Immortal Technique

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Immortal Technique
Background information
Birth name	Felipe Coronel
Born	February 19, 1978 (1978-02-19) (age 31) Lima, Peru[1]
Origin	Harlem, NYC, United States
Genre(s)	Hip hop, Political hip hop
Occupation(s)	MC Activist Record Label General Manager
Years active	2000–present
Label(s)	Viper
Website	Immortal-Technique.com

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper and political activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York.^[2] Most of his lyrics focus on political issues. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely a mixture of commentary on issues such as politics, poverty, religion, social class and racism.

He has been offered a deal with at least one major record label,^[3] but he has never signed to any. Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to keep control over his production,^[4] and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 "Revolutionary", Volume 1 and 2 1.3 "Bin Laden" and "Impeach the President" 2 Social and political views 3 Discography 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Coronel was born in a military hospital in Lima.^[1] His family, being of Afro-Peruvian descent,^[5] immigrated in 1980 to Harlem to escape the ongoing internal conflict in Peru.^[6] 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 offences due to his involvement in an altercation between some fellow students and drug dealers. The charges stemming from this incident led to his being incarcerated for a year.^[1][7]. After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters. Admittedly, this was at the behest of his father, who allowed Technique to live with him on the condition that he go to school.^[8] Although he was able to rhyme since childhood, it was Technique's frustrations about his incarceration, sociopolitical issues and the need to provide income for his family that were the motivations driving him to think of music as a career. Honing his songwriting skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Technique began selling his music on the streets of New York while battling with MCs whenever the opportunity arose.^[9][10][11] 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. ^[12] As notoriety for his lyrical skills grew, so did the opportunity to reach a wider audience with his views and understanding of many social and political problems he felt were plaguing the lives of people everywhere.

[edit] "Revolutionary", Volume 1 and 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^[12]. Revolutionary Vol 1 also contained the underground classic 'Dance With The Devil'. In November 2002, he was listed by The Source as the month's featured "Unsigned Hype", which highlights 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^[12]. Consequently, since he did not have a record deal or distribution at the time, Immortal Technique is the only rapper in history to have a "Hip Hop Quotable" while being unsigned^[12]. He released his second album Revolutionary Vol. 2 in 2003. In 2004, Viper Records and, in 2005, Babygrande Records have 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. His second album was performed in Washington with Ali Hudair.

[edit] "Bin Laden" and "Impeach the President"

Before the presidential race in November 2004, the Immortal Technique song "Bin Laden", (also known as 'Tell The Truth'^[13]) featuring Mos Def and Jaddakiss (and later featuring Eminem, using backmasking) and produced by DJ Green Lantern, emerged on Shade 45: Sirius Bizness. However, it took almost half a year until it was officially released on a 12" vinyl single in the summer of 2005. The single also contained a remix of the song featuring hip-hop legends Chuck D of Public Enemy and KRS-One. The song lyrics imply that George W. Bush and previous administrations were largely responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks. In fact, Immortal wrote on his website (9/7/05 news post), "I wrote in "The Cause of Death" that Bush was not responsible directly, that he didn't plan 9/11, but he and his [administration] definitely benefited from the end result of all those people dying." Immortal Technique's third studio album, The 3rd World was released on June 24, 2008. The Third World was given an Underground Gold Award selling over 54 000 copies. He is set to release his next albums, Revolutionary Vol. 3. ^[14] and The Middle Passage, though a release date has yet to be confirmed for either.

[edit] Social and political views

Immortal Technique has described himself as a "socialist guerrilla". Immortal Technique's music is inspired by historical and often political figures such as Malcolm X, Che Guevara, César Chávez, Augusto César Sandino, Marcus Garvey, Túpac Amaru II and Mumia Abu-Jamal.^[15]

[edit] Discography

• 2001: Revolutionary Vol. 1
• 2003: Revolutionary Vol. 2
• 2008: The 3rd World
• TBA: The Middle Passage^[12]
• TBA: Revolutionary Vol. 3 ^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Immortal Technique

• Immortal Technique at MySpace
• Viper Records website
• Immortal Technique's Twitter
• Immortal Technique Forum
• Immortal Technique News & Discography Site
• The Interview: Immortal Technique (ThatHottness.com)

v • d • e Immortal Technique Albums Revolutionary Vol. 1 · Revolutionary Vol. 2 · The 3rd World · The Middle Passage Singles & notable songs "Industrial Revolution" · "The Point of No Return" · "Bin Laden" · "Dance with the Devil" Related articles Discography · Viper Records

Persondata
NAME	Immortal Technique
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Felipe Coronel
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Rapper, Activist
DATE OF BIRTH	February 19, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH	Lima, Peru
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH