Independents Day…

I have to give Immortal Technique mad credit for releasing 'The Third World' album. After some of the shit he spit on that disk there is no way a major label will be able to touch him. He willfully made himself an industry pariah. I hope it pays off for him in the long run by giving him a loyal fanbase to perform in front of.

Fuck album sales in today's world anyhoo. Artists don't get shit from that retail sale. What the artist had already is a fan that was serious enough to consume their art from a retail pricepoint. Artists need shows to get that money in their pocket. I check for one of my favorite rappers, Joell Ortiz, to see when he is performing in New York City. Then I go out and attend his show.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy records either because record sales will tell the t.I.'s whose music should be distributed on a grand scale. This doesn't always mean that the best music will be broadcast to the most people. The underground scene in Hip-Hop has a greater percentage of lyricists than does the mainstream movement. However promoting lyrics in rap has become something akin to selling cod liver oil fruit punch.

Immortal Technique, and even Joell Ortiz now since his separation from Aftermath Records, are part of the underground scene in Hip-Hop which is seeing a revitalization. It isn't as full blown as it was in the early 90s, but it is getting there. Part of the reason is because of the two rappers I just mentioned. Master lyricists attract a higher caliber fanbase than do pop music artists. The fan that takes out their time to study and memorize lyrics will support their favorite artists through many seasons.

Immortal Technique deals with some hardcore themes on his latest project. He isn't just spitting fire on the corruption of our government and the countless conspiracies they have set in motion to keep the poor disenfranchised. Im Tech is punching rappers in the nose as well when he tells them that "Jaob is a jeweler, he ain't your friend." There's a lot of real talk on this album that too many rap fans today are allergic to. Im Tech got that Claritin bitches.

Between the NaS mixtape and Immortal Technique's new project Green Lantern has positioned himself as the next great producer for lyricists. A new millenium Preemo. The beats on 'The Third World' are classic head nod boom bap rhythms. I almost want to copp a pair of those headphones that surround my skull like a helmet so I can go into these tracks completely without a peep from the outside. This album is an all-time underground manifesto. Poison Pen even features on this joint and you already know his steez.

I also dig that Immortal Technique can rap about real world economics like property ownership and the agriculture industry. I will avoid giving him the label as the 'thinking man's rapper' and instead I will call him the 'acting man's rapper'. Too many people think but don't act. Immortal Technique's 'The Third World' is the soundtrack or all of you motherfuckers who decide to get up, get out there and do something.

A lot of motherfuckers claim they fear nothing, but then they don't challenge something. Nothing isn't a challenge. Something is. Challenge something. Change the world.

But first, declare your independence.