Vinnie Paz has been a chief of hardcore Rap for almost 20 years, and it’s easy to see why: he knows how to serve his audience, and he works well in numbers. The Philadelphia native has been an active member of a dozen projects between the two groups he founded, Jedi Mind Tricks and Army of the Pharaohs, and his 2010 solo debut Season of the Assassin was further opportunity to hammer down blistering bars alongside a roster of other able lyricists. His sophomore solo set, God of the Serengeti, sticks to the script, and that’s not a bad thing.
Fans of Paz and Jedi Mind Tricks will recognize some of the group’s staples from the moment they peruse the tracklisting. Song titles such “Slum Chemist,” “And Your Blood Will Blot Out The Sun,” and “Shadow of the Guillotine” sound exactly how they read: ominous sound beds with searing strings and eerie chants and organs, obliterated by Vinnie Paz’s gut-knifing, multisyllabic rhymes. On “Cheesesteaks,” The Beatnuts’ Psycho Les serves a platter of menacing keys and horror film shrieks for Paz to spew his self-described “Hard Body Rap” while slipping in memories of losing his father. He also lends his brute rhymes to DJ Premier’s lends his signature scratches and granite-splitting drums on “The Oracle.” The album does lack some of the thoughtfulness and conspiracy theories that JMT listeners may be used to, but Paz takes a break from the hardcore posturing for the album-ending “You Can’t Be Neutral On A Moving Train,” a seven-minute diatribe about the historical oppression of minorities and the corruption of religion.”
Jedi Mind Tricks and Paz have a history of enlisting Rap legends to boost their records, and God of the Serengeti is no exception: the guests here deliver with cameos as big as their reputations. Mobb Deep contributes their Queens-bred brand of gutter on “Duel To The Death” over a beat that sounds like it could’ve been made by Havoc himself. “Problem Solver,” features some old-fashioned shit-talking from the rarely-seen Scarface. Tragedy Khadafi, R.A. The Rugged Man, Kool G Rap, and Paz’s Army of the Pharaohs crew also offer noteworthy verses.
Despite God of the Serengeti’s guest appearances, it still has a lack of variation of sound and subject matter that runs long at 18 songs and a bonus track. The disc could have trimmed a few songs and still delivered its point, but consistency speaks volumes, Vinnie Paz is likely giving loyal listeners what they want: as much gritty, venomous Rap as possible. For Paz’s second solo album, the mission is accomplished.
THIS ALBUM JUST SUCKS, IRRELEVANT RAPPER, HORRIBLE GUESTS, ONLY GOOD MOMENT WAS SCARFACE FEATURING. I DON’T SEE THE POINT OF MAKING THAT ALBUM AT ALL, ONE OF THE WORST PROJECTS THIS YEAR, THIS BOY IS FUCKING FRAUD WITH ALL HIS PYRAMIDS, HORRORCORE TRASH RAP AND EVERY STUPID TOPIC HE GOT COVERED. ONE STAR JUST FOR THE SCARFACE FEATURING.
Yo go listen to lil Wayne and Rick Ross all day with your bullshit chatter Paz is the truth the man represents what hop hop is supposed to be point blank period
I always tell children to speak with their inside voice.
paz 2 real for you go play some hipster kendrick lamamr meek mills bullshit
YEBO TAKES IT IN THE A HOLE
HEY YEBO…HEY WHY DON’T YOU DIE OF E. COLI IN FRONT OF YOUR MOMS WHILE SHE’S TAKING A SHIT OVER AN INCINERATOR…YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKING DOUBAG DELUXE!!!
Yebo can only relate to faggoot shiit!! Fucking sad!
Gtfo
Horrible guest? U says artist such as mobb deep and kool g rap, rugged man are horrible?
Do you even know what hip hop is? Go and listen to your faggot idol “drake”
I like Vinnie solo albums more than JMT albums at this point, honestly. I’m buying.
not quite as dope as I was hoping but its still good..some knocks some doesn’t….fuck C Lance by the way..the wackest producer out.
Do you have ears? The 3 songs he produced on the track are 3 of the best songs on this album…ya fuckin noodle
negative, you must not heard Tony Kenyattas beat or Preems or Havoc, or Lethal, so you and C Lance can get the fuck outta here, C Lance is responsible for fucking Madchilds album up, the last JMT album and every other motherfucking thing he touches.
Vinnie Paz is boring as fuck nowadays. JMT haven’t released anything worth talking about in at least 6 years–and that’s being generous–and Vin’s solo albums are wack.
