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)

Scarface, the rapper, is retiring. We don’t believe him. Sure, Brad “Scarface” Jordan is dropping his 9th proper album, Emeritus, which means retiring but maintaining your title. After 20 plus years in the game and an adherent dedication to putting together words that fit, we’ll go out on the limb and say it’s highly unlikely a man this lyrically gifted, with a devoted following to boot, is going to truly call it quits. There has got to be a King of the South loophole somewhere. However, what is clear is the cause of Face’s ire with the rap industry. Waiting on those checks can be like waiting on babies, to paraphrase Ghostface, while music can be swiftly bootlegged…ahem, downloaded. Also, the glut of wannabe rappers crowding shelf space and flooding inboxes with weak music, according to Face, is ruining the craft. Valid points, and here Face explains why.  Oh yeah, Emeritus drops December 2. You can believe it’s good. AllHipHop.com: You coach Little League football so how would you compare football to the rap game?Scarface: Ain’t no f**king comparison. I hate this s**t and love that s**t. I hate rap but love little league football. AllHipHop.com: Why do you hate it so much?Scarface: F**k rap, you can have it back.

AllHipHop.com: Did you always feel like this?Scarface: Nah, just really here in the past 10, 12 years I just really started hating this s**t. And it ain’t have a motherf**king thing to do with the music part of it, it’s just the bulls**t that come wit’ it. And if s**t don’t go no different then I’m out this motherf**ker, gone.

“It’s so many people making records man I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s f**kin’ 20 millions rappers and a million consumers. It’s like dope now. You got more motherf**kers selling than you got using.”

AllHipHop.com: When you say the bulls**t what are you referring to? Promo tours, going on the road, people talking out the side of their mouths?Scarface: The s**t that I hate man…if the motherf**king money would be there when the money supposed to be there, I could f**kin’ rap forever. As long as that s**t is like it is now, f**k this. Yeah, I ain’t f**king with it, not in that manner. I’ll put some groups out. Like I was telling KRS-One last night man… I remember when it was a f**king privilege man. You felt privileged to get dope f**king records. When Criminal Minded came we felt privileged to get that s**t. When Paid In Full came out, G#######!!! It was the beat. That was the beat of the streets man. Remember that s**t. “Top Billin.” “6 In the Morning.” Motherf**kers was proud to have s**t like that. Now it’s so many people making records man I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s f**kin’ 20 millions rappers and a million consumers. It’s like dope now. You got more motherf**kers selling than you got using. Scarface “High Powered” VideoHigh Powered

AllHipHop.com: It’s almost like it’s too easy to get in the game?Scarface: Nah, the Internet made it like that. And the blank recordable CD people made it like this. Looking at how big of a plot… that can’t be nothing but a plot to destroy the n****s that come up out of the neighborhood, ya know, using rap or using entertainment, I say rap though. I say music period. You got a few n****s that really slide through the cracks to get out the ghetto and end up making something out of theyself and setting an example for other people in the neighborhood to follow. Now it’s hard for him to make his living. We fittin’ to look for something else to do, cause there ain’t nothing in it. AllHipHop.com: Could it be that people aren’t really following the example? They just go after the end product without considering the grind it took to get there?Scarface: Man, to be able to… coming from where I come from and be on the Hip Honors stage, VH1 says a lot. It tells me that any f**king thing can happen. Like a business they look at it like a hustle. It’s not a quality thing no more it’s a quantity thing. Corporate has f**ked this game up. Cause nobody is taking time in making they music no more dude. It’s like we gotta put as many f**king albums out tomorrow as we can. And then the next day we’ll find some more s**t to put out.  It ruined the craft man.

When you look and think of New York City in Hip-Hop you think of where it all began and the quality of music that came out this motherf**ker. And the example that it set for Hip-Hop. For the s**t to turn around like this and turn into something that’s so mainstream like, I can’t even describe it man. It’s heavy. It ain’t no respect in it no more, it’s too easy to get. Like I remember weed, it was a privilege to get some good weed. Now you got good weed everywhere, and everybody got it. It used to be a privilege to get good music, now you can’t find no good music. AllHipHop.com: There’s still good music out there you just have to try harder to find it.Scarface: I’m talking about way back, I’m talking about the Commodores and the Isley Brothers and Maze and Zapp and s**t like that. Find that. I was thrilled to death to see The Roots did all the s**t that they did.  I like that and I take that s**t very seriously man. The craft man. We losing the craft of music. We losing that craft man. How many bands you know of? You remember when everybody had guitars and drum sets and singers, we don’t got that s**t no more. You can’t find that nowhere. There used to be a band every week. Brass Construction, Con Funk Shun. Everybody knew how to play something. Everybody had the gift of music. AllHipHop.com: That said, then why make this your last album?Scarface: I’m through. For those very reasons.

“You get f**ked twice making music these days. The record company f**k you the first time, and then the people that listen to your s### f**k you the second time dude.  There’s no way for the artist to get paid unless you can afford to sell eight million records.”

AllHipHop.com: Is the door completely closed or is it cracked?Scarface: Oh s**t, money talk and bulls**t walk now. But if it ain’t no motherf**king money involved, Bye, I’m done. I ain’t talking about no motherf**king promise either. I’m talking about the real hard copy. AllHipHop.com: Is that how Emeritus came about, the money was laid out? It seems like you’d still make music no matter even if you weren’t getting paid. Scarface: We’ll see. In order to m########### out and deal with this bulls**t, ya know, it’s going to cost. It ain’t no avenue to get paid f**king with this s**t because you can get it for free, ya see? Why do you do it, for free? You get f**ked twice making music these days. The record company f**k you the first time, and then the people that listen to your s### f**k you the second time dude.  There’s no way for the artist to get paid unless you can afford to sell eight million records [chuckle].AllHipHop.com: What about shows; show money?Scarface: I mean, f**k show money. F**k the show money. You need fa sho money. You need mechanicals, you need to make as much money as these g####### corporate offices is making. It’s your talent. You wrote that s**t. F**k them g####### concerts n***a, give me my motherf**king money. All them g####### records, you sold them g####### records, you need to, “Here.”You making songs now and they just popping up on the Internet. N****s is downloading your s**t for nothing and the light bill is due. F**k. That’s why I say I’m gone. I gotta find something else to do. It’s not feasible to stick around. It ain’t no money in it. It’s like selling rocks and motherf**kers ain’t smoking no more. Everybody selling. All the dope fiends got clean and they selling rocks to nobody.

