Immortal Technique (born Felipe Coronel) is an activist and political rapper. 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, religion, and law enforcement. Among many controversial subjects, he raps about Project MKULTRA, the death of Amadou Bailo Diallo, and the corporate media bias of outlets like FOX News, to give only a few examples. Although he has been offered a deal with at least one major label, he has yet to sign with any, because of the controls they have demanded over the subjects that can be mentioned on his albums.
Biography
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. He attended Hunter College High School, where he was widely known as a trouble maker, fighting, bullying and never being around. He enrolled at Penn State and majored in film. 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. He was paroled in 1999. His brutally disrespectful style was trademark, and he won several battles, including Rocksteady Anniversary, Braggin' Rites, SLAM DVD's and hookt.com. His album Revolutionary Vol. 1, has to date sold more than 12,000 copies. This earned him Unsigned Hype in The Source and numerous articles in Elemental and Mass Appeal. He was featured in XXL, The Washington Post, and was titled with the Hip Hop quotable in The Source for his sophomore independent release Revolutionary Vol. 2. On Viper Records, where he is the Executive VP, he sold 65,000 copies of Revolutionary Vol. 2 to date and has appeared on soundtracks for new movies including the new Mario Van Peebles film Baadasssss! (with the song "Caught In A Hustle"). Immortal Technique has also worked with Mumia Abu Jamal and AWOL magazine. He is often joined by MC Akir, his first signing as an A&R for Viper Records.
Immortal Technique's single "Industrial Revolution" released in conjunction with Uncle Howie Records hit #1 on CMJ and #50 on the Billboard charts. In late 2004, the song "Bin Laden" appeared on various mixtapes as well as babygrande.com; it is produced by DJ Green Lantern and features Mos Def and samples lyrics by Eminem and Jadakiss. Eventually, in the summer of 2005, the song saw an official release on 12" vinyl single along a remix with hiphop legends Chuck D of Public Enemy and KRS One. Immortal Technique appears (as himself) in the independent movie This Revolution which is set during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City and chronicles the protests surrounding the convention in a pseudo-documentary style. The movie also features the aforementioned Akir in a small role. Immortal Technique's next release, The Middle Passage, is due mid 2006, followed by a documentary DVD that is titled "Urban Warfare" and then the third and last volume (hence Vol. 3) in the Revolutionary series.
The Intellectual
Easily classifiable as a superior intellect amongst his peers, many of whom rhyme solely about materialistic ideas such as diamonds, guns, drugs, and women, Immortal Technique brings realism and consciousness back to rap music. He tackles a myriad of modern political issues in his songs, addressing events such as the killing of the prominent Black Panthers member Fred Hampton by the FBI, the new world order established by the neo-conservative American government, 9/11, the shooting of Amadou Diallo by New York City Police, and the CIA backed hunt and subsequent assasination of revolutionary leader Che Guevara. He is far-left in political orientation, bordering on socialism, although he refuses to be categorized using typical political labels. Possibly a conspiracy-theorist, Immortal Technique makes many references to controversial events. Among them: American nationalism and jingoism, the right-wing bias and censorship of the media, the death of Senator Paul Wellstone, the CIA's mind control project, MKULTRA, and the use of depleted uranium by Americantroops. He also suggests that the World Trade Centers were brought down by explosives. Despite his humble beginnings as an immigrant from Peru, to living in Harlem, New York, Immortal Technique displays amazing intellectual and political insight into sociology, world politics, and American Foreign Policy. For a complete understanding of where Immortal Technique stands, a perusal through his entire discography would likely be necessary. On the message board of his main fansite, an excellent commentary on current political events, including Hurricane Katrina, the War in Iraq, and American Foreign Policy, may be read.
