Jedi Mind Tricks: Force Unleashed

On the eve of the most historical Presidential elections in

America’s history, the vocal side of Jedi Mind Tricks is on yet another tour

bus leaving the infamous Las Vegas Strip. The trio [MCs Vinnie Paz and Jus

Allah, with Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind on beats]

from the City of Brotherly Love has cemented their position in the underground

Hip-Hop circuit as an unfiltered source for impassioned, sometimes political,

always hardcore rap music.

 

Exiting a city known as “America’s Playground” can be an

excursion full of joy or regret. However, more often times than not it’s the

latter. With their sixth studio album being released in less than a week via Babygrande Records,

Vinnie Paz , Jedi’s leading mouthpiece and the only

conscious member on board the bus, talks about a History of Violence, a reunited Jedi Mind Tricks, new rappers, and

of course the election with no regrets.

 

AllHipHop.com:

Vegas may be one of the only places in America where people aren’t worrying

about the recession. How did “Sin City” treat you?

 

Vinnie Paz:

Absolutely f**kin’ crazy man, we just spent three days in Vegas, so needless to

say we’re still pretty bugged out right now [laughs]. The downside about

touring is that it’s harder to get to hear about current events and research

what’s going on in the world; you can only really gauge it by what the fans say

and their reactions. But Jedi Mind fans will come out to support no matter what

is going on with the economy.

 

AllHipHop.com:

Since ‘96 Jedi Mind Tricks has dropped albums pretty consistently, there’s

hasn’t been more than a three year period without a new album. What are we

getting with A History of Violence?

 

Vinnie Paz: First

off, having Just Allah back in the group brings back a whole another dimension

to our music. History of Violence is

a multi-layered concept album, it’s sort of a double

entendre in reference to Violent by Design

which was our last album. But everything on this album is referring to the

state of affairs going on in our country and the entire world.

 

 

 

AllHipHop.com:

You’ve always been known as an MC that comes with hardcore lyrics and an

aggressive delivery, but fans and critics have noticed some changes in your

style especially with the Visions of

Gandhi album. Do you feel the need to be hardcore and violent to please

your fans?

 

Vinnie Paz: I

hear all the time, “Do you ever want to try different styles of Hip-Hop?” and

s**t like that, but it’s like this is the kind of

music we been making since ‘92. And there’s a certain point in your life when

you realize you are who you are. 

I don’t consciously set out to change anything; our music evolves as we do as people. It’s just growth, and we have our own

style of music, there’s no changing s**t for us.

 

AllHipHop.com: What

about the new fans that just discovered Jedi Mind Tricks, what do you think draws

them to you ?

 

Vinnie Paz: The

generation gaps between me and some of the Jedi Mind Fans is just huge, they

didn’t grow up on the same music that I did, so their tastes are probably

totally different than mine but they still are loyal fans. A lot of young kids

make up our fan base, but in reality I make music for me and my people. I don’t

take criticisms to the heart from anyone, if you don’t

like my music, don’t listen to it- real simple.

 

AllHipHop.com:

Jedi Mind is one of the few Hip-Hop groups that haven’t followed trends to stay

relevant, what’s different in the game plan today?

 

Vinnie Paz: We

have always ignored the mainstream and never let it dictate how we made our

music. We got our own sound and idea of what Hip-Hop music sounds like. Jedi

Mind has never let any of these trends that you see come and go influence how

we do s**t. And I think people respect that in any genre of music.

 

 

AllHipHop.com:

There’s a whole new wave of rappers being labeled as “Hipster Rappers” like the

Cool Kids, Mickey Factz,

The Knux, etc. The clothing

is a bit tighter and colorful, but they are being compared to the backpackers

of the ’90s. How do you feel about the new wave of rappers coming up?

 

Vinnie Paz: That

s**t is p#### to me, that’s just my opinion. I really don’t give a f**k about those type of rappers, I don’t listen to their

music. I don’t know any of these people personally, but it just ain’t my thing. Any time a person is being themselves is

cool, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I like hardcore s**t, that’s

were this Hip-Hop s**t was birthed from. But all that s**t is just gay to me.

 

AllHipHop.com: Jus

Allah has been gone for some time, what can we expect with him back the group?

 

Vinnie Paz: Our

chemistry speaks for itself. In the grand scheme of things, we’ve known each

other since ‘93 and we really were together for only four of those years, so

I think people think that the break-up was bigger than it really was. Jedi Mind

isn’t changing s**t, it’s only growth as artists. You ain’t got to worry, we still bringing the raw

Hip-Hop.

 

AllHipHop.com:

Today is one the most historical elections ever, Jedi Mind Tricks has certainly

been an outspoken voice in politics, can this election mark any change real

change for America?

 

Vinnie Paz: I

think people who really [are] capable of changing the system around never

really had a chance to win anyway. Personally, I was a Ron Paul advocate, but

his vision and ideologies were too radical for people. Typically though, in

this country you are put in a position where you are choosing between the

lesser of two evils. We definitely need a change and Obama might be do the only

candidate left who can even attempt some sort of change, whether it’s the kind

the of change that the people want, we’ll just have to wait and see. I don’t know if anyone has attempted

any legitimate change since Kennedy.

A lot of people feel like Obama reminds them of Kennedy.

It’s going to take years and years to reverse all the damage that this muthaf**ker Bush did. There’s an

old quote, “The government should be scared of the people, the

people shouldn’t be scared of the government.” We are the ones that really hold

the power, but the majority of us have become the stereotyped lazy Americans.

 

Jedi Mind Tricks “I Who Have Nothing” Video (from The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological

& Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness)