East Coast hip-hop duo Heavy Metal Kings comprise Brooklyn MC Ill Bill and Philly-based rapper Vinnie Paz. Both rappers had been active in their respective underground scenes for years, working with various projects and groups, when they teamed up in 2006 for a collaboration where Ill Bill rhymed on a track for Paz’s Jedi Mind Tricks project. The song was called “Heavy Metal Kings” and appeared as both a single and a track on a Jedi Mind Tricks album that year. Around 2010, Paz and Ill Bill formed a duo, taking their name from the song they collaborated on earlier, and got to work on their self-titled debut album, which saw release the next year via Enemy Soil/Uncle Howie. Both rappers stayed busy with multiple projects but kept Heavy Metal Kings on the back burner, eventually releasing their second album, Black God White Devil, in 2017. ~ Fred Thomas