Flawless Victory
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vincenzo Luviner ( Luvineri born October 5, 1977), better known as Vinnie Paz (formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram), is an Italian-born American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia
underground hip hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...
group
Jedi Mind Tricks Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from Philadelphia, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 1999, rapper Jus ...
. He is also the frontman of the hip hop collective
Army of the Pharaohs AOTP logo ''(as seen on In Death Reborn)'' Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder Vi ...
. He released his first solo album, '' Season of the Assassin'', in 2010. This was 18 years after Paz had originally started rapping. He released his second album ''
God of the Serengeti ''God of the Serengeti'' is the second studio album by American rapper Vinnie Paz. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Enemy Soil Entertainment and The Orchard. Production was handled by C-Lance, JBL the Titan, Arcitype, Beatnick Dee, DJ Let ...
'' in October 2012. In 2013, Paz confirmed that he was working with
Army of the Pharaohs AOTP logo ''(as seen on In Death Reborn)'' Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder Vi ...
to release ''
In Death Reborn ''In Death Reborn'' is the fourth studio album by the underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on April 22, 2014, via Vinnie Paz's independent record label, Enemy Soil. The album features members Vinnie Paz, Ap ...
'', which was released in 2014. October 22, 2013, marked the release date of his second EP, ''Carry On Tradition''. Paz's third solo LP, ''The Cornerstone of the Corner Store'', was released on October 28, 2016. He released his fourth solo album, ''The Pain Collector'', in September 2018.


Early life

Paz was born in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, Italy, where he lived for a short time before moving with his family to
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. He is of Sicilian/Italian heritage. He has both Italian and American citizenship. Paz originally started rapping with fellow Jedi Mind Tricks member
Stoupe Kevin Baldwin, better known by his stage name Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind or simply Stoupe, is an American hip hop producer, DJ, and member of the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Stoupe has worked with only a limited number of artis ...
in his basement.


Career


First releases (1992–1997)

In 1996, Paz released the '' Amber Probe'' EP. This was the debut EP from the duo and it was released in 1996. It featured guest appearance from
The Lost Children of Babylon The Lost Children of Babylon (LCOB) are a Spiritual (music), spiritual alternative hip hop music group based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group was founded by Rasul Allah and The Breath Of Judah in the mid 1990s and first appeared i ...
. It was in 1997, Jedi Mind Tricks released their debut album; ''
The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness ''The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness'' (often abbreviated as ''The Psycho-Social CD'') is the debut album of underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, consisting of rapper Vinnie Paz ...
'' (often abbreviated as ''The Psycho-Social CD''). The group only consisted of Paz and
Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind Kevin Baldwin, better known by his stage name Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind or simply Stoupe, is an American hip hop producer, DJ, and member of the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Stoupe has worked with only a limited number of artists ...
at this time and featured
Apathy Apathy, also referred to as indifference, is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic i ...
,
Jus Allah James Bostick (born June 30, 1978), better known by his stage name Jus Allah, is an American rapper known for being a former member of Philadelphia-based hip hop groups Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) and Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP). He was involved ...
, and
Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead Emcee (hip hop), MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regar ...
.


From Ikon to Vinnie, forming AOTP, ''Violent by Design'' (1998–2002)

