1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: From Futuro Media. It's Latino Usa. I'm Maria Inojosa. 2 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 2: Immortal Technique. Stuff in your thoughts, talkinging dreams. No one's 3 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 2: as good as me. He just got better marketing schemes. 4 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: Born in Peru, as Philippe Coronel in, Mortal Technique is 5 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: a legendary underground hip hop artist known for his skills 6 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: on the mic, as well as for his raw, super 7 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: political lyrics. 8 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 2: Listen responsored by corporations. That's why Hallim Burton gets paid 9 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 2: the rebuild nations. 10 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 3: Tell me the truth. 11 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 2: I don't scare until paralysis. I know the CIA, so 12 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 2: I've been Latin on dialysis in ninety eight when he 13 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 2: was top ten for the FBI, government ties is really 14 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 2: what it. 15 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 3: Government lies. 16 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: His family immigrated to Harlem, New York, from Peru when 17 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: he was just a toddler, to escape the armed conflict there. 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: He grew up in Harlem during the eighties and nineties, 19 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: at a time when New York City was notoriously rough. 20 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 2: Checked the check constant, struggled to make the payments work 21 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 2: in your whole life, Wondering when a day when the 22 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 2: subway stays packed like a multicultural slave ship is Russ 23 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 2: Shawa two thirty to eight, non stopping and people come 24 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 2: in home app the corporate share Cropperty. 25 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: Philipas says that because of the way that he grew up, 26 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: he harbored a lot of rage, and eventually that rage 27 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: led him to prison. He was incarcerated for a year 28 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: during his college years for assault related offenses. While he 29 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: was in prison, he honed his rapping skills, and when 30 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: he was parolled in nineteen ninety nine, he took up 31 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: freestyle rap battling and he became a champion in the 32 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: underground New York City battling scene. Just two years later, 33 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: he released his first album, Revolutionary Volume one, which launched 34 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: him to fame, eventually collaborating with famous artists such as 35 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: Dead Pres, Most Deaf and Chuck d of Public Enemy. 36 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: But his brutal song Dance with the Devil is what 37 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: he mostly became known for. 38 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,959 Speaker 2: He started hanging out selling bags in the projects, checking 39 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 2: the young chicks, looking for and run prospects. 40 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: Immortal Technique is still writing music and his fans are 41 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: holding their breath for the release of his first album 42 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: in over ten years. I sat down last year with 43 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: Immortal Technique to hear about his life and how his 44 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: rage got up to where he is today, and we're 45 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: bringing that piece back. But before we listen to that conversation, 46 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: I wanted to check in with Philippe Immortal Technique. He's 47 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: turned to philanthropy and activism in recent years, and a 48 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 1: lot of his work is centered in Harlem. He's been 49 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: very active during this pandemic. Between hitting the studio and 50 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: working on his new album. Felipe has donated to various 51 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 1: charity organizations, but he's also going out to help in 52 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: his own neighborhood by himself. 53 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 4: He's picking up. 54 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: Groceries and running errands for those who aren't able to 55 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: and every few days for the past several weeks, he's 56 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: been live streaming these runs on social media. 57 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 2: My parents said to me, you have to be careful 58 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 2: because you're all we have out there. You know, you're 59 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 2: our lifeline out there, so you have to be careful. 60 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 2: And then I thought about how many people don't have 61 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 2: a lifeline, and I say, wow, okay, So. 62 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 3: If my folks need me, then other people need me. 63 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 2: So my mentality is this, and I talk to my 64 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 2: mom about this and it's old. It's an old saying, 65 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 2: but to whom much is given, you know, much is expected. 66 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 2: I guess it's coming to fruition now, like the idea 67 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: that a lot of things that were offered by this 68 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 2: society could have always happened. So I feel like it's 69 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 2: my duty now to pay that forward to the people 70 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 2: that don't have it. 71 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 3: One of the things that I. 72 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 2: Have been doing on a smaller scale is supporting this 73 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 2: organization called the South Bronx Collective, which are a big 74 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 2: group of activists and organizers that are going around helping 75 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 2: people in the South Bronx and in Harlem to help 76 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 2: those individuals that have been kind of forgotten about, swept 77 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 2: under the rug, the giant homeless community, the immigrant community, 78 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 2: those people who were considered essential workers but unfortunately didn't 79 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 2: file their taxes last year. 80 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: I've thought about, you know how, particularly people who are 81 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: elderly or who aren't a very fixed income, you know, 82 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: who can't stand in line at the grocery store the 83 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:41,799 Speaker 1: way it is now here in New York, in Harlem, 84 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: So what are the stories that you're hearing, How are 85 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: people holding up, what are they saying. 86 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 2: I think a lot of the older people in the 87 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 2: community were the ones who felt the most vulnerable, and 88 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 2: the people who I talked to who were the most 89 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 2: afraid because you know, they were being told all kinds 90 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 2: of information online. You know, oh you're more susceptible to disease. 