Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper

Vinnie Paz Vincenzo Luvineri (born October 5, 1977), better known as Vinnie Paz (formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram), is a Sicilian American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He is also the fr ...

(Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 1999, rapper

Jus Allah James Bostick (born June 30, 1978), better known by his stage name Jus Allah, is an American rapper from Camden, New Jersey. He is best known for being a former member of Philadelphia-based hip hop groups Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) and Army of t ...

joined the group to record their second studio album, ''

Violent by Design ''Violent by Design'' is the second album by underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Despite never reaching any ''Billboard'' album chart, the album sold 50,000 copies in its first week on shelves. The album was originally released on JM ...

''. Jus left the group shortly after, but returned in late 2006 and began working on the sixth studio album, ''

A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, ...

''. In 2011 Stoupe left the group because "his heart wasn't in making JMT records anymore". In 2013, Jus split from the group indefinitely, and Stoupe returned in 2015. DJ Kwestion mainly scratches choruses on the turntable. Kwestion is also a part of the group Skratch Makaniks. Kwestion, who is the tour DJ, was a replacement for JMT's previous DJ, Drew Dollars, who is no longer affiliated with the group due to creative differences. JMT has collaborations with both regional MCs and rap veterans, including

GZA ''Gary Eldridge Grice'' (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both ...

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and a ...

7L & Esoteric 7L & Esoteric (7LES) are an underground hip hop duo from Boston, Massachusetts, known for battle rhymes and boom bap production. 7L is the duo's DJ/ producer and Esoteric is the MC. 7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of underground hi ...

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Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop supergroup The HRSMN, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is also a member of the ...

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998 ...

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, Killah Priest,

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics, from a radical left-wing perspective. Immortal Techn ...

, Block McCloud, Virtuoso,

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R.A. the Rugged Man R.A. Thorburn, better known by his stage name R.A. the Rugged Man, is an American rapper and producer. He began his music career at age 12, building a reputation locally for his lyrical skills. Thorburn signed with major label Jive Records at ...

Tragedy Khadafi Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Mar ...

Chief Kamachi The JuJu Mob (originally credited as ''Chief Kamachi & The JuJu Mob'') is a four-member underground hip hop group originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was founded in 2004.Matt Jost, Chief Kamachi & the JuJu Mob :: Black Candles ...

, Necro, and

Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known for his diver ...

. The group has sold over 250,000 albums in the United States and 450,000 albums worldwide, all of which were released independently.

History

1996–97: ''Amber Probe'' EP and ''Psycho-Social''

Jedi Mind Tricks officially debuted with the '' Amber Probe'' EP. ''

The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness ''The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness'' (often abbreviated as ''The Psycho-Social CD'') is the debut album of underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, consisting of rapper Vinnie Paz ...

'', known as "The Psycho-Social CD" for short, was released by Superregular Recordings and was JMT's first full-length LP. It featured 12 tracks and 6 bonus tracks, and included all the tracks that had appeared on the ''Amber Probe'' EP.

1998–2000: ''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 logo ''(as seen on In Death Reborn)'' Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder ...

(AotP). 1998 saw the first result of these efforts in '' The Five Perfect Exertions'' EP. The release featured Virtuoso,

and

Bahamadia Antonia D. Reed (born April 22, 1966), known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American hip-hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, '' Kollage'', in 1996, followed by the independently released EP ''BB Queen'' in 2000. She ...

as well as Vinnie Paz himself. The EP was later remixed for JMT's next LP, ''

'' (2000), albeit without Chief Kamachi's verse. The LP was originally titled "Polymatrix: Reincarnation of the Hologramic Christ". Vinnie Paz's style became noticeably more aggressive, abandoning his cosmic, paranoid rhyme style from ''The Psycho-Social CD'' for more violent lyrics. The LP also introduced

, 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.

Violent By Design ''Violent by Design'' is the second album by underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Despite never reaching any ''Billboard'' album chart, the album sold 50,000 copies in its first week on shelves. The album was originally released on JM ...

contained a mix of braggadocio and

horrorcore Horrorcore, also called horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, or death rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain hardcore hip h ...

lyrics, combining hardcore/gangsta rap styles with mythological and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

imagery. According to Vinnie Paz, JMT used the proceeds from ''The Amber Probe'' to buy equipment to produce ''Violent by Design'', which was recorded entirely in Stoupe's bedroom, without a mic booth or soundproofing. The list of guest artists on this album was also their longest, including

Mr. Lif Jeffrey Haynes (born December 28, 1977), better known by his stage name Mr. Lif, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts. While being praised because of his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on Definitive Jux and one ...

