Kublai Khan ( /ˈkuːblə ˈkɑːn/; Mongolian: Хубилай хаан, Xubilaĭ xaan; Middle Mongolian: Qubilai Qaγan, "King Qubilai"; September 23, 1215 – February 18, 1294), born Kublai (Mongolian: Хубилай, Xubilaĭ; Middle Mongolian: Qubilai; Chinese: 忽必烈; pinyin: Hūbìliè; also spelled Khubilai) and also known by the temple name Shizu (Chinese: 元世祖; pinyin: Yuán Shìzǔ; Wade–Giles: Yüan Shih-tsu), was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China.
As he was the second son of Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki, and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he claimed the title of Khagan of the Ikh Mongol Uls (Mongol Empire) in 1260 after the death of his older brother Möngke in the previous year, though his younger brother Ariq Böke was also given this title in the Mongolian capital, Karakorum. Kublai won the battle against Ariq Böke in 1264 and the succession war marked the beginning of disunity in the empire. Kublai's real power was limited to China and Mongolia (which was the Yuan Dynasty, or the Mongol Dynasty) after the victory over Ariq Böke, though his influence still remained in the Ilkhanate and, to a far lesser degree, in the Golden Horde in the western parts of the Mongol Empire. If one counts the Mongol Empire at that time as a whole, his realm reached from the Pacific to the Urals, from Siberia to modern day Afghanistan – one fifth of the world's inhabited land area.
Marco Polo (i/ˈmɑrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/; Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo]; c. 1254 – January 9, 1324) was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had three children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo.
Their pioneering journey inspired Christopher Columbus and others. Marco Polo's other legacies include Venice Marco Polo Airport, the Marco Polo sheep, and several books and films. He also had an influence on European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.
Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) is a hip hop duo with Vinnie Paz 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 former 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). In September 2011, Vinnie Paz officially announced the departure of Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind from the group, because "his heart wasn't in making JMT records anymore".
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.
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.
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. Vinnie is also a heavy metal fan, and occasionally uses song titles and band names in JMT tracks and lyrics.
[Vinnie Paz]
God hates me, never keep my banger on safety
My mother raised me alone, you can't break me
My hearts pumpin the blood of Royce Gracie
My thoughts dumpin the slug and point straightly
You rhyme fakely, you still scarred
I'm steady in deep thoughts like Bill Maher
I'm real raw, we just dumbin it out
And y'all ain't sayin nothin with a gun in yo mouth
Thats what I'm about, but Vinnie Paz go deeper
Y'all still under the spell of dose ether
The Grim Reaper, its all nature
And every word from Allah is on paper
We all hate ya, we can't stand you
Chapter 8, verse 3, book of Daniel
You like a candle, you just burn
You never worship Allah, you can't learn
[Chorus Stoupe]
[Goretex]
Chemicle, space ships, see dust splits, hit from the Matrix
Pig Destroyer, Anakis kiss, splatter your patriots
Make coke stops, injectin my pockets with botox
Laytex bitches be chokin on cock like Blow-Pops
My flows hot, my glocks like a popular friend
Sniffin Oxycontin, we ride till the popular says
Merciful fate, we at the gates, I hurt you for cake
Cause Red Planets like a Shit Magnet, it counters with Jay
Digital cuffs, runnin from the D's and the fuzz
Gut you out, rock Gas Mask, bleedin an stuff
Into the void like blue velvet, goons and clerics
New syntetic designer jewels for moods in deserts
In heaven and earth, barcodes to measure my girth
Thats like the J.D.L. joinin the zulu nation for turf
Birth of the solar, we did so, write for the cobra
God teks me, and we all stand with iced out clothes
[Chorus Stoupe]
[Tragedy Khadafi]
Check it. yo. yo
Now where it be's like, niggaz wanna stay tight, I stay right
Face fight, get your weak, split, shit then I spit
Most Accurate, Flex writin back a bit
range on the side of it Yo I'm tryin to get a lot of it
I rock that exotic shit, spit the hottest shit
Yo trial, might get the same time ya oughta get
Death before dishonor shit, gangster persona shit
Jedi Mind, 2-5 is who I'm probably with
When Im tryin to score the third, its who I holler with
Yo hood, its my project, exchange objects
Yo guns for my teks, yo range for my lex
Q.B. to Philly, we control sets
I stay splurgin, heads stay wrapped in Turbans
Tighter than a Virgin of Ford Excursion, nigga
So how you figure that we don't be reppin
Hoes sell weapons in the Dodge Intreped, nigga
[Chorus Stoupe]
[Tragedy Khadafi]
Yo Stoupe, whattup baby, whats good