Forgot About Me feat. Lil Wayne and Bun B – ScarfaceAllHipHop.com: So what are you going to do now?Scarface: I’m not fitting to tell nobody what I’m fitting to do. I ain’t going to say that. I’m not going to let nobody go and f**k this one up. By the time they put this s**t I’m getting ready to do on the Internet, I’ll be well taken care of. AllHipHop.com: So you got a definite exit plan?Scarface: The exit plan? What the f**k is the exit plan, the movie?AllHipHop.com: Nah, as far as getting out the rap game. Scarface: I’m fitting to put this in my phone cause this is something I’m fitting to use. [puts it into his iPhone] G####### that’s f**king dope n***a. The exit plan. I’m typing that in there. If you hear it somewhere, shout me out, I’ll thank you for it.

AllHipHop.com: Barack has your vote. Think he can pull it off? It’s looking good right now but…Scarface: I don’t know. I know how white people feel about n****s for real, so I don’t know. I know the powers that be hate n****s. It ain’t no doubt about it. It’s documented. And the bad…the cool part about [it] is the motherf**ker ain’t ashamed of what they did. It’s documented, they not ashamed of it. They like, Yeah I did that to you n***a now what you gon’ do?To see Barack get to a point; you could say they just doing that s**t so a n***a can feel like he have action next time. Give a motherf**ker just enough leeway to make a n***a feel comfortable and knock the edge off of him. Or he could really do it.  He got a lot of people that’s with him and he got a lot of people that’s against him. I’ll say that white people over 50 is voting for McCain. I figure you have a problem with older white people. Younger black people don’t give a f**k. They ain’t thinking about the skin color, they thinking about the issues. You’re going to love this, if I had to vote for the issues, I’d vote Republican. AllHipHop.com: Why so?Scarface: S**t man, when a motherf**ker do finally hit a motherf**king lick you don’t want to give it away. I’m a strong believer if you made it, you should be able to hold on to your money. It shouldn’t be my responsibility to take care of these motherf**kers over [here] because they wasn’t smart enough to go and do what they could have did. AllHipHop.com: So you’re a conservative basically?Scarface: Nah, I just don’t think it’s my responsibility to pay for other people’s medical expenses and s**t and getting taxed over the norm for being successful. You shouldn’t have to pay to be successful. You shouldn’t have to pay extra. You gonna love this…but for color, I’ma vote for Obama. I’m bulls**ttin’ man. [chuckles] Just to see a Black president I’m thinking about my 80 year old grandmother now. Never in her lifetime would she ever expect to see some s**t like this, okay. So that’s one of the reasons why I want to f**k with Obama. Just for that history, just to be a part of that history that voted for that first Black president that maybe could have went all the way. I’m down for doing s**t for my people but I ain’t down to just give my s**t away and not know where it’s going. I’d rather a motherf**ker say okay, you got this amount of taxes to pay, we’re going to do something in [your] community, cool. But not warring against a faceless enemy. I don’t want to pay for that. I don’t want to pay for a bail out. That was you that bankrupted the country b***h, don’t put me in it. AllHipHop.com: What’s your greatest accomplishment?Scarface: I was at a class reunion last night, that was my accomplishment. To see motherf**kers from 20 years ago still f**king loving Hip-Hop. I seen a lot of my old friends dude. That was some good s**t.  I feel like that’s my biggest accomplishment. To be where I’m from and to be among the elite motherf**kers from everywhere else. I feel that. That’s an accomplishment right there. All the rest of that s**t, f**ck that s**t. You can have all that other s**t, just give me last night. I come from a little blue house in a little bitty neighborhood in Houston, TX man. I’m in New York City rapping on Isaac Hayes s**t, and then rapping on Too Short s**t. What else in life can top that? Except maybe f**king [REDACTED]. [laughs] I don’t think nothing else can compare to what happened last night unless [REDACTED] give a n***a some Rock & Roll head. AllHipHop.com: Emeritus, the last joint for real?Scarface: Retire with honor, still holding the position. That’s it. To retire with honor and still hold the position. That’s me. I walked.AllHipHop.com: No loophole? Maybe come back as just Brad Jordan?Scarface: Hey man, I’m telling you money talk, the rest of that s**t got four feet. If there any two ways I can make money in music I’ma go. But other than that I’m sticking to this plan. And by the time the Internet get a hold of this plan it’s going to already be finished and I’m going to already be caked up out of it, okay? Trust me.You right though, Scarface was just there. He was just like lithium. He was smooth right there, he never had a chance to go here. He always stayed right there. And it’s so much more to me in music. It’s way deeper than the n***a spittin’. To me spittin’ is like 4th’dary, not secondary. I want to make that s**t. I can make that s**t. I don’t have to rap to that s**t, I can make it. I don’t have to sample that s**t, I know how to go in there and make that s**t. I can play that s**t. I can create that s**t. So you never know, I can be in a rock band soon. You never know. Funk bands. I love it that much.I don’t love it enough to let that motherf**ka pimp me, though. Music makes more than Face, Face leaves music.