, Planetary of

OuterSpace OuterSpace is an underground hip hop duo from North Philadelphia. Originally a trio consisting of three Puerto Rican friends that then took the artist names Planetary, Jedeye and Crypt the Warchild. The founding member Mario Collazo (Planetar ...

, Diamondback, Philip King Rappah, Coffee Gangsta Child L-Fudge, B.A. Barakus, J-Treds, Killa Sha, C-Baz and

, plus a couple of odd phone-call interludes by

Mr. Len Mr. Len (Leonard "Lenny" Smythe) is a hip hop DJ born in the Bronx, New York. He moved to Hillside, NJ when he was 12 years old. He was a member, with Bigg Jus and El-P, of the underground hip hop trio Company Flow, which disbanded in the la ...

. During the course of ''

's'' 1999–2000 recording period, Paz changed his alias from Ikon the Verbal Hologram to Vinnie Paz, inspired by the

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

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.

2003: ''Visions of Gandhi''

In 2003, JMT released their third LP, ''

Visions of Gandhi ''Visions of Gandhi'' is the third studio album from underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, and their first album on the Babygrande record label. Jus Allah split from the group after the release of their album ''Violent by Design'' (2000 ...

''. In an interview, Vinnie Paz said the title was inspired by Foxy Brown's verse in

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

's song "Affirmative Action", and expresses the need for a prominent figure of non-violent social change such as

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

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. Despite the album's reference to Gandhi, its lyrics were violent and homophobic, with ''Pitchfork'' panning the album as "an awkward mix of murder rap and the shiniest boom-bap money can buy." The review also criticized Stoupe's production, claiming that the "mysteriously upbeat" tracks clashed with Vinnie Paz's horrorcore lyrics.

2004–06: ''Legacy of Blood'' and ''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell''

A little over a year after ''Visions of Gandhi'', JMT released '' Legacy of Blood'', this time intentionally keeping guest artists to a minimum. Vinnie Paz also added a more personal aspect to his lyrics, most notably in the last song "

Before the Great Collapse "Before the Great Collapse" is a single by hip hop duo Jedi Mind Tricks, released in 2004 through Babygrande Records. The single was the lead-off for the group's fourth album, '' Legacy of Blood''. The song's intro contains a sample from "Freem ...

," which was written as a suicide note to his mother. In February 2005, Babygrande 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 were no longer associated with AotP. 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 a tour to promote the album, which kicked off in New York City's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

. The album was widely acclaimed, unlike the group's two previous albums. 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

, the Shara Worden-assisted "Razorblade Salvation", and the storytelling track " Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" with

. 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 and entitled "The Rebuilding," appeared online. In a January 2007 interview, Paz stated that Jus would be featured on the group's upcoming sixth album, titled ''

''. Jus Allah, Doap Nixon and Demoz were added to the AotP roster in 2007, and contributed verses to the group's second studio album ''

Ritual of Battle ''Ritual of Battle'' is the second studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. Released on September 25, 2007 under Babygrande Records, the album features group members Vinnie Paz, Jus Allah, OuterSpace, Chief Kam ...

'', which was released on September 25, 2007. Also, in summer 2008, Jedi Mind Tricks' Label, Babygrande, released a JMT DVD called "Divine Fire: The Story of Jedi Mind Tricks".

2007–09: Reunion with Jus Allah and ''A History of Violence''

In an interview conducted in September 2007 on the Art of Rhyme website, Jus Allah announced that he has rejoined Jedi Mind Tricks. In the interview, he stated "I'm back in the group nd thatI'm focused on... putting out the next Jedi Mind Tricks album... a History of Violence." ''

'' was released on November 11, 2008. It would be the last JMT album released on Babygrande Records.

2010–13: ''Enemy Soil'', ''Violence Begets Violence'', departure of Stoupe and Jus Allah

After a long time dispute with Babygrande Records, JMT decided to part ways and form their own record label entitled Enemy Soil. Enemy Soil features artists such as JMT,

Reef the Lost Cauze Sharif Talib Lacey, better known by his stage name Reef the Lost Cauze, is an underground hip hop artist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cauze became well known on the underground circuit towards the late 1990s and more so in the early 2000 ...

