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Army of the Pharaohs

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Army Of The Pharaohs
OriginPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
GenresHip hop, Underground hip hop
Years active1998–present
LabelsBabygrande
Enemy Soil
MembersApathy
Blacastan
Block McCloud
Celph Titled
Crypt the Warchild (OuterSpace)
Demoz
Des Devious
Doap Nixon
Esoteric
Journalist
Jus Allah (Jedi Mind Tricks)
King Magnetic
King Syze
Planetary (OuterSpace)
Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks)
V-Zilla
Past members7L
Virtuoso
Bahamadia
Chief Kamachi
Faez One
Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind
Reef the Lost Cauze
Websitehttp://www.jmthiphop.com/

Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP) is a hip hop supergroup originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks MC Vinnie Paz in 1998. The group has strong links to other underground groups such as; OuterSpace, Snowgoons, La Coka Nostra and Jedi Mind Tricks. It has changed several times ever since its formation.[1]

Paz formed the outfit in the late 1990s with the original roster of Bahamadia, Chief Kamachi, Virtuoso, 7L & Esoteric, plus Jedi Mind Tricks' other members Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind and Jus Allah. 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.[2] After a couple of successful Jedi Mind Tricks albums and a new deal with Babygrande by 2003, Paz resurrected the crew, adding OuterSpace, Celph Titled, Reef the Lost Cauze, King Syze, Des Devious, Faez One, and Apathy; however, Bahamadia, Virtuoso, and Jus Allah had defected from the group. Babygrande issued their "Tear It Down" 12" and first album, The Torture Papers, in 2006. The 2007 follow-up album, Ritual of Battle, saw JMT protégés Doap Nixon and Demoz joining the Pharaohs, as well as a return by Jus Allah.[3]

Recording history

The original incarnation of the group (1998 - 2003)

The original incarnation of the group included five MCs: Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia, along with Jedi Mind Tricks producer DJ 7L (of 7L & Esoteric fame). The group released their debut EP/single "The Five Perfect Exertions b/w War Ensemble" in 1998.[4] Both tracks were later included on Jedi Minds Tricks' 2000 album Violent by Design; with "The Five Perfect Exertions" being remixed into "Exertions Remix", and both "Exertions" and "War Ensemble" shedding Chief Kamachi's appearance. The Army Of The Pharaohs project was put on the back-burner while JMT's career took off.[5] In 2003, AOTP released their debut compilation album Rare Shit, Collabos and Freestyles.[6] It contained various tracks from members of the group.[7]

Torture Papers & Ritual of Battle (2004 - 2007)

The group did not return until 2005, without Virtuoso and Bahamadia. The group was now composed of Paz, Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, OuterSpace, Apathy, Celph Titled, Reef The Lost Cauze, Des Devious, Faez One and King Syze. After years of anticipation, the group recorded its first album, The Torture Papers.[8] It was released in March 2006 on Babygrande Records. The album was produced by AOTP affiliates such as DC the MIDI Alien, Undefined, Beyonder, Loptimist, and German producer Shuko. The album includes the singles "Tear It Down" and "Battle Cry", the former having a music video. The latter was a posse cut with nine of the group's then ten members. The album entered the top 50 on Billboard's Top Independent Album chart, and reached #42 on the magazine's Heatseekers chart. An unofficial continuation of The Torture Papers soon began circulating around the Internet called The Bonus Papers. It was composed of tracks not released on the album.

The group's second album, Ritual of Battle, was released on September 25, 2007. Ritual of Battle's single, "Bloody Tears", used a sample taken from the soundtrack of the video game series Castlevania. The group added four new members for the album: Jedi Mind Tricks member Jus Allah, Doap Nixon, Demoz and King Magnetic. Apathy was not on Ritual of Battle as he was working on another project with Styles Of Beyond.[9]

The Unholy Terror (2008 - 2010)

On May 17, 2009, Apathy mentioned on his Myspace blog that a new AOTP album was completely finished. The Unholy Terror was released on March 30, 2010.[10] This album marked the return of Apathy and the addition of new AOTP members, Block McCloud and Journalist. Two songs, "Godzilla" and "Contra Mantra", were released before the album. This album also marked the departure of Chief Kamachi who left the group because of business issues.

