Immortal Technique

Immortal Technique is an activist and political rapper. Apart from being a revolutionary in his music, he is also noted for his talent as a lyricist and storyteller and has won many rap battles. In many of his songs, he references the strife of poverty in the slums of America and he points blame at politicians to the point of conspiracy theory. He has also expressed unwavering support for Mumia Abu-Jamal and has received support from Mr. Jamal in return. His politically based rhymes deal with the wrongdoings of the government, the media (The 4th Branch), religion, and law enforcement. He is a provider of esoteric knowledge. Among many controversial subjects, he raps about MK Ultra, the death of Amadou Bailo Diallo, and the alleged corporate media bias of outlets like FOX News to give only a few examples. To maintain his integrity he has yet to sign with a major label. Born in a military hospital in South America, Immortal Technique was brought to Harlem in the early 1980's while a civil war was breaking out in his native Peru. After facing several charges of aggravated assault in the New York tri-state area, he was given a 1-2 year sentence in the mountains, 6 hours away from the city. Paroled in 1999, Immortal Technique quickly became known throughout the New York underground. His brutally disrespectful style was trademark, and it was not long until he had won countless battles. From Rocksteady Anniversary, to Braggin' Rites, SLAM DVD's and hookt.com's infamous battles, he established himself as someone who could captivate a crowd and who people looked forward to seeing. Turning his eye to production and touching up some of the songs he had written in prison he now focused on trying to get an album together, but major labels wanted a more pop friendly image and were uncomfortable with his hardcore street style that was complemented by his political views. In response to their lack of vision, Immortal Technique left the battle circuit and released his critically acclaimed Revolutionary Vol.1, which at first moved 3000 copies, but to date has moved more than 12,000. This earned him Unsigned Hype in The Source and numerous articles in Elemental and Mass Appeal. Being featured in XXL, The Washington Post, and having been titled with the Hip Hop quotable in The Source for his sophomore independent release Revolutionary Vol.2 was just the beginning. On Viper Records, where he is the Executive VP, he sold 29,000 copies of Revolutionary Vol.2 to date and has appeared on soundtracks for new movies including the new Mario Van Peebles film Baadasssss!. Immortal Technique has also worked with Mumia Abu Jamal and AWOL magazine. He often does features with Akir, who has become Technique's supposed right-hand-man. His single "Industrial Revolution" released in conjunction with Uncle Howie Records hit #1 on CMJ and #50 on the Billboard charts. His next release, The Middle Passage, is due in september of 2005. In late 2004, he released two singles from The Middle Passage. One, entitled "Bin Laden," features Mos Def and samples lyrics by Eminem and Jadakiss. The second, "Caught In A Hustle" will be featured with a number of Immortal Technique's songs in the upcoming movie This Revolution. The movie, which includes appearances from Technique himself, is set during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City and chronicles the protests surrounding the convention in a pseudo-documentary style.