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.
Internally Bleeding
Immortal Technique Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yea... Yea... Ay yo
The things I've seen in life will make you choke by surprise
Like an aborted fetus in a jar that opened it's eyes
Provoking my demise, I'll leave your spirit broken inside
Like the feeling of 50 million people hoping you'd die
And niggaz wonder why my heary is filled of hatred an anger
Cause some bitch killed my first born song with a coat hanger
Crippled and worthless, so I thought that it could never be sold
My mother told me that placing my faith in God was the answer
But then I hated God cause he gave my mother cancer
Killing us slow like the Feds did to the Blank Panthers
The genesis of genocide is like a Pagan religion
Carefully hidden, woven into the holidays of a Christain
I had a vision of nuclear holocaust on top of me
And this is prophecy, the words that I speak from my lungs
The severed head of John the Baptist speaking in tongues
Like "Cheke vara" my soliloquies speak to a gun
Paint in slow motion like trees that reach for the sun
Nigga the preaching is done cause I don't got a DJ
Like Reverond Run, I curse the life of any man who kills
Benevolent ones, I never asked to be the messenger
But I was chosen to speak the words of every African slave
Dumped in the ocean, stolen by America
Tortured, buried, and frozen written out of the history books
Your children are holding, internally bleeding, cold blooded
Stripped of emotion, I go through the motions, but there's no
Life in my eyes, it's like I'm hooked up to a respirator
Waiting to die, hooked up to the fucking chair
Waiting to fry, sooth an electrocution currently used
In my execution, producing thoughts at the speed of light
Burning confusion, I'm loosing my sight, breathing is tight
The evening is white, I made my peace with the Lord and now I
Stand on his right..
[Hook]
Death is a another part of life..
These are my last words, I'm having difficultly breathing
Dying on the inside, internally bleeding
Angel of death dragging me away while I'm sleeping
Watching my world crumble in front of me, searching for meaning
These are my last words, I'm having difficultly breathing
Dying on the inside, internally bleeding
Angel of death dragging me away while I'm sleeping
Watching my world crumble in front of me, searching for meaning
In "Internally Bleeding," Immortal Technique details the pain and difficulties he has faced in his life. He starts off describing the disturbing and heartbreaking things he has seen that will leave anyone choking with surprise. From there, he brings up the pain he has experienced after losing his firstborn son to an abortion, tying it to the idea that people wonder why he is filled with so much anger and hatred. He expresses how he felt broken inside and how the pain he felt was crippling and left him feeling worthless. The poet then talks about his mother telling him to place his faith in God, but he found it hard because God gave his mother cancer. He then touches on the idea that genocide is like a pagan religion woven into Christian holidays before expressing his vision of nuclear holocaust.
The poem takes a religious turn as Immortal Technique talks about the severed head of John the Baptist speaking in tongues before speaking about his choice of speaking to a gun in soliloquies. He details that he is stripped of any real emotion and joy, leaving him internally bleeding and with no real life in his eyes. He speaks about how he feels like he is waiting to die, hooked up to a respirator, and compares his impending death to electrocution. In the end, he speaks of the Angel of Death dragging him away, searching for meaning in a crumbling world.
Line by Line Meaning
The things I've seen in life will make you choke by surprise
The experiences I have had in my life will shock and overwhelm you
Like an aborted fetus in a jar that opened it's eyes
Just like the shocking image of a fetus that was aborted, yet somehow survived and opened its eyes
Provoking my demise, I'll leave your spirit broken inside
If you challenge me, I will destroy you emotionally and mentally
Like the feeling of 50 million people hoping you'd die
It is a feeling of such intense hatred and desire for someone's death that is almost impossible to comprehend
And niggaz wonder why my heary is filled of hatred an anger
People question why I am filled with so much anger and resentment
Cause some bitch killed my first born song with a coat hanger
My anger is born from the fact that someone killed my first born child (song) through abortion
I strangled out the pain until my soul was empty was cold
I tried to cope with the pain by suppressing it but ended up feeling empty and lifeless
Crippled and worthless, so I thought that it could never be sold
I felt so broken and worthless that I never believed anything I created or did had any value or could be sold
My mother told me that placing my faith in God was the answer
My mother encouraged me to have faith in God to find peace and meaning in life
But then I hated God cause he gave my mother cancer
However, I ended up hating God because I believed he was responsible for my mother's cancer
Killing us slow like the Feds did to the Blank Panthers
I feel like the government is slowly and systematically destroying us, just like they did to the Black Panthers
The genesis of genocide is like a Pagan religion
The start of genocide is like a religion that worships death and destruction
Carefully hidden, woven into the holidays of a Christian
This religion is carefully concealed and integrated into Christian holidays and traditions
I had a vision of nuclear holocaust on top of me
I had a terrifying vision of a nuclear war directly affecting me
And this is prophecy, the words that I speak from my lungs
These words I am speaking feel like prophetic revelations
The severed head of John the Baptist speaking in tongues
The message I am delivering feels like it is coming from the decapitated head of John the Baptist, speaking in an unknown language
Like 'Cheke vara' my soliloquies speak to a gun
When I speak, it feels like I am communicating with a gun or a weapon of some kind
Paint in slow motion like trees that reach for the sun
My actions and thoughts move slowly and deliberately, like trees growing towards the sun
Nigga the preaching is done cause I don't got a DJ
I am finished with preaching because I do not have a DJ or any music to accompany me anymore
Like Reverend Run, I curse the life of any man who kills
Similar to Reverend Run, I curse anyone who takes a life
Benevolent ones, I never asked to be the messenger
I did not choose to be the messenger for this dark and heavy message
But I was chosen to speak the words of every African slave
However, I feel like I was chosen to speak on behalf of all the African slaves who suffered and died
Dumped in the ocean, stolen by America
The African slaves were stolen from their homes and dumped in the ocean, and then later stolen again by America
Tortured, buried, and frozen written out of the history books
These slaves were brutally tortured, buried, and even frozen, but their stories have often been ignored and erased from history
Your children are holding, internally bleeding, cold blooded
Your children are suffering from internal pain and bleeding, turning them into cold, emotionless beings
Stripped of emotion, I go through the motions, but there's no
I have lost all my emotions and am just going through the motions with no purpose or feeling
Life in my eyes, it's like I'm hooked up to a respirator
I am barely living and feel like I am constantly dependent on life support
Waiting to die, hooked up to the fucking chair
I am just waiting and expecting to die, like someone on death row waiting to be executed
Waiting to fry, sooth an electrocution currently used
I am waiting to be executed through the painful method of electrocution
In my execution, producing thoughts at the speed of light
In my final moments, my mind is moving incredibly fast, producing rapid and intense thoughts
Burning confusion, I'm loosing my sight, breathing is tight
I am experiencing intense confusion and my vision is fading, and I am struggling to breathe
The evening is white, I made my peace with the Lord and now I
The end of my life is near and everything seems white, but I have made peace with God and am ready to go
Death is a another part of life..
Death is just another stage of life that we all have to face
These are my last words, I'm having difficultly breathing
These are my final words, and I am struggling to catch my breath
Dying on the inside, internally bleeding
I may look okay on the outside, but internally, I am slowly dying and suffering
Angel of death dragging me away while I'm sleeping
The Grim Reaper is coming to take me away as I sleep
Watching my world crumble in front of me, searching for meaning
As I face my mortality, I am watching everything I have built and cared about crumble in front of me, and struggling to find meaning in it all
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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