In 1998, Paz formed
Army of the Pharaohs AOTP logo ''(as seen on In Death Reborn)'' Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder Vi ...
. Paz formed the horrorcore outfit with the original roster of
Bahamadia Antonia D. Reed (born April 22, 1966), known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American Hip hop music, hip hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, ''Kollage (album), Kollage'', in 1996, followed by the independently released ...
,
Chief Kamachi The JuJu Mob (originally credited as ''Chief Kamachi & The JuJu Mob'') is a four-member underground hip hop group originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was founded in 2004.Matt Jost, Chief Kamachi & the JuJu Mob :: Black Candles :: ...
, Virtuoso,
7L & Esoteric 7L & Esoteric (7LES) are an American underground hip hop duo from Boston, Massachusetts, known for battle rhymes and boom bap production. 7L is the duo's DJ/ producer and Esoteric is the MC. 7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of under ...
, plus Jedi Mind Tricks' other members
Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind Kevin Baldwin, better known by his stage name Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind or simply Stoupe, is an American hip hop producer, DJ, and member of the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Stoupe has worked with only a limited number of artists ...
and
Jus Allah James Bostick (born June 30, 1978), better known by his stage name Jus Allah, is an American rapper known for being a former member of Philadelphia-based hip hop groups Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) and Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP). He was involved ...
. The group first released the "Five Perfect Exertions" and "War Ensemble" 12" on Paz's short-lived Recordings in 1998, but then the underground supergroup remained silent for several years. Together they released ''
The Five Perfect Exertions ''The Five Perfect Exertions / War Ensemble'' is the debut extended play released by Army of the Pharaohs in 1998. The original incarnation of the group included five MCs: Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia, along with D ...
''. In 2000, Paz, along with Jedi Mind Tricks, released his second album, ''
Violent by Design ''Violent by Design'' is the second album by underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Despite never reaching any ''Billboard'' album chart, the album sold 50,000 copies in its first week on shelves. The album was originally released on JMT' ...
''. Stoupe and Paz recruited New Jersey rapper Jus Allah to join them on the album, and while he was never inducted into the group, it can be assumed he became JMT's third member on the release, as his contributions were not marked as "featuring Jus Allah", while other close group affiliates such as Army of the Pharaohs members Chief Kamachi, Esoteric and Virtuoso were marked as featured guests. On the album, Ikon the Verbal Hologram changed his name to "Vinnie Paz", naming himself after
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
boxer
Vinny Pazienza Vinny Paz (born Vincenzo Edward Pazienza, December 16, 1962), formerly Vinny Pazienza, is an American former professional boxer who held world titles at lightweight and light middleweight. The 2016 film '' Bleed for This'' is based on his comeb ...
.


''Visions of Gandhi'', ''Legacy of Blood'' and collaborations (2003–2006)

Paz in 2006 In 2003, Jedi Mind Tricks released their third studio album, ''
Visions of Gandhi ''Visions of Gandhi'' is the third studio album by American hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released on August 26, 2003 via Babygrande Records. Production was handled by member Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, who expands his dark sounds, incl ...
''. The album title was inspired by Foxy Brown's verse on the song "Affirmative Action" from
Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...
' 1996 album ''
It Was Written ''It Was Written'' is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album '' Illmatic'' (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for '' ...
'', in which she raps "They praise Allah with visions of Gandhi". Paz explained that it was "always something that stuck in my head but I never applied it to anything. Then I thought with everything going on in Palestine, the war with Iraq, Mumia's in jail. I just felt this is a time right now that the world and society need someone like
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
. So Visions of Gandhi just kind of reflects that." In the following year they released ''
Legacy of Blood ''Legacy of Blood'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released on August 24, 2004, via Babygrande Records. Production was handled by member Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, with Chuck Wilson (multimedia e ...
''. In 2005, Paz shifted his focus back on to the supergroup Army of the Pharaohs. They worked to release their debut album, '' The Torture Papers''. It was released on March 21, 2006, on
Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...
. After the release of this Paz went back to his group Jedi Mind Tricks and worked on fifth studio album, ''
Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell ''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell'' is the fifth studio album by hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released September 19, 2006 through Babygrande Records. The first single, " Heavy Metal Kings", featuring Ill Bill of La Coka Nostra, was ...
''. It was released September 19, 2006, through
Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...
. In 2006, Vinnie Paz released his first solo album, ''The Sound & the Fury''. It featured guest appearance from
Apathy Apathy, also referred to as indifference, is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic i ...
and
OuterSpace OuterSpace is an underground hip hop duo from North Philadelphia. Originally a trio consisting of three Puerto Rican friends that then took the artist names Planetary, Jedeye and Crypt the Warchild. The founding member Mario Collazo (Planetar ...
. It was hosted by
DJ Kwestion Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from Philadelphia, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 1999, rapper Jus ...
and had 19 tracks.


