace profile for a limited time.^[14] August Burns Red released their third full-length album, Constellations, on July 14, 2009. During the week of August 1, 2009, the album charted at spot 24 on the Billboard 200.^[15] Another United States tour was organized with August Burns Red headlining and support from Blessthefall, Enter Shikari, All Shall Perish, and Iwrestledabearonce.^[16] After this tour, the band joined a short tour in Australia with Architects in support of Australian band Parkway Drive.^[17] August Burns Red toured alongside Underoath and Emery in November and December 2009 as well.^[18]

The band released their first live CD/DVD, Home, on September 28, 2010.^[19] The group co-headlined an Alternative Press tour throughout November.^[20] On February 23, 2010, Constellations was nominated for the Dove Award for "Best Rock Album".^[21]

August Burns Red toured Australia and New Zealand in December 2010 on the No Sleep Til Festival. The band played alongside Parkway Drive, A Day to Remember, NOFX, Dropkick Murphys, Suicide Silence, Megadeth, Descendents, Gwar and many others.

[edit] Leveler (2011–present)

August Burns Red in April 2011

On July 27, 2010, lead guitarist, Brubaker stated that the band would be taking time off tour to write their next record,^[22] On February 12, 2011, the band announced via their official Facebook page that they had completely finished writing their new record and that they would be entering the studio on Valentine's Day.^{[23][better source needed]} which, following into March of the next year, the band announced that the record was finished, and that it was (at that point) time for mixing.^{[23][better source needed]} On the April 5, August Burns Red revealed the name of this upcoming record as Leveler.^[24] On May 16, 2011, the band released the song "Empire" as a preview before its release. They also later premiered three other songs: "Internal Cannon", "Divisions", and "Poor Millionaire", on May 31, June 6, and June 14, respectively.

Leveler was released on June 21, 2011 in two forms; standard and deluxe. The deluxe version of Leveler contains four extra songs, including an acoustic version of the song "Internal Cannon". The album sold particularly well compared to their other releases, with 29,000 of its opening first week-copies being sold in the United States alone. These sales had the record land at position 11 on The Billboard 200 chart.^[25] After the release, August Burns Red took part on the main stage of the 2011 Vans Warped Tour.^[26]

August Burns Red headlined their own Leveler tour on the first quarter of 2012 with Silverstein, Texas in July, I the Breather and Letlive as support acts.

Characteristics and image[link]

Musical style[link]

August Burns Red is generally credited as a metalcore band,^{[27][28][29][30]} and have also been said to share traits of other genres such as progressive metal,^[29][31] and thrash metal.^[32] August Burns Red songs frequently feature technical or odd time signatures and heavy breakdowns, with a variety of influences including Meshuggah, Between the Buried and Me, Poison the Well, Symphony in Peril and Misery Signals.^[1][33]

While the group has stated that they don't mind being classified as metalcore, Brubaker has grown to a distaste in the genre's usual bands: "I feel like anyone who can pick up and play a guitar and learn to play a metalcore riff and any drummer who can learn to play a thrash beat over a breakdown is doing it. It's almost become very formulaic, and metal to me was never a formulaic genre."^[30]

Band name[link]

August Burns Red have been asked of the origin of their band name on many occasions and many different stories given in explanation to where it originated.^[27] The most popular story behind the name is an incident that revolves around the band's original vocalist, Jon Hershey wherein he dated a woman named August who burned his dog Redd alive in his dog house.^[34]

However, it was later revealed in a radio interview that this meaning (along with others) were simply comical stories created by the members and there is no actual meaning behind the band name. Drummer Matt Griener stated in the interview that "we just came up with the name to come up with a name."^[35]

Christian faith[link]

August Burns Red is a Christian band.^[3] JB Brubaker mentioned in an interview with Shout!, an online magazine, that "Christianity is a religion, not a style of music" and he would "rather just let the music speak for itself."^[36] Brent Rambler commented on the fact that "It is important to us that people know that we are indeed Christians...without having us stand up there and ram it down people's throats."^[37]

Members[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: August Burns Red

• Official website

Orlando Jones
Orlando Jones, 2010
Born	(1968-04-10) April 10, 1968 (age 44) Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation	Actor/Comedian
Years active	1991 – present
Spouse	Jacqueline Staph (2008-present)

Orlando Jones (born April 10, 1968) is an American comedian and film and television actor. He is notable for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv and for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999-2002.

Early life[link]

Jones was born in Mobile, Alabama. His father was a former professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies.^[1] He moved to Mauldin, South Carolina, when he was a teen and graduated from Mauldin High School in 1985. One of his early acting experiences involved playing a werewolf in a haunted house to help raise money for the junior/senior prom. Jones enrolled in the College of Charleston, South Carolina. He left in 1990 without finishing his degree.

To pursue his interest in the entertainment industry, Jones, together with comedian Michael Fechter, formed a production company, Homeboy's Productions and Advertising. Together Jones and Fechter worked on several projects including a McDonald's commercial with basketball superstar Michael Jordan for the McDonald's specialty sandwich the "McJordan".

He scored his first Hollywood job in 1987, writing for the NBC comedy A Different World, on which he had a small guest role in the season five finale. During 1991-92, Jones penned the Fox series Roc and, in 1993, he co-produced The Sinbad Show. He also made a brief appearance on the FOX sitcom Herman's Head in 1992.

Career[link]

MADtv[link]

After hosting Fox's music series Sound FX, in 1994, Jones became one of the original nine cast members of MADtv. Unlike some of his fellow original repertory performers on MADtv, Jones came to the show with limited sketch comedy experience. However, his comedy writing and television producing skills proved to be valuable to the early success of the show.

Throughout Seasons One and Two of MADtv, Jones produced characters like the Cabana Chat band leader Dexter St. Croix and Reverend LaMont Nixon Fatback, the vocal follower of Louis Farrakhan. He was also noted for his impressions of Andre 3000, Bill Cosby, Dennis Rodman, O.J. Simpson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Snoop Dogg.

Characters

• Dexter St. Croix (Cabana Chat)
• Reverend LaMont Nixon Fatback

After two seasons on MADtv, Jones left the show at the end of its second season to pursue a movie career. However, Jones returned to MADtv in 2004 to celebrate its 200th episode. Jones appeared in the opening video "Hey MAD!" where he lampooned Andre 3000. With his guest appearance, Jones became the third (out of five) original cast member to return as a guest on the show. The other original cast members who have returned are Nicole Sullivan, Phil LaMarr, Artie Lange, and Debra Wilson. During his time at MADtv, he roomed with Artie Lange.

Other television projects[link]

Aside from MADtv, Jones made many other television appearances. Perhaps his most popular and enduring television appearance was not in the form of a sitcom or television drama, but rather in a series of humorous commercials for a soda company. In 2000, Jones became the spokesperson for 7 Up and he gained wide recognition.

This exposure led to a plethora of opportunities for Jones. First, he hosted an HBO First Look special in 2000 and then, in 2003, Jones was given his own late night talk show on FX called The Orlando Jones Show. Although his talk show was short lived, Jones continued to make additional television appearances. In 2003, he appeared on The Bernie Mac Show and on Girlfriends. In 2006, Jones decided to return to television as one of the lead characters of ABC's crime drama The Evidence, as Cayman Bishop. He has also appeared in two episodes of Everybody Hates Chris, the first in 2007 as Chris's substitute teacher and the second in 2008 as Clint Huckstable, an allusion to the character Cliff Huxtable played by Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show.

In 2008, he appeared as Harold Wilcox, a violent veteran with PTSD, on New Amsterdam.

In the first season of the show, Jones also starred on Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out. Jones was the first guest star on the show.

Jones was the co-host of ABC's Crash Course (which was canceled after 4 episodes).

On November 16, 2009, it was announced on TV Guide that Orlando has been cast as Marcus Foreman, Eric Foreman's brother on House.^[2] Jones appeared as Marcus in Moving the Chains.

