All of these albums were an important contribution to the ever-changing sound of hip-hop as we entered the 21 st century. Released in 2000, Violent by Design, the second LP from Jedi Mind Tricks, came out along with heavyweight records such as Let’s Get Free, Like Water For Chocolate, Train Of Thought, The Marshall Mathers LP, and Stankonia.
In all, Jedi Mind Tricks feels like underground gangsta rap without the gangsta image, and the songs stretch over dark and political themes while retaining a humorous cusp that adds to the album’s variation (“ Ya’ll got fucked up like sex on an airplane”). The lyricism walks a fine line between rugged and politically fueled, but it’s here where some of the best bars are spit. The production is deep and complex with swirling backgrounds and stern sounds that slap the back of the listener’s neck hairs, while at the same time staying constructed in a conceptual box. Most of the AOTP collective sound similar to moderate Wu-Tang hooks, but these MCs supply a unique sound and cadence that only they can claim.Īs an underground hip-hop record, Violent by Design stands both entertaining and influential on its musical throne. Most of Violent by Design contains sociopolitical aberration disguised in fancy wordplay, but it’s the approach and technique that Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah, along with about a million add-ons, bring to the record. To simplify this record to a Stoupe cut would be to ignore the well-versed lyricism spread throughout. Stoupe’s scratching brings in a wave of barren yet fulfilling beats, and songs like “Speech Cobra” and “Heavenly Divine” fill the speakers like haunting cuts from a membrane dislodging horror film. Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind is the cohesive force that holds everything together, and by delivering a fresh range of complex and artistic production he at the same time manages to keep everything in the same spectrum. It’s here where Violent by Design truly shines. Layered in the background are samples ranging from Gang Starr to Nancy Sinatra, and by the end of the song, the reverberating beat halts and hesitates as if egging the listener on from the production studio. On the next track “Contra,” the production takes a turn with quick-clicking piano swells, a much skinnier percussion drop, and a bass line that holds whole notes like a foul-mouthed idiot with a dropping jaw. The first thing you hear on Violent by Design’s first full-length track, “Retalitation”, is a rolling bass backdrop, stern percussion and contained scratches that surface throughout the song.
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