''Sonic Jihad'' is a studio album by

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, released in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

. It was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Data Stream Studio, San Francisco. The album was marketed by Guerrilla Funk, Paris's label, as "so dangerous to homeland security

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

it's unavailable at chain stores."

Production

''Sonic Jihad'' was produced solely by Paris. Paris claimed that he recorded the album after a track he posted for free in 2002, "What Would You Do?," was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

appear on ""Freedom"; Paris would collaborate with the group three years later on '' Rebirth of a Nation''.

Critical reception

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' called the album a "jolting wake-up call for those still cognizant enough to read between the lines of repression," writing that "with classic G-funk sensibilities guiding its head-on course, ''Sonic Jihad'' encapsulates an entire decade of firebrand rap." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' wrote that Paris's lyrics are delivered in a "stoic, commandeering rasp

uncompromisingly deconstructs neoconservative politics, identifies the media outlets as 'agents of repression' and targets materialistic hip-hop for turning its back on the issues he addresses."

''Battlefield 2'' incident

In 2006, a fan of the video game ''

Battlefield 2 ''Battlefield 2'' is a first-person shooter video game, developed by DICE (company), DICE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows in June 2005 as the third game in the Battlefield (video game series), ''Battlefield'' franchise. P ...

'', referring to himself as "SonicJihad" after Paris's album, posted a montage of clips from the game, edited with audio excerpts from the movie '' Team America: World Police'' and other sources. The video was viewed with alarm by members of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which held an open hearing on May 4, 2006, titled "Terrorist Use of the Internet." News reports suggested that the video was an example of efforts by

al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

and other groups to recruit young people.Losh, Elizabeth. ''Virtualpolitik: An Electronic History of Government Media-Making in a Time of War, Scandal, Disaster, Miscommunication, and Mistakes''. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2009. pp. 15–19.

Track listing

# "Ave Bushani" # "Field Nigga Boogie" # "Sheep to the Slaughter" # "Split Milk" (featuring

Capleton Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 67–69 better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as Kin ...

) # "Tear Shit up" (featuring

Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, sel ...

) # "Freedom" (featuring Dead Prez) # "Ain't No Love" (featuring Kam) # "Lay Low" # "Life Goes On" # "You Know My Name" # "Evil" # "AWOL" # "Agents of Repression" # "What Would You Do" # "How We Do" # "Freedom" (The Last Cell

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

) (featuring

and

) Bonus Track (The Deluxe Edition) # "Field Nigga Boogie" (XLR8R Remix) (featuring

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 ...

)

References

External links

''Sonic Jihad'' review
2003 albums Paris (rapper) albums Obscenity controversies in music Political music albums by American artists {{2003-hiphop-album-stub