, Dutch (the side group of Stoupe The Enemy of Mankind), and

. Vinnie Paz released his first solo album '' Season of the Assassin'' on June 22, 2010. Jus Allah is in the works of releasing his second solo album entitled MMA (Meanest Man Alive). Stoupe released the album for his group, Dutch, (which features Liz Fullerton on vocals) entitled '' A Bright Cold Day'' on June 8, 2010. Army of the Pharaohs released their third album as well entitled '' The Unholy Terror'' on March 30, 2010. It was announced that JMT would be creating a new title called ''Violence Begets Violence''. This album marks the first album without Stoupe behind production. Vinnie Paz stated in a blog on the JMT website that Stoupe has lost the inspiration for Hip-Hop and decided to focus on other things in his career, such as his sidegroups, and that Stoupe would not be producing any of the tracks on the new JMT album. Vinnie Paz stated that there is no conflict between the two and if Stoupe wants to be part of the next album, Paz would welcome him back. JMT has since gotten numerous producers to fill in the slot and released a new single from the album entitled "Target Practice". The new album was released on October 25, 2011. In November 2013, one of the first acts on Stoupe's new production company, Bad Tape Music, Red Martina released their debut ''Intransit'' with Stoupe as the producer on all thirteen tracks. Other band members are rapper Noesis (from

Philadelphia Slick Philadelphia Slick is a live hip hop band, fronted by rapper Noesis, formed in 2005. El Smooth and Noesis handle production for the band, which also includes saxophonist Matt Schwartz, bassist Mike Polinsky, and Ishmael Quintero. In 2007 Philad ...

), multi-instrumentalist Ish Quintero, and vocalist Hayley Cass. Jus Allah had left the group along with leaving the supergroup

. The reason for his departure has not been disclosed.

2014–18: Return of Stoupe, ''The Thief and the Fallen'' and ''The Bridge and the Abyss''

On November 7, 2014, JMTHIPHOP.com confirmed Stoupe's return to Jedi Mind Tricks. On November 27, 2014, a post on jmthiphop.com revealed that Vinnie Paz and Stoupe would be returning as Jedi Mind Tricks in 2015. Their album '' The Thief and the Fallen'' was released on June 2, 2015. Vinnie Paz mentioned numerous times in 2016 on his podcast, "Broad Street Breakdown", that he and Stoupe were working on another Jedi Mind Tricks record. The ninth studio album '' The Bridge and the Abyss'' was released on June 22, 2018.

2019–now: Vinnie Paz albums and ''The Funeral and the Raven''

From 2019, Vinnie Paz released several studio albums, including ''Camouflage Regime'' with

. On November 19, 2021, Jedi Mind Tricks released their tenth studio album, ''The Funeral and the Raven'', which was fully produced by Stoupe.

Members

Current members

* Vinnie Paz – vocals (1996–present) * Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind – DJ (1996–2011, 2014–present) * DJ Kwestion – DJ (1997–present)

Former members

* Jus Allah – vocals (1998–2001, 2006–2013) * DJ Drew Dollars – DJ (1996–1997)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:80 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1993 till:31/12/2017 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1993 BarData = bar:Vinnie text:Vinnie Paz bar:Stoupe text:Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind bar:DJD text:DJ_Drew_Dollars bar:DJK text:DJ_Kwestion bar:Jus text:Jus Allah Colors = id:red value:red legend:vocals id:DJ value:purple legend:DJ PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Vinnie from:start till:end color:red bar:Stoupe from:start till:01/01/2011 color:DJ bar:Stoupe from:01/01/2014 till:end color:DJ bar:DJK from:01/01/1997 till:end color:DJ bar:Jus from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2001 color:red bar:Jus from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2013 color:red bar:DJD from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1997 color:DJ LineData = layer:back color:black at:04/11/1997 at:03/10/2000 at:26/08/2003 at:24/08/2004 at:19/09/2006 at:11/11/2008 at:25/10/2010 at:02/06/2015

Discography

* '' Amber Probe'' (1996) * ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2003) * '' Legacy of Blood'' (2004) * '' Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell'' (2006) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

Violence Begets Violence Violence Begets Violence is the seventh studio album by underground Philadelphia hip hop duo Jedi Mind Tricks. This is their only album to not feature production from Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind because "his heart wasn't into making JMT reco ...

'' (2011) * '' The Thief and the Fallen'' (2015) * '' The Bridge and the Abyss'' (2018) * '' The Funeral and the Raven'' (2021)

References

External links

Official Jedi Mind Tricks website

Official Babygrande website

Official CrackSpace page
{{Authority control Hip hop groups from Philadelphia Horrorcore groups Underground hip hop groups