Unless you're Jay-Z, Weezy, or Kanye, it's hard to keep your name in the headlines of the hip-hop world between albums. It's almost unheard of for an independent, "underground" MC to keep his name in the mouths of hip-hop heads after going nearly five years without an album. Somehow, Immortal Technique has managed to do just that. After releasing two classic indie hip hop staples, Revolutionary Vol. 1 & Revolutionary Vol. 2 earlier this decade, he's coming back in a big way and this time with DJ Green Lantern's help. The highly anticipated new album is titled The Third World and we are already clocking hundreds of pre-orders for this album. In our conversation with the outspoken Harlem MC we spoke with him at length on a variety of topics, including his absence from recording, the presidential race, Jean Grae's retirement, Osama Bin Laden, his humanitarian efforts, and so much more. Kick back and enjoy one of the longest conversations with the underground hip-hop titan to date.
UGHH: It's been nearly five years since you last released a full length album, what have you been up to?
IT: Yeah, it's been 4 years and change since the last installment of the Revolutionary series. I was definitely doing a lot of features, keeping myself musically relevant. Also, the touring schedule definitely weighed down, you know I'm used to doing at least 100 to 150 shows a year. It seemed like the minute I wanted to get into the studio, my booking agent would call me and tell me I had to go out to like Finland. He'd be like 'oh, we got a show for you in Venezuela, or come to Morocco.' You know, there's people on the West coast screaming and saying they'll give me $15,000 if you show up. At that point, I needed to support my family so I hit the road really hard. I'm in the rare position where I'm one of those artists that can transcend racial line, religious lines, genre lines in terms of hip-hop so I brought a lot of people out. And whereas a platinum artist in some markets can only do like a 1000 people a show, I could go out to LA for example and because I have connections to and appeal to a college crowd, a hip-hop crowd, and even a street-gang crowd of people I work with to try and better, and talk about the history of our people. These are things I'm committed to, these are things I'm heavily involved in. The crisis on the border, dealing with the humane treatment of immigrants- I recently started working with an organization and we're building orphanages in Afghanistan. I've been fundraising this for a minute now, trying to bring in other organizations in. I've worked with Students for Justice in Palestine, to raise money for children's hospitals in Palestine.
So when I get home and someone says "You need to do this remix," and I'm like "listen, this takes priority, this is real life." I've learned to balance it, and I took some time out of this, to come up with all these other ideas. It enriched the songwriting process. I was in the middle of writing "Volume 3, The Middle Passage", and then all of a sudden Green Lantern pops up with mad beats and I was just like 'fuck it.' It fit so perfectly, being with "The Third World".
UGHH: Does it ever get hard to come back to the music after you've been dealing so much with what you were just talking about?
IT: I'm not trying to imply the music's not real. I work with a lot of people- whether it be the Free Mumia coalition, or with people from all walks of life, whether its black, white, Latino, Asian, to support their struggles. I don't see that as a loss of an opportunity. Some people may say 'you haven't put out a record in four years, you missed your slot.' I'm laughing, because you know what, I can do more people at a show than I ever could before. I'm able to get people to connect more with the message, because I can work with these community organizations. Artists that victimize their fan bases and get people to buy any bullshit they churn out- they don't get the same type of love.
You ain't gotta believe a word I say, but the proof is in the picture. The proof is in the house I bought for my grandmother, it's my sister's college education, it's my parent's apartment, and their mortgage is paid, my 350-acre apartment in Latin America. Nigga' get the fuck outta my face.
UGHH: You say Green Lantern hit you up with all these beats for the Third World. How did you first become acquainted with the guy? His name has been pinned with you a lot lately.
IT: I first met Green Lantern back in 2004, I believe, we were at a High Times conference and I was the only one in the room who was sober. We were just talking about issues in terms of the music industry and how I felt like there are people who might want to say things but they feel constrained by the industry itself. At that time, I think he was DJing for Eminem. He approached me personally, and said he had this song, with Mos Def on the hook, and he wanted me to do a verse. He said, 'I need this in the next two days.' I took it home, and I literally wrote the Bin Laden song we did overnight. He listened to it and said 'Yeah, that'll do.' And we had no idea. He said, 'you know, this shit is hot, it's like a little hidden gem on the mixtape.' So he put it in there and it became one of the most memorable songs on that whole tape. It became a huge song in the music industry. It cracked the surface, made it on a lot of mixtapes. Green Lantern basically wanted to shock the shit out of people on the hook and have me drop a lot of lyrics.
