Immortal Technique and the Third World Revolution

What if Chuck D from Public Enemy had rhyme skills closer to Canibus? What if Big Pun was on some revolutionary style like Brother J from X-Clan? What if Styles P and M.O.P rapped about the government structure? What if Tupac lived and started talkin all that new era Black Panther shit like people thought he was gonna do? Well then you would be approaching the revolutionary swagger of Harlem raised Latino emcee, Immortal Technique. His lyrical aggression is unmatched by most and his album The 3rd World is a testament to the hard-body ruthlessness of his approach. If you want to know what a true hardcore emcee sounds like, listen to Immortal Technique. So-called gangsta rappers are addressed on Hollywood Driveby with the help of Sick Symphonies and Psycorealm who says "the streets don't believe you homey. Armageddon in the rap game is comin and we lead the army. Rock terror tape outta ya sound. Got hostages in pink, this is what they call Hip Hop now? I keep that metro shit outta my whip. That dummy rap is thru makin money. It's about to extinct." We caught up with Technique in the Bronx for a R.I.P. tribute to activist Fleet Militant at the Bronx Museum. He spoke about the album's significance saying, "I wanted to remind people in the hood that as bad as it seems for us here, let's never forget how bad it is for people over seas. Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean, people that suffer ten times worse than we could ever imagine. Cause here we can go to a chicken spot. There’s some places where there ain't no chicken spot." He also compared the way the "1st world" oppresses and robs the "3rd world" of it's diamonds and gold and resources to the music business, "it's the same way that major labels, superpowers, come to the underground which is the third world of Hip Hop to exploit us for our labor." DJ Green Lantern took the album's worth of tracks and blended it like a mixtape with some choice cuts and backspins to make the experience complete. Other stand out tracks include Parole, That's What It Is, The 3rd World, Harlem Renaissance, Mistakes where he contemplates various theoretical mistakes going back to his youth. Also check for his other collabos Stronghold Grip featuring Poison Pen and Swave Sevah plus Payback featuring Diabolic and Ras Kass. The song is a tale about "paying people back on a personal level and on a global level." Technique said. On Reverse Pimpology he talks about the difference between real pimps and thugs, politicians and rappers saying "we think we're pimpin the game and we're not. We're gettin pimped...A real gangsta ain't tryin floss no jewelry...ain't tryin to fuck your wife. A real gangsta is fuckin your country." For the full interview and song samples go to shadesradio.com.

One, Kurt Nice