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)
