Search - Jedi Mind Tricks :: Violent By Design (Bonus Dvd) (Dlx) (Dig)

Hear Me Out...

~LEON~ | UK | 12/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OK. This is an awesome slice of hip hop, and it's a very rare find on vinyl which always adds to its collectability.



The production is the star of the show, but a lot of the rapping is genuinely top-shelf too.



Jedi Mind make that rare thing: mystical hip hop. It's second to none stuff, rousing you with haunting synths and eery vocals and rhymes alluding to religion, myth, spirituality and personal awareness. It's a rare find and the most effective form of hip hop, in my opinion.



"...possessing my peeps to walk streets with stolen heat like prometheus"



How many rappers would even know who Prometheus is or why that metaphor makes sense?



However, the reason I didn't, nay - couldn't - give it the full 5 stars like everyone else is cos of Jus Allah's pig-ignorant take on religious issues.



This is an important thing, especially in 2006, especially as he's rapping specifically about Islam "vs." Christianity, especially because the rest of the LP is worth a listen and might convince lesser minds that this clown is too.



He's a prime example of someone who appears not to get it. He'll make a worthwhile statement such as "Islam shouldn't be blamed for current problems", then he'll go and make an ignoramus out of himself and follow it with "Christianity should".



If you're not insightful enough to see through the religions and the excuses and arrive at the only worthwhile conclusion there is; namely that if you shift blame away from any religion you must shift it away from all religion and look for the culprit on a more personal level; don't be shouting violently your underdeveloped and vastly bigoted opinion.



Conscious hip hop is about the message, not just the beats and rhymes, so this one can't be a 5-star when you've got a spiritual deadweight acting like he's the second-coming of Yoda."

Simply the BEST JMT album ever.

SyDuck | The City of Angels | 02/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the BEST JMT album. All of the songs on this album are classics. Songs that stand out to me are Retaliation, I Against I (classic), Exertions, Heavenly Divine, Sacrafice, The Executioners Dream, Army of The Pharaohs, Untitled, and Blood Runs Cold. Just these tracks alone could create a timeless album. This album is worth the money, definately up there with the classics.



The DVD footage is good too. It just follows JMT around during their tour. The ending footage is tight, it interweaves a few different concerts of JMT during their tour performing "I Against I". Very well produced."

WAY more than 5 stars

N. Jublou | VA | 10/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't really stress how crucial it is to add VBD to your collection. When I first got this CD a few years ago, I played it to the point where none of the tracks even played correctly anymore; I rocked it to death. Luckily, they've re-released it, with a remix of Retaliation, a vicious new track with some tight back-and-forth emceeing on the third verse, and also finally putting Blood Runs Cold on CD. Thank you, hip hop gods. Vinnie Paz has since dipped a bit in his ferocity and mythical references in his verses, but JMT is still a huuge force to be reckoned with; go get Legacy of Blood to hear their new stuff (with GZA, Sean Price, Killah Priest... I don't need to say more)."