Born 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. Exchanging the struggle and turmoil of a life in South America for the streets of New York in the mid 80’s Immortal Technique’s family migrated to Harlem. Although, there was a violent and often lawless element in the city of New York during that era, and after being arrested for several different offenses Immortal Technique eventually ended up serving some time incarcerated for some violent offenses.
Upon his being paroled, Technique immediately began entering local area battles and taking the skills he had gained at rhyming to the forefront of the NYC underground Hip hop scene. He began winning just about every battle that the city had before he realized that he could really get the ideas and concepts for songs across much better with the release of his music. He worked multiple jobs, often menial to come up with the money even getting a small sum under the table from an executive from a major label that wanted nothing in return. He relied on his skills as a battle rapper using all the money from the contest he won to create a CD featuring some of the work that he completed in prison and a few songs written on parole. The project turned into a 17-track album that was titled, “Revolutionary Vol.1.” Roughly 2,500 copies were pressed up and without any distribution, production budget advertisement, and sold out completely.
Opening for mainstream and other underground artists he worked his way up the ranks all while constantly touring wherever he could go, earning praises in Unsigned Hype in the Source (May, 2002) and working on a follow up album to the first one he did.
In 2003 he began working with a label he had become a part of called Viper Records. There with others that were involved in prison reform and spreading a message of social justice his graphically violent and lyrically fierce rhyming style found a place to mature and grow into a more refined message. The key component was that Immortal Technique was personally involved in all aspects of the music, marketing, artwork, song writing, structure, and personally took charge of his own career. In early 2004 he officially released Revolutionary Vol.2 through a distributor and showcased the result of all his hard work. The album took off becoming an instant underground classic. The singles charted #50 on billboard and both singles, “Industrial Revolution” and “The Point of No Return” also earned the #1 spot on the CMJ charts. And before the release of his album the rapper became one of the only unsigned rappers to ever receive a Hip Hop Quotable in The Source (10/03).
After Revolutionary Vol.2 had already generated a rigorous nation wide tour schedule he began working with Dj Green Lantern creating a song featuring Mos Def called “Bin Laden”. The song had a very incendiary hook but it was structured in that way to bring people into listen to the lyrics and spread a message reminiscent of when the spirit of Hip Hop used to meet at the crux of the Hardcore street sound and a Revolutionary message. The single and the remix featuring Public Enemy’s Chuck D and KRS 1 on the hook became an underground favorite as well, even sneaking onto the airwaves of NYC’s own Hot97.
Between 2005 and 2007 Immortal Technique began working on The Middle Passage and Revolutionary Vol.3 the two albums that would serve a follow up to Revolutionary Vol.2 and complete the series. He was also was featured on several movie soundtracks, video game soundtracks. All the while touring relentlessly and becoming heavily involved in visiting prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists and raising tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas. He invested his money not in chains, fancy cars and luxurious homes but rather in large pieces of farmland in Latin America. He created a writing grant program for high school students and has involved himself in the structuring of an orphanage in Afghanistan. In late 2007 before the continuation of the Revolutionary series Immortal Technique and Dj Green Lantern decided to do An album together and connect the struggles of this nation to those occurring overseas.
The result was the mixtape/album called “The 3rd World” being released June 24th of 2008 through Viper Records.
Underground legend, Revolutionary leader, accomplished battle champion and an independent success selling more than 135,000 units without a major label Immortal Technique is not a product of marketing, and industry imagery, he is the real thing.
www.ViperRecords.com
www.myspace.com/immortaltechnique
www.reverbnation.com/immortaltechnique
info@ViperRecords.com
daparedes@publicwizardinc.com
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