Search - Jedi Mind Tricks :: Visions of Gandhi

A Very Good Album That Is Either Underrated or Overrated By

Mike J | Central Coast, CA United States | 08/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After reading through several reviews of Visions of Gandhi, I took it upon myself to attempt to write an unbiased review as there didn't appear to be one below. All the reviewers either seem to be complete J.M.T. junkies that would give 5 stars to them off of principal alone or fans of Violent By Design that seem to hate this album either because Jus Allah left or it's just too different. For someone who is neither swayed by public opinon or dependent on past history to determine my appreciation of a new release, I found Visions of Gandhi quite satisfying.



First, let's get the obvious out of the way. After recording Violent By Design, there was a falling out between prior member Jus Allah and Vinnie Paz over what have been termed "creative differences". In all honesty, with the proponderance of guest appearances over both V.B.D. and JMT's first album Psychosocial, it would be difficult to see JMT as much more than a loose collective of violently likeminded emcees at best. While some guests continue to make valuable contribuitions, some are only contribute a single verse to the collective voices on these albums. And while Jus' melodic voice tempered Vinnie Paz's angry tirades, it should be noted that Visions of Gandhi is nicely peppered with guest appearances that help to provide the same effect.



Next, the complaints about the content. We all need to try to be realistic about the content here. Yes, Vinnie is ultraviolent, foulmouthed, and amped beyond belief on this release. He's also hysterically funny if you take the time to appreciate the humor in what he says. And Vinnie being violent is nothing new, (hint hint - the last album was called "Violent By Design", remember?). The sooner everyone recognizes that the days of Psychosocial are gone, the sooner we can all move on and appreciate what JMT still offers. That was an experiment and was clearly indicated to be so upon it's original release. While Vinnie may seem to have gone overboard here, I for one, enjoy that JMT takes the chance of being politically incorrect and that there is very little out on the market that sounds like this lyrically.



Finally, the biggest beef appears to be over production. Yes, this album sounds different from Violent By Design. Guess what else? It sounds different than anything else ever released as well. Is this a bad thing? Why would anyone condemn progression as a negative as opposed to a positive. The light tone of the, dare I say, BRILLIANT work by Stoupe on this album is the ultimate companion to Vinnie's enhanced wrath. Imagine a Beauty and the Beast type marriage between brutal lyrics and lush production being a problem. I don't understand this complaint.



The most overlooked aspect of this album may be the quality guest appearances contained within. While JMT stalwarts like Outerspace and Non-phixion continue to please, there are three key appearances that make the album worth the purchase price alone. The verses contributed by Tragedy Khadfi represent some of the strongest of his long and mostly strong lyrical career. As always, it is truly a joy for Kool G Rap to even spit a mediocre verse. Here he bludgeons the listener while tag teaming the aptly named "Animal Rap" with Vinnie. But the highlight of the album has to be Ras Kass' guest appearance recorded while he was on the run from his upcoming jail sentence. Being the Lakers fan that I am, his referrences to watching other emcees "flop like Vlade Divac" and another unmetionable comment about Mike Bibby still have me hitting the rewind button 3 years later.



If you don't like change, progression, or violence, I would not encourage you to buy this album. It is not intended for the spoon fed. But if you are capable of developing your own opinion and are willing to listen with an open mind, you will find this album a source of repeated listenings. Is it as experimental as Psychosocial? Of course not. Is it as original as Violent By Design? No, it is a continuation of that album. Is it an improvement? Yes. This album most decidedly took a step in a slightly different direction in production without compromising the original intent of JMT."

From a JMT supporter -- Don't Believe the Hype

Murf | South CT | 02/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At times, I have to be disappointed in music, especially when trends tend to affect my favorite group in ways that don't seem clear. In this case, Jedi Mind Tricks, which has made some incredible music, left me confused by making an album rife with unprecedented spitefulness, until I really started to listen deeply. At that point, I was able to put aside my feelings of betrayal (as I was hoping that Jedi Mind would continue stimulating me as they had with Violent by Design), and put this whole matter into perspective.

I thought about other groups, other bands, with albums that make us all cringe as if we'd just bitten some rotten s#--. This made me want to explore Visions of Ghandi, which at times is uncomfortable for the listener, especially one who has become accustomed to hearing a certain vibe from an artist. It's tough to understand Vinnie Paz if we continue to think of him only as Ikon because he is a complex individual. In this album, the graphic sadism overwhelms the listener. Paz comes right out with it -- hardcore, heavy metal, images of massacres -- and illustrates the truth of our time, through his lens. David Koresh, Hannibal Lektor -- names which evoke psychopathic images of calmness amid calamitous stimuli -- are but parts of the story in Visions of Ghandi. What these two men have in common are followers, those acolytes who needed a messiah of a vengeful nature. Is this what we have to think of Jedi Mind Tricks, that the hiphop group wants to have us kneeling before Vinnie Paz? No. The answer to this question is not even close to affirmative. In fact, we should view this album as a follow up not to Violent by Design, but to Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground. Jedi Mind Tricks has evolved into an existential state of musical achievement, whereby our discomfort signals that we all have in us the same spiteful propensities inspired within the lyrics of Vinnie Paz. Specific to those aforementioned psychopaths and Dostoevsky, we might infer that Paz's lyrical content is in a different realm from all other hip hop - written from the perspective of others. Timothy McVeigh and the Tooth Fairy come instantly to mind as those who would have written what Vinnie Paz spits, making us relive fear in all its forums, at precisely the moment when terrorism is the new form of self expression in this world.

Visions of Ghandi is not necessarily to be avoided for its malediction, as only half the battle is in the lyrics. The other half is our own lyrical expression - how do we all deal with our most intense desires and feelings of ill will? Listening to Jedi Mind Tricks in this capacity serves us with the lessons of hip hop that are underappreciated by corporate rap. These lessons need a teacher -- KRS, where are you?

Five stars for delving into, even creating a new consciousness, for being a groundbreaker in hip hop -- we'll see where we can go from it."

Keep'n it real in a time of 50 Cent.

Mo | Los Angeles, Cali | 07/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is sick. It's been in rotation for about 3 months in my car. Just playing it non-stop. With the departure of Jus Allah, the incredible duo Vinnie Paz (Ikon the Hologram) and the talented Stoupe on the 1, 2's have risen up and destroyed everything you know about battle rapping and got the beats and energy to get you up and ready to mess shtit up. Every track get's your blood flowing and pumped. Becareful when driving and listening to track 14. Kublai Khan or any of the track for that matter because you will drive insanely (even though it's fun). Stoupe is an unbelievable producer and Vinnie Paz's vocals and flows are killer. Just sick. If you like real hip hop then get this. If you like talentless rappers then make sure to check out 50 Cent and G-Unit otherwise get this and make sure to check Immortal Technique as well. This shi*t is just sick."