Film projects[link]

After leaving MADtv, Jones expanded his cinema resume. He appeared in a bit part in his first big screen film, In Harm's Way (1997), Jones then joined Larry David in the feature Sour Grapes (1998), playing the character of an itinerant man. Subsequently, he appeared in Woo (1998), Mike Judge's first film Office Space (1999), alongside fellow MADtv alumnus David Herman, and in Barry Levinson's praised drama, Liberty Heights (1999). Since then, Jones has appeared in Magnolia (1999), New Jersey Turnpikes (1999) and in Harold Ramis' Bedazzled (2000).

During the 2000s, Jones' career began to branch out. In addition to his witty appearances in the 7-Up campaigns, Jones played the role of Clifford Franklin in The Replacements (2000) and he appeared in the comedy Chain of Fools (2000) and the horror film From Dusk till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000). In 2001, Jones landed the role of Daryl Chase in the action-comedy Double Take (2001) alongside Eddie Griffin and worked with David Duchovny and Julianne Moore in Ivan Reitman's sci-fi comedy, Evolution (2001). Jones was also in the 2002 film Drumline alongside Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana and he appeared as the computer Vox in The Time Machine (2002). His other more recent films includes Biker Boyz (2003), Runaway Jury (2003) and House of D (2004). Jones recently had a cameo in the Chris Rock Film I Think I Love My Wife (2007), and played in Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009).

In 2011 Jones appeared in the documentary film Looking for Lenny in which he talks about Lenny Bruce and freedom of speech.^[3]

Voice acting[link]

Jones has been featured in many voice acting projects over the years. In 1993, Jones appeared in Yuletide in the 'hood and in 1998, he made a guest appearance in the animated comedy TV Series, King of the Hill. More recently, he lent his voice to the TV series Father of the Pride and the video games Halo 2 as the marine Sergeant Banks as well as other black marines and L.A. Rush. Jones is recently reported to be starring in the ABC's crime-drama Evidence with Oscar winner Martin Landau. In 2006, he co-created, produced and voice acted for the MTV2 animated series The Adventures of Chico and Guapo.

Jones is one of eight original MADtv cast members to engage in some form of voice work after leaving the show. Only Bryan Callen has not appeared in voice acting projects. He appeared on the very first episode of Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out.

Personal life[link]

Jones married former model Jacqueline Staph in 2008.^[4] In October 2011 Jones provoked controversy by making jokes that someone should kill Sarah Palin.^[5][6]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Voice acting and video game appearances[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Orlando Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Biography, Filmography and Photos at Hollywood.com

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since July 2008. Its references may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. Tagged since August 2011. It may contain improper references to self-published sources. Tagged since August 2011.

Ill Bill
Ill Bill, also known as Billy Crystal
Background information
Birth name	William Braunstein
Born	(1972-07-14) July 14, 1972 (age 39)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper Producer Label CEO
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Uncle Howie Psycho+Logical
Associated acts	Non Phixion La Coka Nostra Circle of Tyrants Secret Society Injustice Necro DJ Muggs Jedi Mind Tricks
Website	www.illbill.com www.unclehowie.com

William Braunstein, better known as Ill Bill, is a Jewish American Rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York. Having gained notoriety in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known for his hardcore lyrics and as the producer, founder and CEO of Uncle Howie Records. His brother Ron is also a rapper and producer, known as Necro.^[1]

Biography[link]

Ill Bill was the main voice behind the now disbanded Non Phixion, and is currently involved with La Coka Nostra, along with Slaine, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal of House of Pain & Limp Bizkit fame. In 2004 he released his debut solo album What's Wrong with Bill? and has since released various solo mixtapes and collaborations in anticipation for his second solo record and the upcoming La Coka Nostra album.

NYC 1998

On September 16, 2008, he released his second album on Uncle Howie Records, entitled The Hour of Reprisal. The album includes appearances from Necro, Tech N9ne, B-Real of Cypress Hill, Everlast, Bad Brains, Max Cavalera of Soulfly, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage, Immortal Technique and Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan. It also features production by DJ Muggs, T-Ray, DJ Lethal, Necro, DJ Premier and Ill Bill himself.

He released an album with Vinnie Paz as the Heavy Metal Kings. Ill Bill was supposed to release a collaboration album with rapper Crooked I and production team Blue Sky Black Death, but the project was cancelled.

