Review Summary: Jedi Mind Tricks must have lost their powers or something, because a History Of Violence is trife and uninspired. Maybe they should go find Yoda to restore their vision.
Many people know who Jedi Mind Tricks already are. It’s famous “underground” rap artists Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah along with producer Stoupe. They’re mostly known for the classic underground rap album “Violent by Design”. A History of Violence was released 8 or 9 years after that, and this release marks the return of Jus Allah. Unfortunately, neither Allah nor Paz is in top lyrical form and even Stoupe (the best part of this) isn’t making the same kind of beats he was 8 years ago. Nowadays Jedi Mind Tricks are doing watered down battle rap over same-ish orchestral music. A History of Violence marks the biggest low point in their career and it’s mostly due to the significant change in styles from each member.
Jus Allah used to make really intricate raps now he just does this rhyme dictionary crap where he finds words that just rhyme and they don’t make sense. Vinnie Paz can tell a story but all he is doing is punchlines, metaphors and lyrics dealing with history and anti-government stuff. He occasionally boasts a pulse, such as on track “Trail Of Lies”, where he raps about how the media is ruining our children and telling us what we should be and what we should do. “Trail Of Lies” is definitely the best track on here, with Stoupe using a soul sample for the chorus and adding atmospherics to orchestral music and some folksy guitar. While Stoupe is definitely a decent producer in his own right, he follows the formula listed above for every song. None of his work is very inspired as he has been re-working the same beats for the 8 years following this. While Jus Allah is definitely the weakest link here, with his harsh delivery, nonsensical lyrics, and no ability to tell which beat he is rapping over, the other members aren’t doing any good either.
The guest spots range from good to bad and they help bolster the songs. Block McCloud has a couple of nice choruses that were severely needed here while rap group Outerspace tear up the mic on two of the songs. For some reason, Vinnie Paz is in love with one of the world’s most god awful rappers, Demoz. He basically ***s on anything he’s put on, but thankfully that’s not much. He has a crappy voice that makes 50 Cent sound good, and his lyrics are pretty much a more intricate version of 50 Cent’s. His guest spot on the album absolutely ruins what could have been a decent song.
The album does have its high points too you know. When Vinnie Paz does do his punchlines, they’re usually very clever and somewhat refreshing. He even shows he has a higher level of knowledge than most rappers when he starts going off on the subject of history. Hell, even Stoupe, with his uninspired production, is still showing that he has skill behind the boards and can craft some interesting melodies. Jus Allah no longer has any high points, as he ruined himself by changing up his style. The other members definitely show signs of life here and there and they didn’t make an album with 21 tracks (thank god). Instead they carefully selected 14 tracks with about 6 or 7 of them being complete garbage and the other ones ranging from average to decent.
If JMT found more inspiration their next release could certainly attain great heights. Just get rid of Jus Allah though, as he has shown he can no longer properly rap amongst the best. The gory days may be gone, but hints of greatness still lurk in A History of Violence. 2.5/5