''Ritual of Battle'', ''A History of Violence'', ''The Unholy Terror'' and solo career (2007–2010)

upPaz in 2007 Paz got together members of Army of the Pharaohs to release their second album, ''
Ritual of Battle ''Ritual of Battle'' is the second studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. Released on September 25, 2007 under Babygrande Records, the album features group members Vinnie Paz, Jus Allah, OuterSpace, Chief Kamac ...
''. It was released September 21, 2007, on
Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...
. The album's first single was "Bloody Tears", featuring Planetary, Doap Nixon, Demoz, and Paz, produced by DJ Kwestion. The song was based on the
Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the castle of Count Dracula, the arch-enemy of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. ...
tune of the same name. On November 11, 2008, Jedi Mind Tricks released their sixth studio album, ''
A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 DC Comics, DC A History of Violence (comics), graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The fi ...
''. The album sold 4,451 units in its first week out. Just like most albums, it was released on
Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...
. The album followed multiple summer releases from the Jedi Mind Tricks camp, including the group's first DVD, titled ''Divine Fire: The Story of Jedi Mind Tricks'', and the Vinnie Paz-executive produced projects ''Jedi Mind Tricks presents
Doap Nixon Kenneth Greene (born August 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Doap Nixon, is an American hip hop artist and rapper who is a former member of supergroup Army of the Pharaohs. He has collaborated with a variety of underground hip hop artist ...
: Sour Diesel'', ''Jedi Mind Tricks presents
King Syze David Albaladejo (better known by his stage name King Syze) is an underground rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of the underground hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP), having featured o ...
:
The Labor Union ''The Labor Union'' is the second solo studio album by American underground rapper King Syze. It was officially released on August 5, 2008 via Babygrande Records. Recording sessions took place at Found Sound Recording in Philadelphia. Production ...
'', and ''Jedi Mind Tricks presents
OuterSpace OuterSpace is an underground hip hop duo from North Philadelphia. Originally a trio consisting of three Puerto Rican friends that then took the artist names Planetary, Jedeye and Crypt the Warchild. The founding member Mario Collazo (Planetar ...
: God's Fury''. In 2010, ''
The Unholy Terror ''The Unholy Terror'' is the third studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on March 30, 2010. The album debuted in the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 179 selling 3,200 units in its first week ...
'' was released. It is the third studio album by Army of the Pharaohs. The release date was March 30, 2010, but the album was released early on March 19, 2010, on UGHH.com. It was released through Babygrande Records and through Paz's own Enemy Soil. It was during this time Paz released his debut solo album, '' Season of the Assassin''. Many critics said the album was a step forward for Paz as an artist. "Not only has he all-but perfected his grimy braggadocio, but he also exhibits unique storytelling abilities that will make critics who dismiss him as just another hardcore rapper bite their tongues clean off." said Sean Ryon, writer of ''HipHopDX''. It was supposed to be called ''Assassin's Creed'' but Paz changed it due to legal issues with
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
. The release date for the album was on June 22, 2010. A few months later, Paz released the '' Prayer for the Assassin'' EP. The EP contained four remixed tracks from ''Season of the Assassin'' and a music video for the track ''Keep Movin' on''. It was only available for download and was released on October 26, 2010.


''Violence Begets Violence'' and ''God of the Serengeti'' (2011–2012)

In 2011, Jedi Mind Tricks released their seventh studio album ''
Violence Begets Violence The phrase "violence begets violence" (or "hate begets hate") means that violent behaviour promotes other violent behaviour, in return. The phrase has been used since the early 19th century. Violence begets violence is a concept described in the ...
''. It is the first JMT album without the production help of Stoupe, as Paz and Jus Allah grew tired of waiting. Paz stated; "By now you have heard that this is the first Jedi Mind Tricks album we've made without Stoupe handling the production. The bottom line is that at some point after making our last album, ''A History of Violence'', Stoupe lost his passion for making Hip Hop and wanted to try new things. Through our career, we've always waited on him to get inspired to make a new album, but this time around we got tired of waiting out his creative drought. He tried to produce some things for this new album, but we could tell early on that his heart wasn't in making JMT records anymore. He's moved on as a producer to work in other genres with his side-projects, Dutch and Vespertina, and we've moved on with a new crop of talented producers to make the hardcore Hip Hop we've always been known for." Paz released his second studio album, ''
God of the Serengeti ''God of the Serengeti'' is the second studio album by American rapper Vinnie Paz. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Enemy Soil Entertainment and The Orchard. Production was handled by C-Lance, JBL the Titan, Arcitype, Beatnick Dee, DJ Let ...
'', on October 22, 2012. This effort followed up 2010's '' Season of the Assassin''. Nick Demolina (writer of '' XXL''), said "While Paz's raspy flow and violent imagery are generally coherent and amusing enough, there are a few head-scratchers sprinkled throughout. Such as, "I don't believe in crying at all/I'm a manic depressive—never get excited at all," and, "The bible is gone/you are watching a Viking perform," on "Cheesesteaks". While God of the Serengeti doesn't blaze any new ground, it is a release that will hold up to the Paz's legacy on the underground scene and will surely satisfy long-time fans."


