Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT, Vinnie Paz)

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). In1999 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

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.

Official Jedi Mind Tricks Website

Last.fm Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT)

 

Affiliated Artists

Army of the Pharaohs · Lost Children of Babylon · Outerspace

Jedi Mind Tricks Presents:

Outerspace · The Torture Papers · Ritual of Battle · The Unholy Terror · Sour Diesel · The Labor Union · God's Fury

Studio Albums

The Psycho-Social CD · Violent by Design · Visions of Gandhi · Legacy of Blood · A History of Violence · Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell

The Lost Children of Babylon (LCOB)

The Lost Children of Babylon (LCOB) are a Philadelphia based underground hip-hop group founded by Rasul Allahu in the mid-90s. They first appeared in 1996 on Jedi Mind Tricks "Amber Probe EP". The group is known for their conscious and spiritual style with lyrics influenced by Nuwaubian philosophy, Islam and The Nation of Gods and Earths. They are affiliated with: Jedi Mind Tricks, Killah Priest, Black Market Militia, The Maccabeez, Wu-Tang Killa Beez and the Sunz of Man. 

First appearance

The Lost Children of Babylon entered the hiphop-scene in 1996 with an appearance on Jedi Mind Tricks debut the Amber Probe EP. Where they appeared on the song "Communion: The Crop Circle Thesis". They also contributed with verses on four more songs on Jedi Mind Tricks The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness: "Chinese Water Torture", "The Three Immortals", "As It Was In The Beginning" and "Books of Blood: The Coming Of Tan".

Where Light Was Created: The Equidivium

Their first album was released on Seventh Cathedral Recordings in 2001. They debuted with a conscious style, with lyrics filled with Nuwaubian teachings of Dr. Malachi Z. York and different theories of the creation and destination of the human soul. This album is similar in style to Jedi Mind Tricks "Psycho-social LP".

Words From The Duat: The Book Of Anubis

For their second album, LCOB changed their name to "The Lost Children of Egypt" on request of Dr. Malachi Z. York. This name change reflects a concept change on the album, which is more focused on Egyptian philosophy and mythology.

The 911 Report: The Ultimate Conspiracy

LCOB's third album consists of 19 tracks about the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. The band became more political, choosing to proselytize about world politics rather than Egyptian mysticism. Some controversy occurs, since they condemn the terrorists, yet also George W. Bush and his administration for purportedly enabling the circumstances of 9/11. The album examines both theconspiracies about 9/11 and the facts of the event.

Their recent releases were put out on the internet called "Prelude To "The Appendices" (a promo to another upcoming album called "The Appendices: The Scroll Of Lost Tales"), "The Lost Tapes", and a prelude to the upcoming album "Zeitgeist: The Spirit Of The Age". Several members have also announced solo debuts to be released in a near future. Richard Raw has already released his first album entitled "My City, A Place Where Somebody Can Be Nobody" and several other mixtapes that were released on the internet.

  Official Lost Children of Babylon Website

Last.fm The Lost Children Of Babylon (LCOB)

Army Of The Pharaohs (A.O.T.P) (Celph Titled, Apathy)

Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is a hip hop supergroup originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks MC Vinnie Paz in 1998.

The original incarnation of the group included five MCs: Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia, along with Jedi Mind Tricks producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind and producer/DJ 7L (of 7L and Esoteric fame). The group released their debut EP/single "The Five Perfect Exertions" b/w "War Ensemble" in 1998. Both tracks were later included on JMT's 2000 album Violent by Design; with "The Five Perfect Exertions" being remixed into "Exertions Remix", and both "Exertions" and "War Ensemble" shedding Chief Kamachi's appearance. The Army of the Pharaohs project was put on the back-burner while JMT's career took off.

The group wouldn't return until 2005 without Virtuoso and Bahamadia. The group was now composed of Paz, Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Outerspace, Apathy, Celph Titled,Reef the Lost Cauze, Des Devious, Faez One and King Syze. After years of anticipation, the group recorded their debut album, The Torture Papers. It was released in March 2006 on Babygrande Records. The album was produced by AOTP affiliates such as DC the MIDI Alien, Undefined, Beyonder, Loptimist, and German producer Shuko. The album featured the single "Tear It Down" b/w "Battle Cry", the former featuring a music video, and the latter was a posse cut featuring nine of the group's then ten members. The album debuted in the top 50 on Billboard's Top Independent Album chart, and hit #42 on the magazine's Heatseekers chart. An unofficial continuation of The Torture Papers soon began circulating around the internet called The Bonus Papers. It was composed of tracks not released on the album.

The group's second album, titled Ritual of Battle, was released on September 25, 2007. Ritual of Battle's single, Bloody Tears, featured a sample borrowed from the soundtrack of the video game series Castlevania. The group added four new members for the album: Jedi Mind Tricks member Jus Allah, Doap Nixon, Demoz and King Magnetic. Apathy was not featured on Ritual of Battle as he was working on solo projects.

On May 17, 2009, Apathy mentioned on his Myspace blog a new AOTP album was completely finished. The album was titled The Unholy Terror and was released on March 30, 2010. This album marked the return of Apathy and the addition of new AOTP members: Block McCloud and Journalist. Two songs, "Godzilla" and "Contra Mantra", were released before the album. This album also marked the departure of Chief Kamachi who left the group because of business issues.

Official AOTP Website

Last.fm Army Of The Pharaohs

Albums

2006: The Torture Papers

2007: Ritual of Battle
  2010: The Unholy Terror

Mixtapes/Compilations

        2003: Rare Shit, Collabos and Freestyles (Compilation)

2006: The Bonus Papers (Mixtape)

2007: After Torture There's Pain (Mixtape)