Jedi Mind Tricks, an Army of Pharaohs, and a laundry list of alter-egos—This week's Rap Station Spotlight Artists is all of the above, and all of that makes manifest with one artist.
Italian-American rapper Vinnie Paz began making a name for himself as chief lyricist behind the Philadelphia-based underground hip hop group, Jedi Mind Tricks, whose album Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell showcased Paz's unfiltered thoughts towards politics and world issues, while Violent Design appraised him for his organic lyricism.
Put those two together and what you get is raw, grit and steel rhymes lashed out with such ocean-depth themes and concepts, much of which depict images of war, religion, mythology supernatural entities, as well as conspiracy theories.
In the late 90's Paz's ferocity continued its furtherance under Army of Pharaohs, which featured the MC from Philly as the group's frontman, outfitting horrorcore rap into his already-established dark persona. Alongside the group's original roster, AOP released their memorable debut with The Five Perfect Exertions.
Vinnie Paz made his official solo debut in 2010 with Seasons of the Assassin, a full-length collective that had Hip-hop fans witness a refreshing shift in tone as the AOP frontman and Jedi Mind lyricist concocted his own formula, and also peaked at #25 on the Billboard rap charts.
To this day, Vinnie Paz continues spitting out magnum-caliber hooks for both Jedi Mind Tricks and Army of Pharaohs while continuing to build his momentum, following his latest solo record The Cornerstone of the Corner Stone, which dropped just last month.
By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com
