Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an … Read Full Bio ↴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 MC 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. It has changed several times since its formation.

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. 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.

The Unholy Terror was released on March 30, 2010. 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.

In early 2011, Vinnie 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. 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 on April 22, 2014. 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 on October 21, 2014.

Murda Murda
Army of the Pharaohs Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[Murda Murda Feat. Celph Titled, Crypt the Warchild, Des Devious]

[Intro-Des Devious]

Yeah, Des D nigga,
Celph Titled, Crypt the Warchild,
Where you at nigga?

Yeah,

[Chorus-Crypt the Warchild]

This be that murda murda,
I shall not speak no further,
After this it's hazardous,
My niggas pullin' burners,
Your weak shit don't concern us,
I see you gettin' nervous,
By accident,
We make more moves than niggas make on purpose.

[Verse 1-Crypt the Warchild]

This shit is gettin' scary,
Y'all niggas best be wary,
My team is legendary,
Y'all niggas secondary,
We stackin' cemeteries,
More the merry, more to bury,
Fuck 'em all, fuck the world,
Put em in a mortuary,
And all I know is pain,
I walk through coldest rain,
I aint supposed to change,
Cause I approach the game,
I'm tryin to coast the plane,
Y'all niggas know the name,
Warchild, Celph Titled, Des D,
Of course it slams,
We too dangerous,
So move away from this,
Niggas will waive the fifth,
at you courageous kids,
I aint no plagiarist,
This shit is major biz,
So let the truth be told,
When I'm sayin it.

[Chorus]

[Verse 2-Des Devious]

I do it for the hell of it,
Spit it, mix it, package it up,
For the sale of it,
Get profit for the sell of it,
The meanest nigga,
This spit is 16,
For props and cream
Close the screen,
You plot, I scheme,
Upon competition take heed,
And listen build with henchmen,
Slander your name, damage is done,
For this rendition,
Walkin' the streets,
Kickin' your rocks,
Steady grippin,
problem get solved, blink of an eye,
The fifth is kickin',
Listen I aint here to promote no violence, violence,
But that's what happen when mothafuckers can't keep it silent,
Bloody you up,
Sharp-tipped death from a thousand,
I grew up in housin,
Did a lot of wilin',
Robbin' niggas, that was my twist,
Slug it out in an instant,
If you was resistant i'm a predicate,
Never seen jail time for crimes I committed,
The most I see,
Some still don't repent it.

[Chorus]

[Verse 3-Celph Titled]
You'll see my face when I attack,
No ski-hat or a Jason mask,
No laser-beam gleam,
So you aint seein where I'm aimin at,
Charles Manson clone,
Meltin flesh like Indiana Jones,
It's Tampa's own,
Titled the Toolman,
Bringin' hammers home,
And fame it's know me here,
Gats will kill ya,
And we'll bust inside your house like Michael Jackson's Thriller,
Caterpillar arm slasher flick, slash a bitch, distort a thug,
Seperate the men from the women, like a Divorce Court judge,
I'm not a rapper I'm a rocker in a Grunge band,
I'm supa' fly,
One hell of a helicopter stunt man,
We'll make your guns jam,
And leave your forehead crammed,
With sharp swords that cut boars head ham,
And we're back!,
It's not the torture papers,
We got more claws and razors,
A lot of Rambos, Commandos and Terminators,
You Die Hard when I rhyme bars,
Roll an L with the same holy scroll that God's DNA's designed on.

[Chorus]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Army of the Pharaohs' "Murda Murda" are a powerful commentary on the dangerous world of street violence and crime. The chorus sets the tone with a warning that this is "murda murda" and that it is hazardous. The verses go deeper into the mindset of those involved in this world, with Crypt the Warchild discussing how his team is legendary and that they stack cemeteries. He is trying to coast the plane of this life, but he knows that danger is always lurking. Des Devious takes a business-like approach to the violence, saying that he spits rhymes and mixes them up for profit, and he has a mean streak. Celph Titled rounds things out with a vivid description of himself as "Tampa's own, titled the Toolman, bringing hammers home." These lyrics are a stark reminder of the violence that is a part of some people's daily lives and the killer mindset that can come with it.

Line by Line Meaning

Yeah, Des D nigga, Celph Titled, Crypt the Warchild, Where you at nigga? Yeah,
Des Devious, Celph Titled, and Crypt the Warchild are present and ready to rap.

This be that murda murda, I shall not speak no further, After this it's hazardous, My niggas pullin' burners,
The content of this song is violent and dangerous, and the rappers are armed.

Your weak shit don't concern us, I see you gettin' nervous, By accident, We make more moves than niggas make on purpose.
The rappers are confident and unimpressed by their opponents, and they are more skilled than others.

This shit is gettin' scary, Y'all niggas best be wary, My team is legendary, Y'all niggas secondary, We stackin' cemeteries, More the merry, more to bury,
The rappers are intimidating and powerful, and they are killing their opponents in large numbers.

I aint supposed to change, Cause I approach the game, I'm tryin to coast the plane, Y'all niggas know the name, Warchild, Celph Titled, Des D, Of course it slams,
The rappers are sticking to their ruthless approach to rap and they are confident in their ability to make great music.

I aint no plagiarist, This shit is major biz, So let the truth be told, When I'm sayin it.
The rappers are stating that they are not stealing anyone else's work and that they are serious about their music.

I do it for the hell of it, Spit it, mix it, package it up, For the sale of it, Get profit for the sell of it, The meanest nigga, This spit is 16, For props and cream
Des Devious raps for fun and profit and he wants to be recognized for his skills.

Listen I aint here to promote no violence, violence, But that's what happen when mothafuckers can't keep it silent, Bloody you up, Sharp-tipped death from a thousand,
Des Devious insists that he is not promoting violence, but he acknowledges that violence is sometimes the result of conflict.

Charles Manson clone, Meltin flesh like Indiana Jones, It's Tampa's own, Titled the Toolman, Bringin' hammers home,
Celph Titled references a notorious criminal and describes himself as a violent figure from Tampa who wields a hammer.

And we'll bust inside your house like Michael Jackson's Thriller, Caterpillar arm slasher flick, slash a bitch, distort a thug, Seperate the men from the women, like a Divorce Court judge,
The rappers are capable of entering a house and killing indiscriminately, and they are ruthless and discriminatory in their killing.

I'm not a rapper I'm a rocker in a Grunge band, I'm supa' fly, One hell of a helicopter stunt man,
Celph Titled sees himself as a versatile musician who can rap and rock, and he is very skilled and confident.

And leave your forehead crammed, With sharp swords that cut boars head ham,
The rappers describe the brutality of their violence and use specific imagery to illustrate it.

We got more claws and razors, A lot of Rambos, Commandos and Terminators, You Die Hard when I rhyme bars, Roll an L with the same holy scroll that God's DNA's designed on.
The rappers have an arsenal of weapons and are comparable to action movie heroes, and their music is divine and powerful.

Contributed by Isabelle F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS