Immortal Technique

Origins

Felipe Andres Coronel was born on February 19, 1978, in Lima, Peru. In 1980 his family left Peru's political turmoil behind and settled in Harlem, where he grew up. He attended Hunter College High School and later Penn State, but his studies were interrupted by a year of incarceration. After his release he took political science classes at Baruch College before committing to music full time.

Battle Rap to Revolutionary

Around 2000 he began making a name as a ferocious battle rapper in New York, known for cutting insults and sharp political arguments. On September 18, 2001, he self-released Revolutionary Vol. 1 through his own Viper Records, selling it largely hand to hand. Its closing epic "Dance with the Devil," a harrowing street parable, spread by word of mouth and became an underground classic. The album was repressed in 2004 with distribution partners that included Babygrande, Fontana and Nature Sounds.

Revolutionary Vol. 2 followed on November 18, 2003, again on Viper. Tracks such as "The Point of No Return," "Industrial Revolution" and "Peruvian Cocaine" tackled poverty, the drug trade, media control and U.S. foreign policy, and the record featured a recorded statement from Mumia Abu-Jamal. Immortal Technique has said it sold more than 85,000 copies without major-label backing.

Later Career

In 2005 he released "Bin Laden," a DJ Green Lantern-produced protest song with Mos Def; a remix added Chuck D and KRS-One. The 3rd World (2008), a collaboration with Green Lantern, became his highest-charting release, reaching No. 99 on the Billboard 200, and he said proceeds helped fund an orphanage in Afghanistan. The Martyr arrived in 2011 as a free download. He has also worked with UK rapper Lowkey on the 2009 track "Voices of the Voiceless," and "The Point of No Return" was used as an entrance theme at UFC 88, a sign of how far his music traveled without mainstream support.

Legacy

Immortal Technique is a benchmark for independent, politically radical rap. He has kept control of his masters and production, spoken openly about how labels profit from artists, and paired his music with prison visits, support for immigrant rights and scholarship programs. For a generation of listeners he proved that confrontational, uncompromising rap could sell tens of thousands of records with no radio play at all.