Army of the Pharaohs

This article is about the U.S. hip hop group. For the military and history topic, see military of ancient Egypt.

Army of the Pharaohs
The group in 2014
The group in 2014
Background information
OriginPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresHip hop, hardcore hip hop, underground hip hop, conscious hip hop
Years active1998–present
(hiatus 2015–2021)
LabelsBabygrande, Enemy Soil
MembersApathy (DGZ)
Block McCloud
Celph Titled (DGZ)
Crypt the Warchild (OS)
Demoz (OPG)
Des Devious (QD)
Esoteric (DGZ)
King Syze
Planetary (OS)
Reef the Lost Cauze (JM)
Vinnie Paz (JMT)
Zilla
Past members7L
Bahamadia
Blacastan (DGZ) (deceased)
Chief Kamachi (JM)
Faez One
Journalist
Jus Allah (JMT)
Stoupe (JMT)
Virtuoso
King Magnetic
Doap Nixon (OPG)
AOTP logo (as seen on In Death Reborn)

Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder Vinnie Paz in 1998. The collective has strong links to other underground east coast groups such as OuterSpace, Snowgoons, La Coka Nostra, Demigodz, 7L & Esoteric, and JuJu Mob. AOTP's affiliations and member roster has changed several times since its formation.[1]

Paz formed the outfit in the late 1990s with the original roster of Bahamadia, Chief Kamachi, Virtuoso, 7L & Esoteric, plus Jedi Mind Tricks' other member Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. The group first released the "Five Perfect Exertions" and "War Ensemble" 12" on Paz's short-lived Recordings in 1998, but then the underground supergroup remained silent for several years.[2] After a couple of successful Jedi Mind Tricks albums and a new deal with Babygrande by 2003, Paz resurrected the crew, adding OuterSpace, Celph Titled, Reef the Lost Cauze, King Syze, Des Devious, and Apathy; however, Stoupe, Bahamadia, and Virtuoso had defected from the group. Babygrande issued their "Tear It Down" 12" and first album, The Torture Papers, in 2006. The 2007 follow-up album, Ritual of Battle, saw Jus Allah and JMT protégés Doap Nixon and Demoz joining the Pharaohs.[3]

The Unholy Terror was released in March 2010.[4] This album marked the return of Apathy and the addition of two new AOTP members, Block McCloud and Journalist. Two songs, "Godzilla" and "Contra Mantra", were released before the album. This album also marked the departure of Chief Kamachi who left the group because of business issues and an apparent feud with Vinnie Paz and Apathy.[5]

In early 2011, Paz announced on his Facebook page that In Death Reborn is due to be released in 2012, however the date was pushed back and almost seemed like it was never going to be released.[6] Early in 2012, Houston underground MC VZilla and Connecticut's Blacastan were added to the group. Both artists have made names for themselves with their features and album releases in 2012. In Death Reborn was eventually released in April 2014.[7] The album featured members Vinnie Paz, Apathy, Blacastan, Block McCloud, Celph Titled, Demoz, Des Devious, Doap Nixon, Esoteric, Lawrence Arnell,[8] King Magnetic, King Syze, OuterSpace, Reef the Lost Cauze and VZilla. Their fifth studio album, Heavy Lies the Crown was released in October 2014.[9]

  1. ^ "Celph Titled and Buckwild – Nineteen Ninety Now album review". Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "Celebrity Photo Gallery, Celebrity Wallpapers, Celebrity Videos, Bio, News, Songs, Movies". in.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  3. ^ Army of the Pharaohs on Answers Archived March 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Written by Cyril Cordor, Rovi
  4. ^ "PodOmatic - Podcast - Conspiracy Worldwide Hip Hop Radio - [Part 1] CREATIVE MINDS SPECIAL w/ Live Guests - Kanye West & G.O.O.D. Music's Big Sean - Celph Titled & Buckwild - Copywrite - Duckdown Records' Black Rob - Blame One - Q Bert - Cutmaster Swift - Sally DMC and more!". PodOmatic. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "Chief Kamachi - First Warning". YouTube. December 7, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  6. ^ "Sharif Lacey - Sons sleep, its raining, I'm bored. Gonna... - Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  7. ^ Vinnie Paz announces official cover and release date for In Death Reborn Archived March 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine on Twitter (Accessed: February 14, 2014)
  8. ^ "Amazon.com: Army Of The Pharaohs: In Death Reborn [2XLP][Explicit]: Music". Amazon. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  9. ^ Apathy tweets: Archived August 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine 10-21-14