In Death Reborn (2011 - present)

On December 27, 2011, Paz announced on his Facebook page, "Army of the Pharaohs - In Death Reborn - 2012".[11] Early in 2012, Houston underground MC V-Zilla and Connecticut's Blacastan (Demigodz) were added to the group. Both artists have made names for themselves with their features and album releases in 2012. It has been said that the album will now be released in 2013 or later. Reef the Lost Cauze will not appear on the fourth album of the group.[12] The Army Of The Pharaohs will reunite for their fourth LP, In Death Reborn.[13] In April 2013, the official Facebook page of Army of the Pharaohs posted "New album is not finished. Don't know when it will be finished. Will let you know when there's a release date. No need for further questions."[14] On 27 June 2013, AOTP frontman; Vinnie Paz tweeted "New solo EP. New Heavy Metal Kings. New Army of the Pharaohs. all coming within the next year."[15]

On 4, October 2013, Apathy shared; "Every AOTP album we've done in the past, we all handed in our verses via email and weren't too hands on with. This one is different. Every day we've been emailing each other, going over songs... picking beats and showing each other our verses. This might be the best Pharoah album yet. It definitely is the illest, lyrically. We're all having brotherly competition and trying to murder each other on these songs. It's great. Definite "A" game." [16]

On November 30, 2013, Vinnie Paz revealed that two new Army Of The Pharaohs albums would be released in 2014. In Death Reborn is slated for an April release, the second LP is expected to drop in November.[17]

Album appearances

Rapper The Torture Papers (2006) Ritual of Battle (2007) The Unholy Terror (2010) In Death Reborn (2014)
Vinnie Paz Yes Yes Yes Yes
Apathy Yes No Yes Yes
Blacastan No No No Yes
Block McCloud No No Yes Yes
Celph Titled Yes Yes Yes Yes
Chief Kamachi Yes Yes No No
Crypt the Warchild Yes Yes Yes Yes
Demoz No Yes Yes Yes
Des Devious Yes Yes Yes Yes
Doap Nixon No Yes Yes Yes
Esoteric Yes Yes Yes Yes
Faez One Yes No No No
Journalist No No Yes Yes
Jus Allah No Yes Yes Un­known
King Magnetic No Yes Yes Yes
King Syze Yes Yes Yes Yes
Planetary Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reef the Lost Cauze Yes Yes Yes Un­known
V-Zilla No No No Yes

Discography

Albums

EPs

Compilations

Mixtapes

References

  1. ^ Music Thread | Celph Titled and Buckwild
  2. ^ in.com
  3. ^ Army of the Pharoahs on Answers Written by Cyril Cordor, Rovi
  4. ^ That Realness, Army of the Pharaohs EP
  5. ^ Army of the Pharaohs on Last.FM
  6. ^ http://www.discogs.com/Army-Of-The-Pharaohs-Rare-Shit-Collabos-and-Freestyles/release/810368
  7. ^ XHELLZ
  8. ^ Underground Hip Hop Store
  9. ^ JMTHIPHOP
  10. ^ Conspiracy Worldwide Radio October 2010 Uncensored Interview with Celph Titled
  11. ^ http://www.facebook.com/shariflacey/posts/4226755398087?comment_id=4066555&offset=0&total_comments=122
  12. ^ http://www.facebook.com/shariflacey/posts/4226755398087?comment_id=4066555&offset=0&total_comments=122
  13. ^ Planetary and Paz are recording
  14. ^ AOTP
  15. ^ Vinnie Paz tweets (Status:350162819003588608) via:Twitter
  16. ^ Apathy updates on In Death Reborn album "Something Different" (4th October 2013)
  17. ^ Lukas Trs (December 1, 2014). "Army Of The Pharaohs To Release Two New Albums In 2014". HipHopLT.com.
  18. ^ "Army Of The Pharaohs - The Unholy Terror - Audio CD - Underground Hip Hop - Store". Underground Hip Hop. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  19. ^ "Army Of The Pharaohs - In Death Reborn originally due 2012 - Still not released -". Hip Hop Site. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  20. ^ That Realness, Army of the Pharaohs EP
  21. ^ http://www.discogs.com/Army-Of-The-Pharaohs-Rare-Shit-Collabos-and-Freestyles/release/810368
  22. ^ Army Pharaohs - Bonus Papers
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