Digital Dynasty 23, ''Carry On Tradition'', ''In Death Reborn'', ''Heavy Lies the Crown'' and ''The Thief and the Fallen'' (2013–present)

In 2013, it was announced that the Digital Dynasty would continue once more with another host from Philadelphia. Following from Digital Dynasty 22, which was hosted by
Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
, Digital Dynasty23 was hosted by Paz. It was released on January 31, 2013. Army of the Pharaohs released two albums in 2014: ''
In Death Reborn ''In Death Reborn'' is the fourth studio album by the underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on April 22, 2014, via Vinnie Paz's independent record label, Enemy Soil. The album features members Vinnie Paz, Ap ...
'' on April 22, 2014, and '' Heavy Lies the Crown'' on October 21, 2014. In 2014, Stoupe returned to Jedi Mind Tricks while Jus Allah had left the group again. On June 2, 2015, they released their eighth studio album called ''
The Thief and the Fallen ''The Thief and the Fallen'' is the eighth studio album by American Philadelphia-based underground hip hop duo Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released on June 2, 2015 through Enemy Soil Entertainment. Production was handled entirely by Stoupe the Enem ...
'', which was fully produced by Stoupe.


Ventures


Jedi Mind Tricks

Paz (center) with Jedi Mind Tricks Paz formed Jedi Mind Tricks with high school friend
Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind Kevin Baldwin, better known by his stage name Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind or simply Stoupe, is an American hip hop producer, DJ, and member of the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Stoupe has worked with only a limited number of artists ...
, a producer and DJ also from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1993. They released their first EP in 1996 called '' Amber Probe'' through the Label Superegular Records, which featured three original tracks, two remixes and one instrumental all produced by
Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind Kevin Baldwin, better known by his stage name Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind or simply Stoupe, is an American hip hop producer, DJ, and member of the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Stoupe has worked with only a limited number of artists ...
. Jedi Mind Tricks' first official album came out the following year. It was called ''
The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness ''The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness'' (often abbreviated as ''The Psycho-Social CD'') is the debut album of underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, consisting of rapper Vinnie Paz ...
'', ''The Psycho-Social CD'' for short. The album originally sold 1000 vinyl copies through Superegular Records, but was re-released in 2003 to combine for 25,000 sales. The album focuses mostly on astronomy, history and physics.


Army of the Pharaohs

Paz formed Army of the Pharaohs, an underground East Coast hip hop group featuring himself,
Apathy Apathy, also referred to as indifference, is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic i ...
,
Celph Titled Victor Mercer (born November 16, 1980), better known by his stage name Celph Titled, is an American rapper and record producer who is a member of the hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs, as well as the Demigodz along with Connecticut rappe ...
, Chief Kamachi,
7L & Esoteric 7L & Esoteric (7LES) are an American underground hip hop duo from Boston, Massachusetts, known for battle rhymes and boom bap production. 7L is the duo's DJ/ producer and Esoteric is the MC. 7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of under ...
, Planetary & Crypt the Warchild (OuterSpace), King Syze, Faez One, Jus Allah, Doap Nixon,
Reef the Lost Cauze Sharif Talib Lacey, better known by his stage name Reef the Lost Cauze, is an American underground rapper based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cauze became well known on the underground circuit towards the late 1990s and more so in the early 200 ...
, Demoz, Block Mccloud, and Des Devious, although not every artist is on every track.


Heavy Metal Kings

Heavy Metal Kings is a group featuring veteran rappers
Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), professionally known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known ...
and Paz. In 2006, Ill Bill was featured on the single " Heavy Metal Kings" by
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
duo Jedi Mind Tricks, released through
Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...
. The single was released in a limited edition blue vinyl pressing, with every copy signed by group vocalist Paz. The duo came together after Ill Bill was featured on Jedi Mind Tricks single titled "Heavy Metal Kings" back in 2006. The pair released their self-titled debut collaboration album in 2011, '' Heavy Metal Kings''. More releases including ''Black God White Devil'' in 2017 and ''Heavy Metal Kings vs. DJ Muggs''.


