by Duke

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of short posts about artists who grab creative control and run like hell with it. Most of these artists may have initially damaged their chances of short-term success, only to come out in the long-term with a solid career & a dedicated fan base.

The point of these isn’t really to give a bio on the artists; but writing about someone without referring to their life is like writing a physics book without equations. I’ll try to keep it short.

First up: the indestructible Immortal Technique.

As much political activist as artist, Tech started out in the music business as a pariah to the major labels, despite having gathered a significant following through rap battles in New York. No one would touch him because his lyrics were (and continue to be) so intensely abrasive to “America’s interests” (i.e. corporate America’s interests abroad).

He was born Felipe Andres Coronel in Peru, at a time when the US government was busy trying to prop up a neo-fascist dictatorship against the guerilla supporters of a more legitimately established government… and he wasn’t afraid to refer directly to the fact later.

During his stint in prison Tech focused the skills he had amassed from childhood into raps about his violent life in Harlem, as well as the poverty and relentless racism he faced throughout his life. An autodidact, he has been able to translate complex socio-economic and political theories (and injustices) – along with his broad understanding of the histories of nations – into tirades even an idiot can follow.

Add to that his charity work. The net proceeds from “The 3rd World” went to fund the building of an orphanage in Kabul. Tech himself went to Afghanistan to oversee the project personally. That’s hardcore.

This is not pop-friendly stuff, and not a route you should follow if you want to be a mainstream star.

That said, it is precisely because of his pathological inability to compromise on his hard-won principles and beliefs that his fans are so fiercely dedicated to him. He can claim 300,000 albums sold independently, and a fan base that spans many countries. He did it without any help from the majors, and at a time when freedom of speech was being brutally oppressed in America by the You-Know-Who Administration.

Here’s a video for what is probably his best-known track. Epic shit.

Interesting factoid: Did you know Immortal Technique was offered a deal by the DA if he’d turn snitch on his friends? He didn’t. Instead he got a “pitbull lawyer” and got the sentence knocked down from a possible 5-10 years to 2 years. Again, smart.

From Russia Today:

For more on Tech, read his Viper bio

and his Wikipedia page.
See also Immortal Technique Helps Build Afghan Orphanage

Technorati Tags: Duke, Immortal Technique, Rejects Revenge

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 10:28 am and is filed under Music Culture, Music History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.