During Spring 2008, Ill Bill joined Tech N9ne and Paul Wall on a nationwide tour. "The Hour of Reprisal" was released on September 16, 2008 by Uncle Howie Records and Fat Beats.

In an October 31, 2010 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Ill Bill discussed his relationship with his brother Necro and his range of albums expected in 2011 including La Coka Nostra, The Pill album with Sean Price and his Heavy Metal Kings album with Vinnie Paz set to release April 5, 2011.^[2]

[edit] What's Wrong with Bill?

What's Wrong with Bill? is Ill Bill's debut studio album, released on March 2, 2004 by Psycho+Logical-Records. The album spawned one single, "The Anatomy of a School Shooting", and a music video for "Chasing the Dragon". This album never charted.^[3]

Discography[link]

• 2001: The Early Years: Rare Demos '91-'94
• 2002: The Future Is Now (with Non Phixion)
• 2003: ILL BILL Is The Future
• 2003: Street Villains (with Necro)
• 2003: Howie Made Me Do It
• 2004: The Green CD/DVD (with Non Phixion)
• 2004: What's Wrong with Bill?
• 2005: Street Villains 2 (with Necro)
• 2005: Circle Of Tyrants (with Necro, Goretex & Mr. Hyde)
• 2006: ILL BILL Is The Future Vol. 2
• 2007: Black Metal
• 2008: The Hour of Reprisal
• 2009: A Brand You Can Trust (with La Coka Nostra)
• 2010: Kill Devil Hills (with DJ Muggs)
• 2011: Heavy Metal Kings (with Vinnie Paz)
• 2011: Howie Made Me Do It 2
• 2012: Masters Of The Dark Arts (with La Coka Nostra)
• 2012: The Grimy Awards ^[4]
• 2012: Heavy Metal Kings vs. DJ Muggs ^[4]
• TBA: The Pill (with Sean Price) ^[5]
• TBA: Heavy Metal Kings 2

Collaborations[link]

• Sha-key feat. Ill Bill "Doompasaga"(produced by Ill Bill) off the LP "A Head Nadda's Journey To Adidi Skizm" (1994 Imago Recording Company)
• Necro feat. Ill Bill & Goretex "I Need Drugs" LP (2001 Psycho+Logical)
• O.D. feat. Ill Bill & Goretex of Non Phixion "2004" 12" (1999 Audio Research)
• Company Flow feat. Ill Bill of Non Phixion "Simian Drugs" 12" (2000 Def Jux)
• Necro feat. Ill Bill "The Most Sadistic" 12" (2000 Psycho+Logical)
• Necro feat. Ill Bill & Goretex "Gory Days" LP (2001 Psycho+Logical)
• Troy Dunnit feat. Ill Bill "Let's Go" 12" (2001 Audio Research)
• Non Phixion (Ill Bill, Goretex, Sabac Red & DJ Eclipse) "The Future Is Now" LP (2002 Uncle Howie)
• El-P feat. Ill Bill "Fantastic Damage" LP (2002 Def Jux)
• The Beatnuts feat. Ill Bill, Problemz - "Yae Yo" 12" (2002 Landspeed)
• Jedi Mind Tricks feat. Ill Bill, Sabac Red - "The Wolf" 12" (2003 Babygrande)
• Dj JS-1 feat. Ill Bill, Licence to ill- "Ground Original" LP (2003 Yosumi / M3)
• Non Phixion (Ill Bill, Goretex, Sabac Red & DJ Eclipse) "The Green CD/DVD" (2004 Uncle Howie)
• Circle Of Tyrants (Necro, Ill Bill, Goretex & Mr. Hyde) "The Circle Of Tyrants" LP (2005 Psycho+Logical)
• Necro and Ill Bill "Street Villains Vol. 2" (2005 Psycho+Logical)
• Ill Bill feat. Raekwon - "Enemy" (2006) (White Label)
• Ill Bill feat. Raekwon - "Thousands To M's" (2006) (White Label)
• MC Lars feat. Ill Bill - "The Dialogue" (extraído del álbum de MC Lars "The Graduate" 2006)
• Jedi Mind Tricks feat. Ill Bill - "Heavy Metal Kings" (2006 Babygrande Records)
• La Coka Nostra (Danny Boy, Ill Bill, Everlast, Slaine, Big Left, Kaves & DJ Lethal) LP (Próximamente)
• Ill Bill Feat Slaine & Reef The Lost Cause "Bangmatic Remix" (Mass Movementz The Album, 2009)
• Clementino feat. Ill Bill - "Hannibal rapper" (2011 Relief Records)

