User:StopClick/Sandbox/Immortal Technique

Felipe Coronel, better known as Immortal Technique, is a Hip hop MC and political activist. He is of Afro-Peruvian descent and was raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on political issues. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely a mixture of commentary on issues such as poverty, religion, and racism. He also focuses on the harsh resulting realities of crime in the housing projects of New York City's slums.

Although he has been offered a deal with at least one major record label, he has never signed to any. Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to keep control over his production, and has made statements in his music that he is very aware that it is record companies, not the artists themselves, who profit the most from mass production and marketing of music.

Early life
In the early 1980s, Immortal Technique, then Felipe Coronel moved with his family to Harlem from his native Peru which was going through a civil war at the time. During his teenage years he was arrested multiple times and eventually incarcerated. After being paroled, he began to become a notable figure in underground New York hip hop with much success as a battle rapper.

"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 he had made from winning various rap battles. Around 2,500 were printed off and he managed to sell 2,400 copies. 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. 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. He finally released his second album Revolutionary Vol. 2 in 2003 under Viper Records/Nature Sounds distribution on CD and double LP. 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.

"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' ) featuring Mos Def (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 Republican administrations were largely responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks. This was not meant in a literal sense, 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 definitely benefited from the end result of all those people dying." He is set to release his next album, The Middle Passage.

Social and political views
Immortal Technique provides listeners of his music with his views on politics, sociology, and religion. Many of his views align closely with socialism, as can be seen in multiple songs, including "The Poverty of Philosophy" from Revolutionary Vol. 1, a reference to the book of the same name by Karl Marx. He tackles many modern political and social issues in his songs, addressing events such as the killing of the prominent Black Panthers member Fred Hampton by the FBI, 9/11, the shooting of Amadou Diallo by the NYPD, Palestinian rights in Israel, and the CIA backed killing of revolutionary leader Che Guevara – to name but a few. He has described himself as a "socialist guerrilla", but he refuses any party affiliation. 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, and Túpac Amaru II.

Immortal Technique is also a co-founder of the Grassroots Artists MovEment (G.A.ME), which provides healthcare for the underground artists with which it works.