August 1, 2008

Late-Nite Productions is proud to present Immortal Technique - one night only - up close and personal and fresh off the Rock the Bells Tour! This is taking place at The Underground on Tues., August 19 at 7 p.m. Diabolic and Da Cirlcle plus guests Rise of the Revolution will start the show. There are tickets available for $20 at Recycled Records, Beach Hut Deli, Mad About Music, Tahoe Hemp Co. New Moon Natural Foods and are also available online at www.ticketweb.com. Tickets will be $25 at the door. All Ages are welcome. When the show is over there will be an afterparty in the Lounge for the 21+ with "Music for your Soul" by 102.9 Bombshelter DJ's Buddha and Dotkom!

Immortal Technique (Felipe Coronel) was born February 19, 1978 in a military hospital in South America, Immortal Technique was brought to the United States in the early 80's while a civil war was breaking out in his native Peru. The US supported puppet democracy and Guerilla factions were locked in a bitter struggle which ended like most do in Latin America, with the military and economic aid of the State Dept. through channels like the CIA. Although he had escaped the belligerent poverty and social turmoil of life in the 3rd world, he was now residing in Harlem which had its own share of drama. Growing up on the streets of New York, the young man became enamored with Hip Hop culture, writing graffiti and starting to rhyme at an early age. Although he frequently cut school and ended up being arrested time and time again for his wild behavior, the kid still managed to finish high school and got accepted to a state university. Unfortunately the survivalist and aggressive attitude that was the norm in New York City caused him to be involved in more violent altercations at school, whether it was with other brothers, false flaggers or the relentlessly racist population of an uncultured Middle America.

Compiling multiple assault charges in New York State and in other states eventually caught up to the uncompromisingly hardheaded actions of one Immortal Technique. He faced several charges for Aggravated Assault in the tri-state area. Realizing his inevitable incarceration, Technique began to prolifically write down his ideas about what he had lived and seen in the struggle back at home in relation to his visits back to his native land. He came to embrace his African roots that stemmed from his grandfather and understood the nature of racism and ignorance in its role in Latino culture, separating oppressed peoples and keeping them divided. He also began to study in depth about the Revolutionary ideas that had caused a history of uprising in the indigenous community of his Native South America. Although pressured to turn states evidence before and during his bid, he refused the DA and lawyers. He was facing a 5-10 stretch, but the hiring of a pittbull attorney helped him compile the cases without turning snitch like his co-defendants. The result was a 1-2 year sentence in the mountains, 6 hours away from the city. There Technique studied, worked out vigorously, began to document his lyrics, and create songs. Besides the creation there was destruction, and the fights were nothing compared to the verbal battles that he engaged in occasionally. This proved to be a foreshadowing of what was to come...

Paroled in 1999, Immortal Technique returned to NYC and began a campaign to claim victory to what he had discovered he had a talent for; battling. One of the rites of passage in establishing oneself in the Hip Hop community is following in the steps of those who made their name in lyrical warfare before you. Immortal Technique quickly became known throughout the underground. His brutally disrespectful style was trademark, and it was not long until he had won countless battles not just on stage and in clubs, but on the streets whenever a random cipher would pop up. 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. But it was then that Technique realized what every battle champion had come to terms with before him, battles was just that, battling, and not synonymous with success at making music. 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 (11/02) and numerous articles in Elemental & Mass Appeal.

Established in the underground circuit Tech began another round of dealing with record labels unwilling to see the direction of his brutally honest and cultured rhymes. He decided to continue with what had been so successful, his hand to hand out the trunk hustle. In the post 9.11 climate, as the music industry crumbled, Immortal Technique built on the truth with a hardcore brand of street politics. Being featured in XXL, The Washington Post, and having been titled with the Hip Hop quotable in The Source (10/03) 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. His single Industrial Revolution released in conjunction with Uncle Howie Records hit #1 on CMJ and #50 on the Billboard charts. Fresh off the Rock the Bells Tour and in support of his new album, Immortal Technique is ready to take Hip-Hop to a whole new level!

Turn on your television set, switch to the world news, and topics like gentrification, genocide, and racism are likely to fill your eyes balls. A lot of musical artists choose to avoid issues such as those, which is fine because the majority of people want to have a good time instead of discussing the disparities that happen throughout the planet.

The few that choose to talk about the subjects that usually get swept under the preverbal rug do so in a manner that is bound to get your attention in one way or another—but no one attacks the plight of the unheard with the ferocity as Immortal Technique does. The radical revolutionary rapper has been righting the wrongs with his lyricism for almost a decade, and now returns with his third album, The 3rd World.

With the help of DJ Green Lantern, the activist MC fills the CD with political injustices that basically affects everyone whether you’re living in America or a country that doesn’t have the basic necessities like running water. ‘Death March’ starts the album off, and behind a marching drum roll beat, Immortal Technique lets loose clever metaphors like, “So I’m like the legs of a paraplegic really/cause I’m still part of you, even if you can’t feel me.” The crusader for human rights shows his versatility on ‘Golpe De Estado,’ which features Temperamento y Veneo with the entire song being sun g in Spanish.

On ‘Harlem Renaissance,’ he addresses the immanent domain problem that is pushing long time residents of Harlem out of their homes to make way for luxury condominiums that average families could never afford. Crooked I and Chino XL are recruited on ‘Lick Shots.’ All three lyricists share their point of views with Immortal Technique starting off first: “F*ck that n*gga, Hip-Hop is not Republican/that’s just the white mothaf*ckas that own the publishing.” Crooked I: “I’m black as the Ancient Egyptians/before European historians went and changed the description.” Chino XL: “These pigs wanna see us dead inside a jail cell/turn us from Shawn Carters, to Sean Combs, to Shaun Bell.”

The title track, ‘The 3rd World’ is one of the standout tracks on the album where the MC describes just how he’s from a 3rd world environment. ‘Hollywood Driveby’ featuring Psycho Realm and Sick Symphonies includes an organ sample that sounds similar to one Beanie Sigel used for his song ‘The Truth’ on his first album with the same name. It also comes equipped with a low blow (no pun intended) towards the newly acquitted R. Kelly.

Immortal Technique keeps his legal woes fresh in people’s minds with lines like, “I got bullets that will rip through your ribs/more painful then watching R. Kelly piss on your kids.” Instead of unleashing another lyrical barrage on ‘Open Your Eyes,’ Immortal Technique opts to drop food for thought through speech and not rhyme. ‘Payback’ comes with a DJ Khaled intro followed with verses by Diabolic and the elusive Ras Kass. The slow production and drawn out horns are more than adequate for the trio to discuss subjects like the CIA, the Iran Contra Scandal, and other types of conspiracy theories.

The rest of the album contains songs like ‘Stronghold Grip’ (feat. Poison Pen and Swave Sevah), ‘Mistakes,’ and ‘Parole’ which all continue the mood of the album. The 3rd World is basically a political landscape where Immortal Technique shares his opinions and his dislikes on how certain situations in or out of this country are handled. His content mirrors the teachings of the historical leaders that came before him, and his authentic passion lets listeners know that he’s no gimmick. If you’re looking to shake and dance, this is probably not an album for you, but if you want to actually learn something about today’s society through the words of rhyme and intensity, then this is the best purchase you could ever make.