Search - Jedi Mind Tricks :: History of Violence

VBD 2? I wouldn't even expect a SIHKIH 2 after hearing this.

JoeNJ85 | 11/14/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Looking back in time, it's pretty amazing how the original "Violent By Design" (2000) came out almost a whole entire decade ago...despite "The Psycho-Social LP" technically being their debut in 1997, VBD was the group's masterpiece which turned JMT into the underground legends they are today. And while "Visions Of Gandhi" (2003) may have been arguably the lowest point when it comes to Vinnie's rhymes -- to me all the legendary songs on it with next level Stoupe production and an amazing guest list (i.e. Canibus, Ras Kass, Non-Phixion, Kool G. Rap & Tragedy Khadafi), is easily more comparable to VBD than anything off this album. The same goes for their 2004 effort "Legacy Of Blood", which mostly lacked the crazy guest appearances the previous year but still managed to get Killah Priest ("Saviorself"), Sean Price ("Beyond The Gates Of Pain") and a GZA single (both mixes of "On The Eve Of War")...and Stoupe really went all out on the production which tried to find a nice balance between both VBD and VOG (see "The Age Of Sacred Terror" and "Scars Of The Crucifix" alone which have more of an updated VBD sound than anything off HOV).



So fast forward 2 whole years later (in 2006), JMT would drop their new album which promised to include a lyrically improved Vinnie and an album that would be their best effort since the group's first 2 albums ("Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell). And while Vinnie Paz did step up his lyricism and there was still some great stand-out tracks with great Stoupe production, including a pretty solid guest list (everyone already knows about the legendary epic Rugged Man verse on "Uncommon Valor") -- but honestly as a whole, i didn't even like the album as much as both VOG and LOB. It was nice to hear them tone it down a little for a whole album, but Stoupe's production (while still better than most out that year) seemed pretty watered-down overall compared to previous releases while mostly lacking the bangers of their last 2 LP's, and the album itself started to sound mostly the same by the time you were half-way through listening to it.



So now we arrive at the end of 2008 to their latest effort, "A History Of Violence" which press reports were making this out to be a sequel to the original VBD. And while it's true that Jus Allah is finally back in the group, we also all know how horrific his performance was on the AOTP sophomore album "Ritual Of Battle" from last year, and unfortunately it seems to have fully carried over to HOV as well. He drops a total of 8 new verses on the album, and honestly each and every single last one only sink this LP further and further...there's even a few tracks where Vinnie drops 2 verses to his single verse! It's like Paz knows deep down inside that the real Jus Allah who was present on VBD, is long-gone and the person now is just a retarded self parody of himself (how anyone in the recording studio could think lines like "overjoyed to destroy/ boys will be boys" and "you're the friend of a friend/ i'm the beginning and end" belong on an album is beyond me). It's quite a shame too, since Jus Allah had amazing potential in the past and most people thought he could really do something great in the future...oh well.



The good news though is that Vinnie Paz has seemed to mostly rebound from the majority of weak verses he had on ROB, even if all the blatant punch-ins he does on this album is a little too much at times. It's true that outside of the 2 surprise concept attempts (both "Trail Of Lies" and "Death Messiah", which not surprisingly are also his solo tracks), the rest is pretty much the exact style you'd expect from him -- hardcore JMT battle raps which haven't changed much since VOG. But admittedly it's still fun to hear even in 2008, and expect to hear a few political lines near the end of the album on "Butcher Knife Bloodbath". I'd also like to add real quick that it's Vinnie who carries the album this time around, since there's no big name guest appearances to be found on HOV...Block McCloud sings 2 annoying hooks while additional verses by Demoz, Doap Nixon and King Magnetic only do to this album like what they did to Ritual Of Battle (and that is add nothing). Outerspace makes the only good guest appearance on "Seance Of Shamans", and by the way if you haven't heard their latest effort "God's Fury" -- check it out if you're an AOTP fan since it's another solid release by them, and i might even prefer it to the new JMT album.



And finally, we arrive to Stoupe who has always been the true star of JMT -- even though the production on HOV is still pretty solid and better than a lot out now, i must say that this is easily the least appealing JMT album when it comes to beats (even more so than SIHKIH). You can definitely tell that Stoupe not only is bored with JMT at this point, but also wasn't in the studio with them for HOV -- he pretty much sent Vinnie a beat CD or 2, had him pick what he likes from those, and they were sent off to the engineer. The album opens up with easily the weakest Stoupe Intro to date (just DJ Kwestion doing scratches over noisy loud orchestral noise), and the first track "Deathbed Doctine" has an upbeat Bolero sampled sound to it which isn't bad but really sounds out of place on a JMT record. I mean come on, how could you go open up the other JMT releases with cinematic masterpieces (i.e. Retaliation, Tibetan Black Magicians, The Age Of Sacred Terror) but an album called "A History Of Violence" with something like this?



Thankfully the next 2 beats are more like what you'd expect -- "Deadly Melody" has a dark almost trip-hop sound to it and also sounds a little like something DJ Muggs would make recently, and "Monolith" is one of the album's best with wailing female vocal samples and solemn violin and guitar strings, making a nice atmospheric haunting effort. "Butcher Knife Bloodbath" sounds like a Christmas Carol version of "Narrow Grave" (from The Torture Papers), and honestly i probably like the AOTP beat more. "Heavy Artillery" has a very SIHKIH-ish vibe to it with quirky sped-up vocal samples and additional instruments in the background, which seems to sample an old Italian song of some kind...and Stoupe definitely comes through with the emotive backdrops on both "Trail Of Lies" and "Death Messiah". "Godflesh" is another upbeat Latin influenced VOG-sounding track which sounds out of place (especially with the somewhat dark LOB-ish interlude, "Geometry In Static" leading into it), but the biggest miss to me on this album though is the beat on "Terror" -- not only is it pretty repetitive and easily his worst orchestral beat to date, but hearing both Demoz and Jus Allah rhyme back-to-back is sure to definitely bring terror to your eardrums. "Those With No Eyes" is probably the worst interlude Stoupe has done to date, as the irritating high-pitched Chipmunk vocal samples are grating to say the least.



So to sum up this lengthy review, the question left is if "A History Of Violence" is worth your time and money? If you're a long-time fan of the group, i'd say preview it first and maybe buy it if you can find it for a cheap price somewhere (definitely isn't worth $15, especially since it's only 10 songs with a few interludes). And if you're new to the group, definitely look into all their other albums first (also make sure to check out the amazing Canibus/Stoupe album entitled "Rip The Jacker" which was originally released in 2003) as HOV being an introduction won't leave a very good impression. I'd also like to mention, that if JMT do intend on releasing another album in the future -- please drop Jus Allah for good, bring back the great guest appearances, and actually have Stoupe in the studio for some quality control like in the past."

Not the greatest

A. Osowski | Wisconsin | 11/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

""A History of Violence" is far from VBD2, it's more on the level of the Army of the Pharaohs' "The Torture Papers". Two or three really good songs, with the rest of the album just extra baggage. The tracks that do stand out on this album are "Monolith", "Trail of Lies", "Seance of Shamans", and "Death Messiah". I'd recommend just buying these four tracks on mp3, or check out the other ones if you like. If you liked the Army of the Pharaohs compilations better than the original JMT albums, you'll like this album. However, most JMT fans like myself prefer fewer guest spots, good Stoupe beats, and Vinnie Paz verses. Jus Allah is alright on this one, but it's not his best effort. I give it a 70%, or a 3 out of 5."

Jus Allah Sucks!!!

J. Tomko | Santa Fe, NM | 11/20/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I consider myself a hardcore JMT listener since they were the original who got me into the wide spectrem of underground/independent rap. Everyone seemed soooo excited about Jus Allah's return except me for two reason. 1. His solo album was garbage and had already shown that he changed his flow. At least it was not as terrible as it is now. 2. He was terrible on AOTP. Why would he not be terrible on JMT's new album? He changed his sound to be just like Vinny. He rhymes one word with another one word and talks about talking to whales and is embarassing. I feel shy in playing tracks from the new album for my friends because I know jus allah's verse is coming up and it is laughable



Stoupe's production is solid, I feel as if it is getting a little weaker because he needs to save material for his solo album and JMT have already established a name for themselves. Stoupe doesn't need to prove himself anymore on a JMT album. I SAY GREAT!!!! If it helps him make an amazing solo album.



I went to their show this year in ABQ and went to a signing beforehand. Vinny, Jus Allah, Reef, and outesrpace were all there. Being an idiot I accidenlty called Vinny Stoupe. Jus Allah heard and started jumping up and down like a thirteen year old girl saying 'He just called him Stoupe, he just called him stoupe.' He was literally jumping around the store. Vinny stayed cool, I apologized and everything was fine. This experience i believe reflexes into Jus Allah's lyrics. They are childish, laughable, and a disgrace to JMT especially one of hip hops best Stoupe. He must be shaking his head right now.



The guest artists are lame compared to past albums. Outerspace have no distinct flow or style therefore have nothing special about them. This also showed when they were live. Reef the lost cauze blew them out of the water. Plus, they both look exactly the same. It shows how bland they are.



As a true JMT fan(VBD is my most influential album) please I beg you drop Jus Allah. A true fan should of seen this coming. Stoupe I'm dying for your solo album to drop. Vinny keep it hardcore scattered with your genocide general stuff. How i see it is give respect to your best group member Stoupe who asks for no glory in return( he doesn't even tour with them) and have someone who can actually rap, rap over his beautiful beats. This album is 2.5."