Shame, because he was good back in the day, but his style is beyond dated at this point.
I agree, last thing i liked was Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell. Paz’s firt solo was aight, didnt care for this one. Paz use to be the Illest! now he sounds like a fucking angry dog 24/7…
Listened to this all the way through yesterday, it’s a solid album. It’s a definite improvement over Season of the Assassin. I agree with the reviewer on the point of the album running a bit to long at 18 tracks though. The beats and content are great, but without much variation you start to feel it before you hit track 18.
Vinnie Paz is a fucking beast. I loved this and every solo, Jedi, or AOTP ive ever heard. He never disappoints me. I love that raw aggression and passion he puts into every song
Great album!! Vinnie Paz is only getting better and smarter..
SOOOOOOOOO DOPE.
Unbelievably dope, my favourite album of 2012
Vinnie is ignorant as fuck. Hip-hop needs to get away from stuff like that IMO.
album of the year real rap
dope 5/5
5/5
“FEELS SO GOOD”
http://www.pmpworldwide.com/producer_detail.cfm?p=4C31F03E-FB9A-A1F5-2270DD30DAA97EE9&trackID=D495463C-B65E-68A8-B6BDDB0FBA9B7FD8&
GARBAGE LP
BRING 88 BACK
NO WONDER RAP IZ ALMOST DEAD…..
VIN RETIRE MANE U LOOK N SOUND HORRIBLE
SED DELTA OZ
best album of the year u hipster tell me a better album and don’t say Kendrick Lamar or meek mill cuz they wack
Kendrick kills this angry bish. LOL @ Vinnie Paz album of the year. Nas, scHoolBoy Q, Ab Soul, Kendrick, O.C., Rick Ross, I can go on and on were better than this piece of garbage.
THE HEIST>>>>
Yeah fuck all that hipster shit. This is a good album and I got a ton of love for Vinnie but way too many features. But to say this is top of 2012 is an injustice… that has to go to KA for “Grief Pedigree”
only a hipster would say KA is good dudes wack
who is rating this album below a four? eight doobies to the face…fuck that.
Last thing i liked was Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell. Paz’s firt solo was aight, didnt care for this one. Paz use to be the Illest! now he sounds like a fucking angry dog 24/7…
With Paz you know what you’re goin’ to get each time he drops something: hardcore rhymes and rugged beats. He never disappoints and this one is no exception.Plus the guests are dope and we got a blazin’ DJ Premier beat. I’m definitly feelin’ this one go and buy it.
Wasn’t really feeling this album, the only real highlight for me was the DJ Premier beat that was dope. The last album I really enjoyed from Paz was A history of violence.
5/5
It’s a 2 or 3 realistically
realistically your a hipster
the opposite of my name
Yag?
raw shit.
Props 5/5
only dude that’s dropping hardcore shit so deffo a 5
4.5/5
a couple of filler joints but this album is well put together and raw as hell.
only spineless jelly fish don’t dig this.
kendrick lamar aint got shitt on Vinnie.
Top 10 album for the year.
STOP TRYING TA BOX MAN….
MY 12 YO SON KO U VIN.
TRAIN N LEARN AND LOSE DA FAT !!!!!
ALII BX
he would problably knock booth you and your faggot ass son out.. with out feeling a got damn thing!
Come on, how you can say this album is not good? This album is fire. Although, I do think Season of the Assassin had better beats overall. All AOTP shit is ill, like people said, you know what you’re gonna get and it’s that hardcore shit!
paz man. ikon the hologram. fucking vinnie paz, daddy!
this man is a legend. so many years of consistency under his belt. it’s been a pleasure to watch his career unfold. i love how vinnie paz works with other artists. got big pun’s son here. mobb deep reunion joint that’s actually DOPE. scarface, tragedy, blaq poet. premier. i never have to worry about vinnie paz trying to sound sweet or try for this or that audience. he stays in his pocket and delivers. every time. some really touching words he put down on the song with pun’s baby boy.
“i would never want birth or fear as a father
i would never want the illness that killed my nana”
he just keeps rolling. times are changing. stoupe’s gone. industry is in the toilet. paz is still doing it. doing it all with his own label, forging on. i will say he is MUCH smarter than he leads on. he loves delivering the bash you in the face material but he is capable of really making you THINK and REFLECT with his music. i wouldn’t mind more of that. but vinnie will do what vinnie does. either way, he always delivers. thanks paz, LP is another layer to your cake. keep enjoying the success of your hard wark brother.
