Army of the Pharaohs fans had to wait four long years before their newest project, In Death Reborn, hit stores on April 22nd. But if you’ve been doing it as well as them for 14 years, it’s no sweat to pick up right you left off. Starting with Jedi Mind Tricks front-man Vinnie Paz and Esoteric in 1998, the group has gone on to add a bevy of equally deft emcees such as Apathy, Celph Titled, King Syze, Reef the Lost Cauze, and Outerspace.
Representing some of the most attitude driven and vicious Hip-Hop in the independent leagues, Army Of The Pharaohs held no punches in their fourth studio album. We had the opportunity to talk to Vinnie and Esoteric about longevity in the game for them, especially being a part of a larger group than most, and still getting into fights. Check out our interview below and a stream of In Death Reborn at the end. You can buy your copy on iTunes right HERE.
It’s been four long years for Army fans since your last album. Were you guys focusing on solo careers and decided it was time to take out the whackness in Hip-Hop altogether?
Esoteric: It’s been 4 since the last Pharaohs album but as a collective, we don’t take days off. During that 4 year stretch you had Vinnie Paz doing the Heavy Metal Kings project with ILL BILL, I was putting in work with Inspectah Deck and 7L with the CZARFACE album, Apathy and Celph were at the helm of the Demigodz project… Outerspace, Reef dropped projects, everybody has been busy, and we usually pop up on each other’s albums… so you never really get a chance to catch your breath with us, Pharaoh album or not.
Vinnie: I don’t think it was anything that deliberate. it was just time.
Explain the album title and artwork please. It gives me some post-apocalyptic/Fallout vibes.
Vinnie: In Death Reborn. it’s really just another way of saying “destroy and rebuild.” In this case, Hip-Hop.
Do you find it easier or harder to pick beats to rap over as a group? Do you each have your own preferences for the feel for a beat or is it usually easy since you have all worked together so many times?
Esoteric: We know what we like. In most cases we let Vinnie filter the tracks to us from his stable of producers, and then we decide what is what. Usually if something doesn’t grab me immediately it doesn’t matter because I know that there are fans out there that will dig it, and we don’t all have to rap on every track….we’re an ugly group haha, but that’s the beauty of AOTP…you get a lot of different flavors, voices, and tastes…which I like to think draws in a bigger fan base.
Vinnie: We very rarely disagree over production.
How did you come up with the names of these tracks like “God Particle” and “Ninkyo Dantai?”
Vinnie: Apathy mentioned the “God Particle” in his rhyme, and it just fit. “Ninkyo Dantai” came from my obsession with the Yakuza.
More than anything I feel like you guys just work together really well and have a lot of fun performing live together. What is it about working with AOTP members that you can’t get from working with anyone else? What keeps your guys’ chemistry so strong?
Esoteric: We all come from the same underground 90’s era…we have all paid similar dues and have fought the same fights on an indie level. We all studied under Wu-Tang and Gang Starr…it’s a brotherhood man, and staying with the music biz is a fight…and a lot of those victories we’ve had we’ve enjoyed together, which strengthens us.
Vinnie: A lot of us have been friends 15-16 years, outside of music. I think that carries over into the music.
I know some of you don’t listen to Heavy Metal but have you guys ever considered touring with a band like Iron Maiden or Metallica?
Vinnie: If I could tour with Maiden or Metallica, I wouldn’t be hanging around and making music with THESE miscreants! ha.
A lot of these tracks make me think of you guys as supernatural superheroes with vicious lyrical skills. But if you guys had to pick a superpower and a villain to fight, what what they be?
Esoteric: My superpower would allow me to instantly appear at the front door of an internet troll and disintegrate him and his house, then be home in time for Jeopardy. My arch villain would be the guy who keeps sending me Facebook invites to cookouts that are 340,000 miles away.
Vinnie: I’d be Dr. Strange. The villain? Probably Wilson Fisk. He’s a goon.
Every time I hear a AOTP track or a solo track from any of its members, I think, “I would never want to piss these guys off so I don’t have to fight them.” Do you guys get in fights often with punks who try to step up or are those days long gone?
Esoteric: For me these days, I only get into fights when I’m balling with people who call p*ssy fouls and treat pick up basketball like it’s the Final Four.
Vinnie: Haha. I just mind my own business, man. I expect other people to do the same.
You guys still rap with the same anger/passion you always had. Is the motivation to rap with that energy the same as when you started or has it changed to something else?
Esoteric: My motivation is similar to what it started out as: to get respect and make a living doing what I love.
Vinnie: My mother and son are my motivation. I’ll sound angry and hungry until they’re set for life.
Obviously a lot of your lyrics are graphic and could be a script for scenes out of a Quentin Tarantino film. Where do you get the ideas for some of these lyrics?
Vinnie: I’m just influenced by everything around me: music, film, books.
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Bryan Hahn (@notupstate)
