Army of the Pharaohs

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Army of the Pharaohs
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre(s) Hip Hop
Hardcore rap
Years active 1998 – Present
Label(s) Babygrande Records
Members
7L
Apathy
Celph Titled
Chief Kamachi
Crypt the Warchild (Outerspace)
Demoz
Des Devious
Doap Nixon
Esoteric
King Magnetic
Jus Allah
King Syze
Planetary (Outerspace)
Reef the Lost Cauze
Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks)
Former members
Virtuoso
Bahamadia
Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind
Faez One

Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP) is a Hip Hop supergroup originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks MC Vinnie Paz in 1998. From the beginning, Paz had envisioned the group as a loose collaboration between the biggest names in East Coast Underground hip hop, very similar to the original Wu-Tang Clan.


Contents

[edit] Recording history

The original incarnation of the group included five MCs: Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia, along with JMT producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. The group released their debut EP/single "The Five Perfect Exertions" b/w "War Ensemble" in 1998. Both tracks were later included on JMT's 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.


The group wouldn't return until 2005, resurrected with its second incarnation, excluding Virtuoso and Bahamadia, and now featuring Paz, Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Outerspace, Apathy, Celph Titled, Reef the Lost Cauze, Des Devious, Faez One and King Syze. After years of anticipation, the newly reformed group recorded their debut album, The Torture Papers, finally released in March 2006 on Babygrande Records. The album was produced by AOTP affiliates such as 7L, DC the MIDI Alien, Undefined, Beyonder, Loptimist, Apathy and German producer Shuko. The album featured the single "Tear It Down" b/w "Battle Cry", the former featuring a music video, and the latter being a posse cut featuring nine of the group's ten emcees. The album debuted in the top 50 on Billboard's Top Independent Album chart, and hit #42 on the magazine's Heatseekers chart. There is also a bootleg continuation of The Torture Papers circulating around the internet called The Bonus Papers, which is composed entirely of tracks not released on the album. It is thought some songs didn't fit the artistic design of the album while others were known to have been extremely political and were possibly held back to reduce controversy. More controversy has been produced by the generally offensive lyrics of the group.

The group recently completed their second album, titled Ritual of Battle, released on September 25, 2007. The group added four new members for the album, former Jedi Mind Tricks member Jus Allah, Doap Nixon, Demoz and King Magnetic.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Group releases

Album information
"The Five Perfect Exertions"
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Superegular Recordings
  • B-Side: "War Ensemble"
Rare Shit, Collabos and Freestyles (Compilation mixtape)
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: N/A
The Torture Papers
Ritual of Battle

[edit] Jedi Mind Tricks albums

Album information
The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness
Violent by Design
Visions of Gandhi
Legacy of Blood
Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell

[edit] 7L & Esoteric albums

Album information
The Soul Purpose
  • Released: July 10, 2001
  • Label: Landspeed Records
  • Singles: "Speaking Real Words", "Mic Mastery"/"Operating Correctly"
Dangerous Connection
  • Released: October 8, 2002
  • Label: Landspeed Records
  • Singles: "Herb"/"Rules of Engagement", "Watch Me"/"Word Association"
DC2: Bars of Death
A New Dope

[edit] Apathy albums

Album information
Eastern Philosophy
No Place Like Chrome (With Celph Titled)

[edit] Celph Titled albums

Album information
The Gatalog: A Collection Of Chaos
No Place Like Chrome (With Apathy)

[edit] Chief Kamachi albums

Album information
Cult Status
  • Released: July 27, 2004
  • Label: Eastern Conference Records
  • Singles: "The Best"/"The Queen"/"#13"
Black Candles (with the Juju Mob)
  • Released: May 17, 2005
  • Label: Eastern Conference Records
  • Singles: "No Chorus"/"My Squad"/"This"
Concrete Gospel

[edit] King Syze albums

Album information
Syzemology
  • Released: June 13, 2006
  • Label: Brick Records
  • Singles: "Spittin' Heavy"/"Band of Brothers"

[edit] Outerspace albums

Album information
Jedi Mind Tricks presents: Outerspace
Blood & Ashes
Blood Brothers

[edit] Reef the Lost Cauze albums

Album information
The High Life
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Black Maverick Entertainment Group, Inc.
  • Singles:
Invisible Empire
Feast or Famine
  • Released: September 20, 2005
  • Label: Eastern Conference Records
  • Singles: "Fair One"/"Give It Up"/Commander in Chief"

[edit] External links

[edit] AOTP Interview Series

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Vinnie Paz · Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind · Jus Allah
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EPs/Singles
Collaborative albums
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