Album of the year… F*ck hipsters, go listen to Drake…
Blah Blah Blah
I dont own a Drake record and I still think this dude is corny & Boring
Hipsters can listen to Drake, Angry White Nerds can listen to Vinnie Paz, I’ll be playing the Saigon record. Peace
blah blah blah i shit my oants u sound like a hipster saigon that dude from entourage ? u deffo a hipster
Hipster or not…Saigon is dope dumbass.
Awesome
real hip hop heads- check these beats out- similar to El-P. solid stuff.
http://soundcloud.com/knowselfzone
I thought it was a solid album. But dont you clowns get tired of labeling people that dont share your opinion? I see “hipster” thrown around and the mind numbingly overused “Go listen to Lil Wayne (or Drake or any other artist u can think of)”. Is there ever going to be a point where we respect each others opinions or are we going to continue throwing around pointless and ignorant insults? Especially since everyone on here probably has different definitions of what a “hipster” actually is. Fuckin lame ass bums on this site, damn.
u fuckin hipster
This album was faaar from what I expected, I din’t think it could top SOTA, but I stand corrected.
BOX CUTTER PAZZY BEEN DOING IT FOR 20 YEARS AND HE CAN OUT RHYME HALF THESE MC’S OUT NOW PISTOLVANIA ALL DAY ALSO AR-AB TOP GOON HE GOT IT LOCKED DOWN
such a sick album
Nobody goes harder than vinnie PERIOD! he spits reality rap too. not that bubble gum trash on the radio. i met him at his show a few days ago, i have nothing but respect for the dude.
One of the great voices in Hip-Hop. The message hasn’t changed in decades but oh well. Solid hip-hop.
last one was betta.
shit goes hard. its kind of sad though that dude made his career off of biting wu tang and hes doin the wu tang sound better then them now a days
he never bit the wu, jedi mind tricks style and sound is way different than the clan
one of the best albums of 2012
Very tight joint. Liked it much better than Kendrick’s shit.
Realest Artist out! Boxcuttah pazzie
Very nice piece of music! I enjoyed this one much more than “Season of the Assassin”. Okay it has two or three skippable tracks, but overall it’s a very entertaining and enjoyable listen.
Vinnie has a talent in picking tight ass beats and fitting features. That elevates his record beyond the level of mediocrity, even though Vinnie has above average skills on the mic. This record is on heavy rotation right now. 4 Stars!
Standout Tracks:
Cheesesteaks
Jake LaMotta
Geometry of Business
Duel to the Death
Crime Library
Slum Chemist
P.S.: Interestingly one of the worst tracks of the album is the Premo cut (“The Oracle”), which expectably is one of the singles. Is it just me, or did Premo fell off? I think the LP with Bumpy Knuckles is kinda wack too. I can’t help myself, but i don’t feel his beats in the past two years.
Premo track is banana’s. Just straight raw.
The best of vinnie paz. great lyrics good collab’s some awesome beats all in 1 album. great album
TRASH.
Pistol grip pump rap! F- the haters!
box cutter pazi!
one of my favorite albums of 2012.
G, G, G, G-O-D OF THE SERENGETI
such dope dope tracks
one of the best albums of all time
instant banger
I’m not sure whether I preferred this or season of the assassin. In many ways, they could easily be the same album. He uses the same topics and spits with the same skill that matches many of the best. Yet, for me, the best track on that album was You can’t be neutral on a moving train. It had meaning, lyrical depth, clear research. I think Vinnie should spend more time on tracks like that where we can delve more into his controversial beliefs and really have something to think about. He’s so interesting on stuff like that, yet he spends most of his times battle-rapping and generally being violent. I think it wears thin after a while, nice to hear from him, but I believe his best move is towards politics and religion, something with substance.
classic!!!
Vinnie Paz does it again. Great album
5 stars
L’Essenza Dell’Underground Rap ! 😉
This album is Ebola with the black plague mixed in… it’s that sick! The album is a true legendary masterpiece. The album sounds like it was made in 1994 (which is a very good thin, by the way) and sat in some “do not open until the apocalypse” when hip-hop was in desperate need of a resurrection (pardon me Common and thank for the heads up Nas)
Somehow on each track, he knows exactly how to accompany it, I mean in most cases a rapper rhymes the way he feels like, whether or not he does the track or producer for that matter any justice, not to say that some producers don’t make any unlistenable beat for a world class mc (Big L’s debut, anyone?)I would write a much more thorough review… but this isn’t the format.