Solo albums

Paz released his debut solo album '' Season of the Assassin'' on June 21, 2010, which peaked at number 25 on the US Billboard rap charts. The album featured guest appearances from
Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, or the Ice Man, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse, and has released several albums under the label and ...
,
Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), professionally known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known ...
,
Clipse Clipse, also known as the Clipse, is an American hip-hop, hip hop duo from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Formed in 1994, it consists of brothers No Malice, Gene "Malice" and Pusha T, Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during t ...
among others. Paz was working on his second solo album ''
God of the Serengeti ''God of the Serengeti'' is the second studio album by American rapper Vinnie Paz. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Enemy Soil Entertainment and The Orchard. Production was handled by C-Lance, JBL the Titan, Arcitype, Beatnick Dee, DJ Let ...
'', which featured production from
DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...
,
Psycho Les The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernandez ...
, C-Lance, among others. It was officially released on 22, October 2012. On June 21, Paz released the first video from the album, for the single "Cheesesteaks". The music video for "The Oracle" was released a month after the release of the album on 15, October 2012. His second extended play titled ''Carry On Tradition'' was released on October 29, 2013, via his own Enemy Soil record label.


Record label

Paz owns an independent record label, Enemy Soil.


Themes and personal views

Paz is known for his raw and gritty lyrical delivery. His lyrics frequently contain references to religion, war, politics,
mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
,
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
, and the
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
. His more recent albums such as ''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell'' show a more obvious approach to politics and world issues. This gritty style of Paz became apparent with the release of ''Violent by Design'', and has become progressively more defined since its release.Paz showed support towards
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...
during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, and has referred to the former congressman in his lyrics. Paz has a number of aliases, such as: "Ikon the Verbal Hologram", "Louie Doggs", "", "Pack Pistol Pazzy", "Hologram", "Paz", "Vinnie P", "The Pazmanian Devil", "Odrama Vin Laden", "Ikon the Python", and "Pazienza". Raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Paz is now a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, which plays a major role in much of his lyrics, often controversially, as on "
Heavenly Divine "Heavenly Divine" is a single by American hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, released in mid-1999 through the group's self-run label Superegular Recording Background The track's violin and background vocals are both sampled from "Andante" by Bobby ...
", where he rapped "I'm with Allah 'cause he chose me, I broke into the Vatican, strangled The Pope with his rosary."Gloss, Jason
Philly should have been its own state
. Philaflava. Accessed June 13, 2008.
Paz is also a heavy metal fan, and occasionally uses song titles and band names in JMT tracks and lyrics.


Discography

Studio albums * '' Season of the Assassin'' (2010) * ''
God of the Serengeti ''God of the Serengeti'' is the second studio album by American rapper Vinnie Paz. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Enemy Soil Entertainment and The Orchard. Production was handled by C-Lance, JBL the Titan, Arcitype, Beatnick Dee, DJ Let ...
'' (2012) * ''The Cornerstone of the Corner Store'' (2016) * ''The Pain Collector'' (2018) * ''As Above So Below'' (2020) * ''Burn Everything That Bears Your Name'' (2021) * ''Tortured in the Name of God's Unconditional Love'' (2022) * ''All Are Guests in the House of God'' (2023) * ''God Sent Vengeance'' (2025) Collaborative albums * '' Heavy Metal Kings'' (with
Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), professionally known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known ...
as Heavy Metal Kings) (2011) * ''Black God White Devil'' (with Ill Bill as Heavy Metal Kings) (2017) * ''Camouflage Regime'' (with
Tragedy Khadafi Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Hailing from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Marisa. ...
) (2019)


References


External links

* * *
Interview with Vinnie Paz in the Vermont Cynic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paz, Vinnie 1977 births American former Christians American male rappers American people of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent Army of the Pharaohs members Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism Horrorcore artists Italian former Christians Italian Muslims Italian emigrants to the United States Living people Musicians from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Rappers from Philadelphia Underground rappers Hardcore hip-hop artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians Jedi Mind Tricks members Muslims from Pennsylvania