Legacy of Blood in Bloomington, MN

With violent imagery so rampant in the past decade of
hip-hop
, the fact that
Jedi Mind Tricks
' third album manages a cover shot that actually succeeds in shocking is either impressive or disturbing, depending on your disposition. Same goes for
Vinnie Paz
's tougher-than-leather flow that hollers down "faggots" and paints pictures of ultra-violence in a way that would make
A Clockwork Orange
seem almost friendly by comparison. This is hard music for hard times, and it makes no concessions to the blinged-out mainstream on
JMT
's left flank, nor the conscious
emo
-
rap
on the right. But walking the middle ground, he declares "I don't want to die anymore/I don't want to cry anymore/Don't want to lie anymore...I just want y'all to be dead" on
"The Worst,"
and it's hard to sympathize. Producer
Stoupe
's minor-key beat suites chime melodically, yet feature tempos just quick enough to keep up with
Paz
's manic energy. In fact, keeping up with
gets exhausting at points, but guest MCs
Des Devious
,
Sean Price
, and
Killah Priest
keep up nicely with the absolutely stunning rhymes by
GZA
on both versions of
"On the Eve of War,"
and actually have a calming effect (despite the album's hokiest beat on the main version of the cut). Though probably too aggressive for anyone old enough to clearly remember
's classic 2000 album,
Violent By Design
Legacy of Blood
is not without its moments. But after five years,
should have found at least one more subject to rhyme about. ~ Joshua Glazer