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 underground hip-hop collectives Army of the Pharaohs and Demigodz, as well as being 2/3 of Czarface along with Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck.
Felipe Andres Coronel, better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics, from a radical left-wing perspective.
William Braunstein, 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 for his diverse lyrics and as the producer, founder and CEO of Uncle Howie Records. His brother Ron is rapper and producer Necro.
Devil's Night is the debut studio album by American hip-hop supergroup D12. It was released on June 19, 2001, by Shady Records and Interscope Records. It was also the first album to be released on Shady Records, although the label had been active since 1999. Production was primarily handled by Eminem and Dr. Dre, with contributions by Mr. Porter, DJ Head, and Jeff Bass. The album features guest appearances by Obie Trice, Truth Hurts, and Dina Rae.
Revolutionary Vol. 2 is the second studio album by American rapper Immortal Technique. It was released on November 18, 2003, through Viper Records, serving as a sequel to his 2001 debut Revolutionary Vol. 1. Recording sessions took place at Viper Studios in New York. Production was handled by SouthPaw, Daneja, Domingo, Metaphysics, Omen and 44 Caliber, with Jonathan Stuart and Immortal Technique serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Mumia Abu-Jamal, Akir, C-Rayz Walz, Diabolic, Jean Grae, Loucipher, Poison Pen, Pumpkinhead and Tonedeff.
Seamus Padraic Ryan, better known by his stage name Esoteric, is a Boston-based underground hip-hop artist. Esoteric is half of the hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric, a third of Czarface and is a member of underground hip-hop collectives Army of the Pharaohs and Demigodz. He started his solo career in 2007.
Akir is an American hip hop recording artist, producer, songwriter activist and, teaching artist known for his complex lyrics and social-political content. His name is an acronym for "Always Keep It Real".
The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness is the debut album of underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, consisting of rapper Vinnie Paz and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. The original version of the album was released in 1997, limited to 1,000 copies on vinyl by Superegular Records, and was re-released on CD in 2003 on Babygrande Records with six bonus tracks, featuring songs recorded by the group before their debut release. It has been a common misconception that the vinyl version was re-issued in 2001, possibly because the back of the vinyl release says "2001 Superegular." The album’s often esoteric lyrics focus on conspiracy theories, astronomy, religion, and violence, themes that JMT would expand on in later albums. The album was inspired by a lot of "crazy books" mentioned by Vinnie Paz in an interview, and is named after one of those books, a 1,900-page tome entitled "Matrix III - The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electromagnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness,” by Valdamar Valerian.
James Bostick, better known by his stage name Jus Allah, is an American rapper from Camden, New Jersey. He is best known for being a former member of Philadelphia-based hip hop groups Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) and Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP).
Vincenzo Luviner, better known as Vinnie Paz, is an Italian-born American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He is also the frontman of the hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs.
Blue Sky Black Death was a production duo based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It consisted of Ryan Maguire, better known by his stage name Kingston, and Ian Taggart, better known by his stage name Young God, or, later, Televangel. They are known principally for their hip hop and instrumental music, made with a mixture of live instrumentation and sampling. Their name is "a skydiving phrase alluding to beauty and death."
Street Hop is the fourth studio album by American rapper Royce da 5'9", released in the United States on October 20, 2009, on One Records. It is the follow-up to his previous album Independent's Day (2005). At the release of Success Is Certain, Street Hop sold approximately 24,000 units in the United States via HitsDailyDouble. Despite being formally released in 2009, the singles "Shake This" and "Part of Me" were leaked online in late 2008.
"Animal Rap" is the lead single by hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks from their third album Visions of Gandhi (2003). The first vinyl pressing was released in 2002 and the CD pressing was released in 2003. The single was the group's first release on Babygrande Records. There are two versions of the song; "Animal Rap " and "Animal Rap "—both referencing the rivalry between the boxers. The former features an intense orchestral sample, matched with Mike Tyson interview clips, and the latter features a melancholy guitar loop, matched with a light, sung vocal sample.
The 3rd World is the third studio album by American rapper Immortal Technique. It was released on June 24, 2008, through Viper Records, following a five-year absence since Revolutionary Vol. 2. Recording sessions took place at Viper Studios in New York. Production was handled by DJ Green Lantern, SouthPaw, Shuko, Bronze Nazareth, Buckwild, DJ G.I. Joe, Fyre Dept., Metaphysics, Scram Jones, Sick Jacken, Spictacular, and Immortal Technique himself, who also served as executive producer together with Jonathan Stuart. It features guest appearances from Chino XL, Crooked I, Cynic, Da Circle, Diabolic, J.Arch, Maya Azucena, Mojo The Cinematic, Poison Pen, Ras Kass, Sick Jacken, Swave Sevah, Temperamento and Veneno.
A History of Violence is the sixth studio album by Philadelphia hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, released on November 11, 2008 on Babygrande Records. 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: Sour Diesel, Jedi Mind Tricks presents King Syze: The Labor Union, and Jedi Mind Tricks presents OuterSpace: God's Fury. The album's first single Monolith was released on October 2, 2008. Their second single Godflesh was released on their website and it featured King Magnetic and Block McCloud. The album features former Jedi Mind Tricks member Jus Allah's return to the group.
"Devil in a New Dress" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and rapper Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). Originally released through West's GOOD Friday initiative, a weekly free music giveaway started by the rapper to promote My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, it later appeared on the album with an added guitar solo by producer Mike Dean and an additional guest verse featuring rapper Rick Ross. "Devil in a New Dress" was produced by Bink. It was the only song on the album not to be produced by West. The song samples Smokey Robinson's slow jam recording "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", and is themed lyrically to lust and heartache. Both the topics of love and religion serve as the main inspiration to the song.
Sean Edward George, known under the stage name Diabolic, is an American rapper. He started receiving fame after his verse on Immortal Technique's song "Dance with the Devil". He is also a well-known battle rapper who has battled with rappers such as Immortal Technique, MC Jin, Mecca, Iron Solomon and Rhymefest, among others. He released The Foul Play Mixtape in October 2006.
Liar & a Thief is the debut album by American rapper Diabolic. It was released by Viper Records on April 6, 2010 and the album peaked on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at #76 on 24 April 2010. The album features guests such as Immortal Technique, Ill Bill, Vinnie Paz, Deadly Hunta, Nate Augustus, and Canibus with production handled entirely by Engineer with the exception of track 3, which is produced by John Otto of Limp Bizkit on live drums. The album won 2010 HHUG Best Album of the Year award.
The Martyr is a compilation album by rapper Immortal Technique, released on October 27, 2011 through free digital download on ViperRecords.com. It is a collection of previously unreleased songs. The Martyr had 200,000 downloads on its first day, and 1,000,000 in its first week through his independent label, Viper Records.
"Dance with the Devil" is a song by American rapper Immortal Technique from his debut studio album Revolutionary Vol. 1 (2001).
