Since the 1996 release of their Amber Probe EP, Jedi Mind Tricks has strived to return hip-hop back to the boom-bap roots of the music?s Golden Era -- the era when Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and others were consistently breaking new ground while forging a music and a culture steeped in fierce street poetics and raw beats. Eight years and three albums later, Jedi Mind Tricks? duo of Vinnie Paz and Stoupe are poised to release their fourth and biggest album to date, Legacy Of Blood -- an album that will stand as the sonic apex of their eight-year career and an homage to the raw hip-hop of a seemingly forgotten era.
Jedi Mind Tricks members Stoupe and Vinnie Paz met through a mutual high school friend in 1992 and have been making music together ever since. In the beginning, the duo followed the well-traveled road into the music industry, focusing their efforts on producing demo tapes that they shopped to major labels. After several years of rejection, peppered with a few weak major-label offers, their frustration reached a boiling point and Vinnie and Stoupe partnered with three long-time friends, pooled savings from day jobs, and launched their own record label in 1996, Superegular Recordings, to release their debut EP, The Amber Probe, which drew praise for its scientific subject matter and raw production skill, signaling the arrival of a new force in the burgeoning independent hip-hop scene of the late ?90s.
During the following year, Vinnie Paz and Stoupe continued to toil through long sessions in Stoupe?s bedroom studio -- dubbed the OneSoul Bedroom -- as they crafted their debut full-length album, The Psycho-social-chemical-biological-and-electromagnetic-manipulation of human consciousness which was again released through Superegular in the fall of ?97 to considerable sales and continuous critical praise culminating in The Psycho-social?s appearance on CMJ?s ?Top Ten Hip-Hop Records? list of 1997.
After the success of The Psycho-social, Vinnie Paz and Stoupe looked to avoid the sophomore jinx and push themselves in a new direction for their second album. To the surprise of doubtful critics, Jedi Mind Tricks did not disappoint with the fall 2000 release of their second album, Violent By Design ? an album many fans and critics have since dubbed one of the greatest independent hip-hop records of all-time.
In late 2001, while touring to promote Violent By Design, the group met with then Priority Records A&R, Chuck Wilson, and began discussing the possibility of signing to Chuck?s new venture, Babygrande Records. The timing was right for Vinnie and Stoupe as both were already considering the idea of dissolving their Superegular Recordings label to focus on making records. In August 2003, Jedi Mind Tricks released their third album, Visions of Gandhi, on Babygrande Records, which quickly became their most commercially successful album to date.
In the fall of 2003, Jedi Mind Tricks headlined their first U.S. Tour to promote the release of Visions of Gandhi, bringing their rowdy stage show to packed crowds across the U.S. ?The crowds on tour validated the hard work we?ve put into this thing for the last twelve years. This was the first time we had an opportunity to interact with our fans on a national scale and they didn?t disappoint,? says Vinnie Paz. ?When was the last time you saw mosh pits and stage diving at a hip-hop show??
Shortly after returning home to Philly from the tour, Vinnie and Stoupe decided to ride their creative streak, quickly beginning work on their fourth album, Legacy Of Blood. ?We've been a group that generally takes a long time to make records, but we hit a creative streak after finishing Visions of Gandhi, going on tour and whatnot,? says Vinnie Paz. With Legacy Of Blood, the duo set out to make a record balanced between the soundscapes of Violent By Design and Visions of Gandhi, deciding against the elongated guest lists of previous efforts with the goal of returning the music back to the Jedi Mind Tricks foundation forged by Vinnie Paz?s fiery vocals and Stoupe?s dark, orchestral beats. ?Legacy Of Blood definitely represents more of a return to the ?Violent By Design? sound,? says Vinnie, ?Visions Of Gandhi was our first studio record and I think the sound quality shocked fans that were used to our dirty, handmade sound. We learned from Visions of Gandhi and put that into Legacy Of Blood.?
Now, having reached a cumulative global sales peak of over 150,000 records, Jedi Mind Tricks? fourth album, Legacy Of Blood, will be released on Babygrande Records on September 21st. Featuring the lead-off double A side single, ?On The Eve Of War? featuring GZA (of Wu-Tang Clan) and ?Before the Great Collapse,? this latest offering reflects Jedi?s studio maturation, with the latter track a shockingly revealing insight into the darker depths of Vinnie Paz? psyche, in the vein of Jedi?s verbally introspective classic ?I Who Have Nothing.? Legacy Of Blood also features guest appearances by Sean Price (of The Boot Camp Clik) and Killah Priest (extended Wu-Tang family member).
