Jedi Mind Tricks - Violence Begets Violence Review

Posted by Bill Wannop on 10.25.2011

Jedi Mind Tricks are back with their latest album Violence Begets Violence. Will the group be able to continue producing underground classics with the loss of longtime producer Stoupe or is the group on the downside of their careers?

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For more than fifteen years, the name Jedi Mind Tricks has become synonymous with raw, gritty underground hip-hop. From their debut album, The Psycho-social, in 1996 to their seminal sophomore release, Violent By Design, the group has held a firm position in the hip hop underground. They have been able to form their own subculture of rap, releasing albums independently selling over 400,000 total albums. The group has gone through some changes over the years. Originally the group consisted of rappers Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah with all production handled by Stoupe, however in 2001 Jus would leave the group for several years before returning in 2006. It has been over three years since the groups last release, and this current release is not without controversy as it marks the first album from the group with the absence of any production from Stoupe, who left the group due to a lack of desire to continue in making hip hop music. Will the departure of Stoupe hurt the overall atmosphere of the album, or can the group continue to keep that raw gritty sound that they are loved for?

Tracklisting
1. Intro (produced by Scott Stallone)
2. Burning the Mirror (produced by C-Lance)
3. When Crows Descend Upon You featuring Demoz (produced by Hypnotist Beats)
4. Fuck Ya Life featuring Blacastan (produced by Junior Makhno)
5. Imperial Tyranny featuring King Magnetic (produced by C-Lance)
6. Design in Malice featuring Young Zee & Pacewon (produced by Mr. Green)
7. Weapon of Unholy Wrath (produced by Shuko)
8. Target Practice (produced by Hypnotist Beats)
9. Carnival of Souls featuring Demoz (produced by Grand Finale)
10. Willing a Destruction onto Humanity (produced by C-Lance)
11. Chalice featuring Chip Fu (produced by Illinformed)
12. BloodBorn Enemy (produced by Nero)
13. The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms (produced by C-Lance)
14. Street Lights (produced by Nero)

Anyone who is familiar with Jedi Mind Tricks knows what they are going to get with their albums. Raw gritty beats matched with hard hitting, vivid, violent lyrics. Violence Begets Violence is no different, with Vinnie Paz opening the album providing lines ‘#@#$ a crucifix I’ll use it just to stab a nun/ What yall have did is incomparable to what Paz has done/I’m Black Sabbath, you savages get a lashing tongue/ I’m black magic, ravenous, you a passive rum’ over the hard hitting “Burning the Mirror” produced by C-Lance. However the beats get far more aggressive on the first single for the album “When Crows Descend Upon You” with Vinnie and Jus Allah riding the hard hitting beat perfectly.



While many fans were somewhat concerned and turned off with the fact that Stoupe would be absent from this project, when you play the album, it still has the familiar sound of a Jedi Mind Tricks album. Tracks like “Imperial Tyranny” could have found a home on any previous releases from the group as producer C-Lance adds some nice samples and scratches on the chorus to give it that gritty underground feel. “Willing a destruction onto Humanity” also has that ‘Stoupe’ sound that fans will love with the slower beat mixed with the aggressive drums. As well, “The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms” also produced by C-Lance will likely be a favourite among fans complete with its BIG sample on the chorus.

While at first glance, the sound may seem unchanged, the release still seems to be missing something. It feels to lack a sense on continuity or direction in the album. Some of the beats, while all fit the styles of Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah lack originality or some quality for them to stand on their own. Some tracks seem to blend together too easily and it is hard to differentiate the tracks from one another (with the exception of teh aforementioned C-Lance tracks). Jus and Vinnie, while they are able to drop good verses in their own right, seem to be out of sync in their topic on the tracks. It may be more that the tracks really don’t have a whole lot of focus in the emcees are just dropping nice lines instead of building a concept for the songs.

While fans of the group will likely find this a decent addition to their collections, it likely is one of the weakest releases from the group. In fact it probably comes from the loss of Stoupe. While some producers are able to pick up the slack (C-Lance in particular) the other producers simply cannot keep up and provided somewhat mediocre beats, especially illInformed who produced an almost reggae type beat on “Chalice” which does not fit the album at all.

The 411: Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah almost managed to fill the void left by Stoupe's departure, however a lack of focus and some disappointing production hurt the effort overall. While this album will satisfy most Jedi Mind Tricks fans, it will does not live up to the groups previous efforts.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]