Jedi Mind Tricks

Anyone wearing a stormtrooper uniform to Jedi Mind Tricks concert is in for a big shock: The indie hip-hop outfit's name couldn't be any more of a misnomer. Since 1996, Vinnie Paz has led his group time and time again through vicious raps about suicide, third-world countries, and general injustices with his strep-throat delivery. While album titles like A History Of Violence and Legacy Of Blood paint a striking mental picture, JMT's songs frequently create a more stirring mood, like "Razorblade Salvation," off 2006's Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell, which tells the tale of a grisly suicide offset with church organs, peaceful woodwinds, and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden singing backup. The group's latest effort, 2011's Violence Begets Violence—the first on its own Enemy Soil label—sees the group part ways with longtime producer Stoupe.

Updated 01/11/2012