[ hip-hop ]

Since 1996, incendiary Philly hip-hoppers Jedi Mind Tricks have existed in that dangerous no-man's land between Public Enemy's frank consciousness and X Clan's insistent ire.

Vinnie Paz, Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Paz's longtime producer and collaborator, who officially left the group he co-founded last September), DJ Kwestion and Jus Allah (a Camden, N.J., MC who's been in and out of the fold since 1999) have spoken up about blood, religion and politics with the righteous rage of a Bible Belt preacher.

"I think it's necessary to wear your heart on your sleeve," says Paz, who takes pride in his hometown's hip-hop traditions. ("Pop Art Records. Tuff Crew. Hilltop Hustlers.") When he says he'll never, ever leave Philly, it sounds like it could be either a promise or a threat.

Then again, most things could qualify as scare tactics when coming from Jedi Mind Tricks. Their albums are smart, blunt takedowns: 2003's Visions of Gandhi is rap's version of Woody Allen's Love and Death, with pissed-off-sounding guest stars like Kool G Rap and a sampled Mike Tyson talking about what it means to be black in America. Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell, from '06, is most critical of the Vietnam War ("Uncommon Valor") and slave labor issues ("Shadow Business"). 2008's History of Violence took on the reasons we fight, on the streets and abroad.

"I can't pick a favorite amongst our old stuff. Records are like girlfriends: You always like the one you're with at the present time the most," he laughs. Right now, the belle of the Jedi Mind Tricks ball is Violence Begets Violence, released last October, which lets go of larger issues (for the most part) to focus on personal politics.

Paz, who was raised Catholic but converted to Islam in recent years, gives Christianity a drubbing on "Fuck Ya Life" and throughout the new album. On "When Crows Descend Upon You," Paz declares he's no longer part of "God's colony." "Everyone is a walking contradiction to some degree," he says. "There's a definite line that separates organized religion and spirituality. Do you need a middleman to have a relationship with God? I don't know. These are things that I — and I believe a lot of people — think about. So I'm just throwing things out there to plant seeds in people's minds."

That's pretty much been the JMT playbook from the beginning. "We don't fix what isn't broken, you know," laughs Paz. "Jus and I picked a bunch of beats that we loved, and started writing. Making songs. Writing hooks. Kwest was coming up with the scratches. That's the process. ...We just let things take their natural course."

For Stoupe — Paz's longtime producer, beatmaker and sonic brother in arms — the natural course meant leaving the group shortly before Violence Begets Violence, the first of the seven Jedi Mind Tricks full-lengths and various EPs he did not produce. Those who frequent hip-hop blogs have read that Stoupe had become distanced and distracted.

"It is what it is," says Paz. "Stoupe's thinking the world is against him, thinking we are against him. There was a slow work rate. Constant complaining. ... He's my brother, and I love him, but until he comes to his senses and understands that we're not gonna cater to that type of shit anymore, it's not gonna work."

Stoupe's loss of enthusiasm was a wake-up call. "People expect a certain level of quality from us," says Paz. "That's not something we take lightly. It's not a hobby. ... To make music, or art in general, with someone who's lost their passion is counterproductive. I'm not trying to go backwards. I'm trying to evolve. The younger producers [on Violence Begets Violence] brought a fire to the project that's been missing for a long time. They lit a fire under Jus and I. We felt like we were kids again making this record. It felt like back in the day for us."

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net) (@adamorosi)

Sat., Feb., 4, 8 p.m., $18-$20, with Diabolic and B. Lynch, Union Transfer, 1024 Spring Garden St., 215-232-2100, r5productions.com.