Jedi Mind Tricks - The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, and Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciouness (2002 issue)

"Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) is a hip-hop trio from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey. The group is composed of high school friends Rapper Vinnie Paz (born Vincenzo Luvineri, formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram) and Producer/DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (born Kevin Baldwin). They recruited New Jersey rapper Jus Allah (born James Bostick) for their second album Violent by Design. Though he left after the creation of that album, he was later taken back, as stated by Vinnie. DJ Kwestion is also a part of the group, mainly scratching choruses on the turntable. Kwestion (or Kwes) is also a part of the group Skratch Makaniks. Kwestion was a replacement for JMT's previous tour DJ, Drew Dollars, who inexplicably is no longer affiliated with the group."

AMG: "The debut LP from Jedi Mind Tricks (though it appeared on CD only five years later), The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, and Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness was recorded in the duo's native Philadelphia but bears all the hallmarks of Long Island phantoms Wu-Tang Clan and their masterpiece of dense macabre, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Jedi Mind Tricks producer Stoupe shares with RZA and Scotty Hard the talent of making the unsampleable sound downright catchy, whether it's water drops and warped guitar (for "Chinese Water Torture") or soundtrack music caught halfway between the Italian underworld and a medieval Japanese drama ("The Winds of War"). The rappers, including Stoupe's partner, Ikon, as well as guests like fellow Philly flowmasters Lost Children of Babylon, prove up to the challenge of these difficult productions; it's high praise indeed that they never fail to convince and entertain, even when discussing interstellar spacecraft probes, biochemical molecular structure, or the minutiae of obscure Occidental mythology. It's clear that an earlier CD edition or, at the least, wider distribution upon its original release would've broken Psycho-Social with ease and vaulted the duo beyond the dozens of metaphysical rappers clogging the rap racks during the late '90s. [The 2002 CD issue includes six crucial bonus tracks, which prove the duo had, as early as 1994, staked out ground later occupied by similar crews like Company Flow and Dr. Octagon.] " 4.5/5

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jedimindtricks

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?4wmvn2aft0g

Sounds like... Immortal Technique, CunninLynguists

Tags: (Underground) Hip-hop, Rap