Jedi Mind Tricks

Jedi Mind Tricks is a popular underground hip-hop duo hailing from Philadelphia, officially comprised of high school friends DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (K. Z. Baldwin) and emcee Vinny Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri, formerly Ikon the Verbal Ho

Jedi Mind Tricks is a popular underground hip-hop duo hailing from Philadelphia, officially comprised of high school friends DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (K. Z. Baldwin) and emcee Vinny Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri, formerly Ikon the Verbal Hologram).

Known for dark, gritty production, creative horrorcore rhymes, and a long list of collaborations with regional underground peers and legends (including Kool G Rap, Heltah Skeltah, Ras Kass, Canibus, Killah Priest, and the GZA), JMT officially debuted with the Amber Probe EP in 1996, the B-side of which was later included in their first album, The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, and Electromagnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness, a year later. The album was themed by government conspiracies and ancient Middle-Eastern mythology, and featured the recording debut of fellow Philly rappers El Eloh (Rasul Allahu) and Breath of Judah/Hua (Dawoud) from the "Lost Children of Babylon" on multiple songs, as well as Connecticut's Apathy the Alien Tongue of the Demigodz. The Lost Children soon parted ways with JMT, however, and in a 2001 , member Cosmic Crusader cited that while Ikon had assured Rasul that his cause was all for spiritual hip-hop, he soon saw "that [he] was not really spiritual at all, but only interested in tapping that fan base."