I said on [Revolutionary] Volume 2, that I didn't think Bush was responsible for 9/11, I just figured that the government is lying about their relationships with the people involved in it. I'm not trying to come off like a conspiracy theorist, that's fine, but you can't marginalize the facts. I believe wasn't all but two of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and we invade Afghanistan and Iraq. Now we use the premise that the Taliban is harboring Bin Laden but we pull out tens of thousands of troops when we have him cornered. There's a lot of things that are conspiracy theories that are actually true, they happen. I'm not just sitting here and saying outlandish things. There's definitely things the government doesn't want us to know, not for our protection, but for their protection.
UGHH: There was a certain fire and fervor you came with on Revolutionary Volume 2 that really resonated with people, and given the times, it was appropriate. Can we expect that same fire on The Third World, and is it hard to match that intensity again?
IT: Absolutely. It's very relevant to what's going on right now in terms of elections. I even have a lyric on there where I talk about how Africa has a lot of black presidents but it doesn't change the fact that their economies are still controlled by Europe. Even if we get a black president in America, that doesn't mean everything's going to be roses over here. There's still going to be a lot of problems we have to deal with. You can almost guarantee the backlash to a black president would be a Republican senate back in power. The feeling people have that democracy is being circumvented, whether by McCain and Bush or Clinton, the reality is that democracy is only acceptable to the people that control the country when it benefits them. It doesn't matter if it's a communist country or a despotic regime. As long as long as we're earning from them then we find it agreeable. Unless you're too big for your britches like Saddam Hussein, then you gotta go [in their eyes]. But even back in the day, he was a big earner for them.
These are all very relevant topics, and I've paralleled all the stories of how first world nations exploit the third world for their resources and physical property. The same way these major label super powers exploit the third world, which would be the underground. Any artist you've ever seen, whether it's an artist that excels on UGHH or whether they are a large multi-platinum artist- at some point, they were underground. At some point they belonged to the "third world." They had to make some concessions to the industry at some point to get their word out, the same way the third world does to the developing world. You have to privatize the water, privatize the electricity, communications, transportation. That's the only way you can be a "civilized country." The industry says the same thing, "You have to give us your publishing, your masters, we're going to cut into your shows."
You know, I'm not a revolutionary because I rhyme about it, I'm a revolutionary because I have this independence in hip-hop that allows me to say whatever I want. It's just my label, Viper Records, straight to Koch, and me to my merch, and me to the concepts of my music. I don't need a corporate board to approve my artwork like some artists. Some artists write a song and it goes before a board and they say 'I don't know about this one, or that one.' It's like 'fuck you nigga, I know about this.'
UGHH: You've built up quite an imprint as Immortal Technique and Viper Records, and like you said, you kept your independence. Looking at it globally, does this mean it's possible for others or were you just unique case?
IT: With myself, I had the benefit of having a lot of good teachers in this game. They helped me understand what was going on in, not just the industry, but every other aspect associated with it. In terms of investment, that's something very important. Somebody can make money, but the important part is making something out of it. For example, the number of people who have been the heavyweight champion of the world is different from the number of memorable heavyweight champions. Like Muhammad Ali is different from Hasim Rahman, that doesn't equate him to Ali or Mike Tyson. Regardless of whatever, Ali's legacy endures. That's relatable to economics, I'm not just talking about boxing here. It's one thing to achieve something, it's another thing to hang onto it and see it grow and see it work towards something, and maybe even work towards something that can provide a residual income.
UGHH: A lot of people want to know about your label-mates and acts close to you, namely Akir and Diabolic. What's going on with them?
IT: Akir is on this record, he's on a hidden track on the record. Diabolic's on the record too, I got Poison Pen on the record, I got my homies The Circle on the record too. I think for whoever's checkin' for them, they can see them on the Third World. I think they each have respective projects, but I'm not sure they're ready to announce the release date so I can't speak on that.
UGHH: I know you've worked with her before, but Jean Grae has been in the news lately with what many are calling her retirement. Have you spoken with her lately?
IT: I haven't had a chance to speak with her, but when I do, I'm sure I'll get the story from her rather than whatever she posted on her MySpace, or whatever she told ya'll niggas. I just can't imagine that Jean would stay away from this, because she's such a talented rapper. I'm not even going to say female rapper, just a rapper period. I think it's easy to get frustrated with the process sometimes. I get that way myself and everything is in my control. It's just incredibly hard sometimes, but I think she'll pull through. She'll be aight. I'll try to get her on tour with me or something.
