Jedi Mind Tricks
(JMT) is a hip hop group with two members from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and one 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 2nd 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 6th 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, Louis Logic, R.A. the Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, and Ill Bill. The group has sold 250,000 albums in the United States and 400,000 albums worldwide, all of which were released independently.
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JEDI MIND TRICKS TICKETS
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History
Amber Probe EP and Psycho-Social LP
JMT officially debuted with the
Amber Probe EP
in 1996. The B-side of that EP was also included in their first LP,
The Psycho-Social LP
, which was released a year later. On this album Vinnie Paz called himself "Ikon the Verbal Hologram".
The Psycho-Social LP was a
concept album containing themes of
conspiracy theories and ancient Middle-Eastern
mythology. It also featured the recording debut of fellow Philadelphia rap-group
Lost Children of Babylon and
Connecticut's
Apathy on multiple songs. However, the Lost Children of Babylon soon parted ways with JMT, and in a 2001 interview member
Cosmic Crusader cited that while Vinnie Paz had assured them that his cause was all for spiritual hip hop, he soon saw "that
Vinnie Paz was not really spiritual at all, but only interested in tapping that fan base." In a later interview, member
Rasul Allah stated that the group and JMT are on good terms.
[1]
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).
[2] 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 Allah 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,Coffe 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. Lenhuygtfvyvfgcfxfxxvup'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 "
Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" with
R.A. The Rugged Man. A day after the release of the album, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks did an interview with , a show on 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 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
. Jus Allah, Doap Nixon and Demoz were added to the AotP roster in
2007, and will contribute verses to the group's second studio album
Ritual of Battle
, scheduled for release on
September 25,
2007. Also, in summer 2008, Jedi Mind Tricks' Label, Babygrande, will be releasing a JMT DVD. "With a 12+ year career under their belt and a continually growing rabid fan base, the history of Jedi Mind Tricks has never been officially documented…until now. This summer (2008), “Divine Fire: The Story of Jedi Mind Tricks DVD,” promises an insightful excursion into the roots of an underground empire." This is from Babygrande's Newsletter.
Reunion with Jus Allah
In an interview conducted in September 2007 on the Art of Rhyme website, Jus Allah announced that he has rejoined Jedi Mind Tricks.
[3] 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." In addition, he says that he has rejoined Babygrande and that the entire "All Fates Have Changed" fiasco has been put in the past and was in large part a misunderstanding.
[4]. Babygrande will also be releasing Jus Allah's next solo album,
The Colossus
.
A promotional MP3 of the song "Monolith," from the album
A History of Violence (album), can be found .
Leaving Babygrande Records
It was revealed during an interview with Vinnie Paz on the Jedi Mind Tricks Myspace page that they left Babygrande due to a long conflict with Babygrande CEO, Chuck Wilson. Paz revealed that Wilson wasn't paying them for the music they put out, thus them leaving the label. Vinnie Paz has established another label called Enemy Soil and are releasing Paz's new solo album (The Assassin's Creed) and Allah's new solo album (The Colossus) on it, as well as future JMT releases.
Discography
Albums
Album information
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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 [5]
- Label: Babygrande Records
- Singles: "Heavy Metal Kings"
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A History of Violence
- Released: November 11, 2008
- U.S. Sales: 11,205 [6]
- Label: Babygrande Records
- Singles: "Monolith","Godflesh"
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EPs/Singles
Album information
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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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Jus Allah discography
Album information
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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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References
- Lost Children Of Babylon Interview - HipHopHeads - by HipHopHeadz
- Jedi Mind Tricks -Interview
- Art of Rhyme - Jus Allah Interview
- MySpace.com - Jus Allah - www.myspace.com/jusallah
- IndieHQ 2.0 » Independent Sales Chart 9-27-06
- Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Top 200 Soundscan (01/15/2009)