Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to keep control over his production, and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to 200,000 units of his three official releases.
Biography
Early life
Coronel is African-Peruvian and was born in 1978 in a military hospital in Lima. His family emigrated in 1980 to Harlem to escape the ongoing internal conflict in Peru. During his teenage years he was arrested multiple times due in part to what he has said was "selfish and childish" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Shortly after enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault-related offenses due to his involvement in an altercation between fellow students, the charges stemming from this incident led to him being incarcerated for a year. After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters at the behest of his father, who allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he go to school. Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Coronel began working on the restaurants of New York while bad mouthing MCs whenever the opportunity arose. This, coupled with his victories in numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene such as Rocksteady Anniversary, Braggin Rites and others, led to his reputation as a ferocious Battle MC.
Revolutionary Vol.1 and Vol.2
In 2001 , Immortal Technique released his first album Revolutionary Vol. 1 without the help of a record label or distribution, instead using money earned from his rap battle triumphs. Revolutionary Vol. 1 also contained the underground classic Dance With The Devil. In November 2002, he was listed by The Source in its "Unsigned Hype" column, highlighting artists that are not signed to a record label. The following year, in September 2003, he received the coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" in The Source for a song entitled "Industrial Revolution" from his second album. Immortal Technique is the only rapper in history to have a "Hip Hop Quotable" while being unsigned. He released his second album Revolutionary Vol. 2 in 2003. In 2004, Viper Records and, in 2005, Babygrande Records re-released Immortal Technique's debut, Revolutionary Vol. 1, to make it available to a wider audience. "Point of No Return" from Revolutionary Vol 2 was used as the entrance theme for Rashad Evans during the UFC 88 Main Event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.
The 3rd World and The Middle Passage
Between 2005 and 2007 Immortal Technique began working on The Middle Passage and The 3rd World, the two albums that would serve a follow up to Revolutionary Vol. 2 and complete the series. He was also featured on several movie soundtracks and video game soundtracks, all the while touring relentlessly and becoming heavily involved in visiting prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists and raising tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas. He invested his money not in items that are usually associated with fame but rather in large pieces of farmland in Latin America. He created a writing grant program for high school students as well.
In the Club Freestyle
Immortal Technique Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know I look like, Immortal Technique to you
But I created this genetic clone just to speak to you
Me and 279, are planting a bomb in the building
Coz' underground shows never got women and children
I'm serial killin', every fake nigga alive
So most people tryna’ rap won't survive
Machine gun everything around me like a panorama
I'm like Santana, pulling strings in the game
While slaves emulate their masters living the same
I can't rest a second alone
I got homeland security tapping my phone
But here's a warning to the government that creeps on me
I'm like a cum stained mattress - don't sleep on me
I roll deep, with a fully loaded AK
Murder cowards in their sleep like the I.R.A
I represent Zone 4 Dawg, that's the best hood
You catch a shot while you sittin in your whip like Tim Westwood
Whilin' out, you know how we doing persuing
And this is freestyle in the meanwhile
Other cats are spittin' a written bitten composition
You're crushed into submission
This is Harlem, you'll never rise to stardom kid
I came down to London, and you know how we did
And this is off the dome, off of the brain, lyrically insane
And that's how I'm tripping, that's how I'm flipping
Now I'm the illest latino, I never had to buy an album back like Benzino
You know I'm sick with the flow, spittin' it slow
And yo I had to go to the bathroom
I made a scramble, ahaha, I lost 10 pounds and I don't even gamble
So y'know, what's happening, when I'm rockin' it, off of the brain
Lyrically insane, Immortal Technique, saying you nice as me dawg?
You straight telling lies
Me and you have never been even like Biggie Small's eyes
When will you realize, Immortal Technique is iller
The socialist guerrilla, Stomp you like a stone pillar
Comin' through, representing whoever, cleverly, under the weather
Yo, it's like that the latin assasin a make it happen
I'm about to go platinum but when you see me up in the spot
Rockin' it hip-hop off the top of the knot
And yo, thats how it goes thats how it flows, thats how it shows
Ay yo I substract the same numbers from both sides and thats 5-9
And thats fine, and I continue to climb
I continue to shine, I continue to climb...
And yo the voice of racism preaching the gospel, ayo thats devilish
A church in America called the prophet Muhammad a terrorist
Forgetting God is not a religion, but a spiritual bond
And Jesus is the most quoted prophet in the Qu'ran
They bombing innocent people, tryin' to murder Saddam
When they gave him those chemical weapons to go to war with Iran
This is the information that they hold back from Peter Jennings
Cause Condoleeza Rice is just a new age Sally Hemmings
I break it down with critical language and spiritual anguish
The Judas I hang with, the guilt of betraying Christ
You murdered him, stole his religion, and painted him white
Translated in psychologically tainted philosophy
Conservative political right wing, ideology
Glued together sloppily, the blasphemy of a nation
I got my back to the wall, I'm facin' assassination
Guantanamo Bay, federal incarceration
How could this be, the land of the free, home of the brave?