UGHH: I think a lot of people would like to see that.
IT: Definitely, I'd love to bring Jean out to shows to blow off some steam. I mean I have much different rules about drinking (laughing), we'd find her at the bar or shit like that, but that's good because she loves life (laughing).
UGHH: Bringing it back to the news for a second, and the Sean Bell incident. Were you surprised by the verdict?
IT: I really thought they were going to get something. I didn't think they'd all get off. I thought they would placate and pacify the masses with some bullshit charge. To get off like that, for me, personally, is just a disgrace. I mean, I reacted in lots of different ways. It started with disappointment, and now I'm just sad. Because in a lot of ways we were allowing this to happen as a people, and our only solution was to march. I'm trying to find creative solutions now. I've been consulting with a lot of police brutality experts and people who have lost family members. One thing I started doing which was interesting that I started on my MySpace (myspace.com/immortaltechnique).
People think I have a blog, but it's not a blog, it's pieces out of a journal entry that I have. I have a journal that's almost like a book, with all stuff about the tour, musical history, personal stories, nothing to do with hip-hop. I have like a book of this stuff. I could put out a book with short stories of my life from this (laughing), all the crazy shit that's happened.
One of these stories is from when I was 13. One of my friend's got assaulted by these cops, just because we were running through the park. I bet one of my people's I was faster than them. They pulled my friend in the car and assaulted him, and I was like 13-14, 12, and they rolled up to us and said 'what'd ya'll steal?' And we said 'We didn't steal nothing,' and they were like 'the only reason niggers and spics run is because they steal stuff.' This was a grown man talking to a little kid. I wanted to include that, and I asked other people to share their stories.
We started a journal entry that started with maybe 200 stories. People at home reading this now are welcome to send their own stories. We're going to submit these for review. I have people who work in the government who are going to submit this to the city, the state legislature and say 'alright, we at least want to acknowledge this, we want this to go on record.' They may not care, but we want that recorded, we want it put down. We want people to see that it's not just a matter of race, it's a much larger issue. It goes to the power of the state to deprive a person due process and take a person's life, and not be held accountable for it. It's not just in terms of black or Latino people, we got stories from all people. I grew up as a little kid in Harlem, and I've literally seen cops rob drug dealers.
UGHH: You mentioned before, even if we get a black president, things won't be all rosy. Is there a best possible outcome in your mind?
IT: I don't know (laughs). I don't know if that's possible. I mean, I voted for Obama, but it's not the walk in the park some people think it will be. Just because he gets the nomination doesn't mean he'll win. They might try to Al Gore him out.
UGHH: So what's the difference and status of each of these projects you've been talking about, like The Middle Passage, Revolutionary Vol. 3, and even The Third World?
IT: The Third World was so different. It was focused what was going on immediately and I had to jump on it. The Middle Passage and Volume 3 have more epic things I have been working on for a long time. When Green Lantern came to me, I just said I knew it was something we had to do. It kind of just threw itself together like that. In no way is the Third World stuff that didn't make the Middle Passage or Volume 3. It's something that I independently worked on myself for this right now.
UGHH: As far as releases go, when will that happen?
IT: All of that will come together and probably be released in the next year. We're focusing on the Rock the Bells tour this year, and I'll be on there for the East Coast, West Coast, European, and Pacific Tour. I'm doing shows of my own in between those places, because Rock the Bells does major markets, and I have a hustle that goes beyond that. I go to little places, smaller cities. And when I go there, people love it. I go to every place that is out there because I feel like people are important. Just because they don't live in a police state capital like New York City, they shouldn't be deprived of some shit.
UGHH: You're like a touring monster, do you enjoy touring more than recording, or have a preference?
IT: I tell you the truth, I definitely do enjoy touring more than I enjoy recording. It's not like I ever feel bothered by recording, but I really prefer to be out there and have a chance to interact with people, and work with organizations. You know, I'm a revolutionary before I'm a rapper.
UGHH: People pretty much know you as a revolutionary as well as an MC. Do you ever get worn down by all the stuff you throw yourself into? I imagine it has to take some kind of toll.