References[link]

External links[link]

• www.illbill.com

Vincenzo Luvineri (born August 19, 1978), better known as Vinnie Paz (formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram), is an Italian-American rapper and the lyricist behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He is also the frontman of the hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs.

Biography[link]

Originally taking the pseudonym of Ikon the Verbal Hologram, he later changed his name to Vinnie Paz, after the Rhode Island boxer Vinny Pazienza. Paz originally started rapping with fellow Jedi Mind Tricks member Stoupe in his basement. Paz is known for his raw and gritty lyrical delivery. He is also known for his extensive use of studio punch-ins, seldom recording a verse in one take. His lyrics frequently contain references to religion, war, politics, mythology, conspiracy theories, and the paranormal. His more recent albums such as Servants in Heaven Kings in Hell show a more obvious approach to politics and world issues. This gritty style of Paz became apparent with the release of Violent by Design, and has become progressively more defined since its release. Vinnie Paz has a number of aliases, including Louie Doggs, Vinnie P, The Pazmanian Devil, Pazienza, Frank Vinatra, Vin Jong Ill, Rumplestiltsvin, Muhammad Al Vinejahd, and Vin Laden. Raised Catholic, Vinnie Paz is now a Muslim, which plays a major role in much of his lyrics.^[1] Vinnie is also a heavy metal fan, and occasionally uses song titles and band names in JMT tracks and lyrics.

Army of the Pharaohs[link]

Paz formed Army of the Pharaohs, an underground East Coast hip hop group featuring himself, Apathy, Celph Titled, Chief Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Planetary & Crypt the Warchild (Outerspace), King Syze, Faez One, Jus Allah, Doap Nixon, Reef the Lost Cauze, Demoz, Block Mccloud, and Des Devious, although not every artist is on every track.

Solo Albums[link]

Vinnie released his debut solo album Season of the Assassin on June 21, 2010, which peaked at number 25 on the US Billboard rap charts. The album featured guest appearances from Paul Wall, Ill Bill, Clipse among others.

Vinnie is currently working on his sophomore solo album God of the Serengeti, which is set to feature production from DJ Premier, The Alchemist, Da Beatminerz, The Beatnuts, C-Lance, among others.^[2][3]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• Season of the Assassin (2010)
• God of the Serengeti (2012)^[4]

Collaboration albums[link]

• Heavy Metal Kings (2011) (with Ill Bill)
• Heavy Metal Kings vs. DJ Muggs (2012) (with Ill Bill & DJ Muggs)^[5]
• Heavy Metal Kings 2 (TBA) (with Ill Bill)

Mixtapes and EPs[link]

• Pazmanian Devil (2005)
• The Sound and the Fury (2006)
• Before the Assassin (2010)
• Prayer for The Assassin (2010)
• The Priest of Bloodshed (2012)

Jedi Mind Tricks[link]

Army of the Pharaohs[link]

References[link]

1. ^ Gloss, Jason. Philly should have been its own state. Philaflava. Accessed June 13, 2008.
2. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.14931/title.vinnie-paz-taps-dj-premier-alchemist-for-sophomore-lp
3. ^ http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/207398/411-Music-Interview:-Jedi-Mind-Tricks.htm
4. ^ http://www.hiphopug.com/1/post/2011/11/hhug-interviews-c-lance-violence-begets-violence.html
5. ^ http://www.hiphopug.com/1/post/2011/11/hhug-interviews-c-lance-violence-begets-violence.html

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vinnie Paz

• Vinnie Paz official website
• Interview with Vinnie Paz in the Vermont Cynic
• Jedi Mind Tricks' official website