Indigenous holocaust, and the home of the slaves
Corporate America, dancin' offbeat to the rhythm
They really think this country never sponsored terrorism
Human rights violations, we continue the saga
El Savador and the contras in Nicaragua
And on top of that, they still wanna take me to prison
Just cause I won't trade humanity for patriotism
Ayo I'm still bugging out I know you flipped the instrumental
Which coincidental I'm spitting off the top of the mental
Ay yo this government is tapping my phone
Like I told you before, I keeping it raw
I smash your kids hands in a car door
And thats how it goes, you know there’s ill and theirs crazy
Immortal Technique blazingly, amazing MCs
Yo, I'm hangin' out with the illest rappers alive
And yo I strive to be better, I strive to survive
I strive to strap a live wire to the top of my brain
I make cuts on my dick with masochistic tactics, and then take a fat ish
While simultaneously stabbing a pregnant fat bitch
On a vomit-covered mattress
While the featus uses my dick to practice gymnastics
Dancing on it like a balance beam doing backflips
Ay yo, I smack kids, and I compact them, ayo I subtract them
And I'm keepin' this freestyle from the brain, I'm lyrically insane
Ayo, let me give you the rap-up from 2003
People went to war and they tried to drag me, and everyone else
And now we about to put Tony Blair back on the shelf
Were taking it ova', my word to Jehovah, I don't got a Range Rover
I be in the tube, I be at the (?)
Spitting on people's faces and whiling out
Ay yo no doubt, I keep it complete, Immortal Technique
And can even flip it in Spanish, make rappers vanish like
Immortal Technique, I be chillin', with my boy Clamento
Ay yo Ralph Dogg dot com, log on, so we can drop bombs
Yo, Bragging Rights to hook dot com
To Rock Steady, your not ready, won every battle in New York city
Your style is not pretty, kinda like Macy Gray, ahaha
And my faith in god is kinda shitty, i'll put my hand on a bible and tell Whoopi that shes pretty
And this is some mean stuff, that I'm spitting off the top of the brain
Ay yo you know how I rock, 2-7-9 that means you catching 18 shots
And thats how it goes, and thats how it flows, and I'm out of here
I'm out with your ho. I'm with (?)
Sinceramente - Technique - end of the letter
The lyrics to Immortal Technique's "In the Club Freestyle" are intense and politically charged. The rapper discusses a range of issues, including the government tapping his phone, his opposition to war, the mistreatment of indigenous peoples, and his own status as an outsider in the music industry. The lines "I can't rest a second alone/I got homeland security tapping my phone" speak to the rapper's suspicion of government surveillance, while his criticism of institutional racism (e.g. "The voice of racism preaching the gospel, ayo that's devilish/A church in America called the prophet Muhammad a terrorist") and condemnation of war suggest a broader critique of U.S. foreign policy.
Line by Line Meaning
I know I look like, Immortal Technique to you
I may resemble Immortal Technique but I created this clone only to communicate my message to you.
But I created this genetic clone just to speak to you
This genetic clone was formulated for this very purpose of communicating with you.
Coz' underground shows never got women and children
We are planting a bomb in the underground show as there are no women and children around for their safety and protection.
I'm serial killin', every fake nigga alive
I am eliminating every fake wannabe rapper out there, one at a time.
Machine gun everything around me like a panorama
With the metaphor of a panoramic view, I am shooting anything and everything around me with a machine gun.
And burn rubber with the ghost of Princess Diana
I make a swift and speedy escape, just like the ghost of Princess Diana's laudable quality of charity and humanitarianism.
While slaves emulate their masters living the same
The mainstream hip-hop scene follows and emulates their masters' styles and never attempt to create their own unique style and sound.
I got homeland security tapping my phone
I am constantly monitored by Homeland security with my phone being tapped by them.
But here's a warning to the government that creeps on me
I am putting the government on notice with my warning that they should never underestimate my abilities and capabilities.
I roll deep, with a fully loaded AK
I move around with an AK-47, fully loaded and ready to shoot down cowards.
I represent Zone 4 Dawg, that's the best hood
I am the representative of Zone 4, the best neighborhood where I come from.
Other cats are spittin' a written bitten composition
The other rappers are copying and stealing their ideas from others and presenting them as original.
And this is off the dome, off of the brain, lyrically insane
I am freestyling and spitting rhymes off the top of my head, showcasing my craziness and skill.
You murdered him, stole his religion, and painted him white
Jesus was killed, his religion was modified to suit their agenda, and his color was misrepresented as white rather than the actual ethnicity he belonged to.
Conservative political right wing, ideology
The conservative political ideology is right-winged and they hold views contrary to my way of thinking.
And on top of that, they still wanna take me to prison
In their efforts to suppress my opinions and message, the government wants to incarcerate me.
I make cuts on my dick with masochistic tactics, and then take a fat ish
With a shocking and masochistic tactic, I confess to inflicting cuts on my penis and defecating.
And my faith in god is kinda shitty, i'll put my hand on a bible and tell Whoopi that shes pretty
I don't hold much faith in God and jokingly compliment someone who doesn't identify with my faith.
I'm out with your ho. I'm with (?), Sinceramente - Technique - end of the letter
I am leaving with your girlfriend and sign off the letter with 'Sincerely, Technique'.
Contributed by Dylan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@nasda11
"Me and you have never been even like biggie smalls eyes" haha!!
@med8615
+Nasim Ali I dont get it...ik biggie and how he has a cocked eye problem but i dont get the bar...help?
@med8615
+Saylor Hater nvm I got it...
@nasda11
Bc he's eyes were uneven lol
@med8615
@@nasda11 thx
@violetdevine1962
dewd.
@KnownasGodBro
"And my faith in God is kind of shitty, I'll put my hand on the bible and tell Whoopi that she's pretty." LMFAO. Technique is so good lol.
@siouxfan1000
"You and me have never been equal, like Biggie Smalls' eyes, when will you realize?" Best rapper alive.
@carlosbanana2380
its from a track tho, he drops that often bro
@slepped
I can tell you've never listened to good rappers before