IT: I mean, there are definitely times when I thought about it and I said 'I really wish I had more time for this or that.' Regardless, I'm able to maintain because I have a lot of good people around me, got a lot of soldiers, have a lot of brothers in this game, a lot of sisters in this game. I've got a good relationship with my family now, whereas when I was in and out of jail when I was a kid, that really wasn't the case.
UGHH: As much revolutionary material as you discuss in your music, do you ever get offended or upset that more rappers don't speak out when you know they may be capable of it?
IT: No. You know what I'm more offended by is that some people use that platform and they really don't give a fuck. That's a personal decision that bitch ass niggas make on their own. That's not me, I ain't gotta tell them nothin'. It's entirely on them. I'm not here to judge people and tell them what they need to be doing or what they don't need to be doing, but when it becomes so apparent that someone is using this music and selling a revolutionary image, and that's not what they are, they're on some Hollywood shit. You know, that's on them. It's not my responsibility to be chasing these artists down. If they're going to be fraudulent, they're going to be fraudulent, that's on them. I think that there are plenty of rappers that are really hard working in terms of behind the scenes stuff, and that's something I'm starting to see a lot more. For instance, people are like 'I like what you say Technique, but that's not for me, I do different shit.' I'm like all right, what can I tell you, that's fine. At the same time, they manage to contribute in other ways. Not everybody gives money to organizations when the cameras aren't around.
UGHH: Is there an artist you want to work with or tour with that you haven't?
IT: Damn, I mean, there's a lot of people I really respect. Me and KRS-One have been meaning to get some stuff done. I featured him on the hook in the Bin Laden joint, but we're actually supposed to get a song done. Me and Dead Prez, we have a joint together, we just never finished it. Vocals are there, we just need to redo the hook. There's definitely a lot of people I have the desire to finish the work I started with.
UGHH: Sometime guys will say that labels arrange collaborations for them, but I'm guessing that's not the case with you. How do you approach people to get on tracks with you?
IT: I do it myself, you know what I mean. I don't worry about what the fuck other people do. Whatever they're doing is entirely on them. I just stay focused on what I can do. Other people's motivation may be 'oh I need a down south record,' or 'I need a song for the bitches.' That's just how labels think, for me, that's not my motivation. I want to make powerful music, I want to make powerful statements. I want to be able to have as much of it really be included in the process because it's relevant to what the subject matter is about. You know, not because the person's hot or whatever. That's not the point.
~ UGHH.com
Pre-Order the new Immortal Technique Album - The Third World, by Clicking Here.
tour dates:
6/24/08: Highline Ballroom. New York, NY w/ DJ GI JOE
7/11/08: Higher Ground. Burlington, VT w/ DJ GI JOE
7/15/08: Mr Smalls. Millvale, PA w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J Arch
7/16/08: Magic Stick. Detroit, MI w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J Arch
7/19/08: Rock The Bells. Tinley Park, IL
7/20/08: The High Noon Saloon. Madison, WI w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen Da Circle & J Arch
7/21/08: First Avenue. North Minneapolis, MN w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J Arch
7/24/08: Toad's Place. New Haven, CT w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J Arch
7/25/08: Pearl Street. Northampton, MA w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J Arch
7/26/08: Rock The Bells. Mansfield, MA
7/27/08: Rock The Bells. Columbia, MD
7/29/08: Cat's Cradle. Carrboro, NC w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J Arch
7/30/08: The Loft. Atlanta, GA w/ DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J Arch
8/01/08: Orlando, Fl — TBA
8/02/08: Rock The Bells. West Palm Beach, FL
8/03/08: Rock The Bells. Wantagh, NY
8/07/08: Belly Up Tavern. Solana Beach, CA w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/09/08: Rock The Bells. San Bernardino, CA
8/10/08: The Speedway. San Luis Obispo, CA w/ Rakim, DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/12/08: Ventura Theatre. Ventura, CA w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/13/08: The Exit. Fresno, CA w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/15/08: The Boardwalk. Orangevale, CA w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/16/08: Rock The Bells. Mountain View, CA
8/19/08: Reno, NV—TBA
8/21/08: In The Venue. Salt Lake City, UT w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/23/08: Rock The. Greenwood Village, CO
8/24/08: Sunshine Theater. Albuquerque, NM w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/26/08: The Brickhouse Theatre. Phoenix, AZ w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/27/08: Orpheum Theatre. Flagstaff, AZ w/ DJ GI JOE, Diabolic & Da Circle
8/28/08: Las Vegas, NV — TBA
8/29/08: Lancaster, CA — TBA
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