91 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 2: It could kill you right now. So a lot of 92 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 2: people that were elderly at Harlem were kind of afraid 93 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 2: to do some of their shopping. So, you know, like 94 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 2: I said, I'm not running a black market. I'm not 95 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 2: holding up Harlem on my shoulders like Atlas. This is 96 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 2: a very small scale thing. This is only helping like 97 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 2: a couple dozen people. 98 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 3: This is not huge. 99 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 2: I think the real credit belongs to the South Bronx Collective, 100 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 2: the Border Angels, the Border Kindness people, the people that 101 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 2: are you know, helping. 102 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 3: On a mass scale. 103 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 2: And that's something I just I realized is done through 104 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 2: small groups of people. 105 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 3: Uniting is one. It's definitely telling that. 106 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 2: Not all hope was lost, that from the very beginning, 107 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 2: there were a lot of people who said, listen, we're 108 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 2: going to get through this. 109 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: Philippe has always been outspoken and political, and that's an 110 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: integral part of his art even now. 111 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 2: Something inspiring to me was the Native American community. I 112 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 2: want to give a big shout out to all the 113 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 2: Indigenous people that reached out to me and that I 114 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 2: reached out to as well. My man Natani means the 115 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 2: great son of activist Russell means the people have explained 116 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 2: to me. We've survived many pandemics, We've survived many diseases. 117 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,919 Speaker 1: So everything that you're seeing on a daily basis because 118 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: of this pandemic is affecting you on multiple levels. It's 119 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: affecting your philanthropy, it's affecting your personal activism. I'm wondering, 120 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: how is this affecting you as an artist? Oh are 121 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: you Are you being able to be super productive or 122 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: are you being more disconnected, more kind of introverted giving 123 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: it some time? Are you thinking about will you be 124 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: able to perform? 125 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 4: Live? 126 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 1: Like? What's going on for you the artist part of you? 127 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 3: Well, here's an interesting thing, Maria. 128 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 2: When this thing started really getting into gear, people started 129 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,480 Speaker 2: calling me saying, hey, what are we going to do 130 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 2: about like the tours and everything else that's set up? 131 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 2: And I looked at them and I laughed, and I'm like, 132 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 2: tours set up, nothing, It's over. 133 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:01,559 Speaker 3: Nobody wants to go to these things. 134 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 2: I'm sure there are lots of people out in the 135 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 2: street that are campaigning for you know, shake Shack and 136 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 2: Fudbruckers to open, and they think that's oppression. 137 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 3: That's not oppression. 138 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 2: What I think the idea that we have to contend 139 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 2: with is, you know, what's the long term strategy for 140 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 2: dealing with this. 141 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 1: So you, as an artist, you know, you said to 142 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: your team, look forget about it. 143 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 2: No, I said forget the tours. I said, We're still 144 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 2: going to have to be in the studio. We're gonna 145 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 2: still do all that stuff. 146 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, so how are you what's going on creatively? I mean, 147 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: how are you feeding yourself artistically? 148 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 2: Okay, so this is interesting. As a writer, I write stories, 149 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 2: I write poems. This coronavirus, this epidemic, this pandemic, this 150 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 2: lockdown has had me working on a book of short stories, 151 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 2: and I continue to kind of bash away at some 152 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 2: of them, and I got through like two more stories. 153 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 2: So I'd like to get into about fifteen sixteen, kind 154 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 2: of like an album, and then put it out. But 155 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 2: I have a very creative title that I already thought of. 156 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,679 Speaker 2: I got everything laced up. I'd like to actually publish 157 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 2: the book myself and then see if we can find 158 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 2: a distributor the way I did with the music. So 159 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 2: I tell people, if you are an artist, like a 160 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 2: singing artist, man, don't let this stop your creative process, 161 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 2: your creative person in general. You know, write poems, draw things, 162 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 2: you know, write stories, write plans, make outlines, make write 163 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 2: a will, do anything creative in life that is necessary 164 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 2: that is going to help you. 165 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: All right, let me ask you this final question. So 166 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,440 Speaker 1: you know, your fans, those of us, we saw that 167 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,319 Speaker 1: you went on tour last fall, the Middle Passage Tour. 168 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: You perform some new music, and so I'm just wondering 169 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,599 Speaker 1: because everybody else is, and you know, I'm going to 170 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: ask you this question. He's like, no, please, don't. 171 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 4: I just want to know. 172 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: Tell me what's up with the album? 173 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 3: All right? 174 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 2: My producer had to leave his house because his roommate 175 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 2: has coronavirus. Oh boy, so that was kind of a 176 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 2: monkey in the ranch. My friend passing away really set 177 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 2: me back. But that was only a couple of weeks. 178 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 2: We got to about like eleven songs, and then we 179 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 2: just kind of grinded to a halt because everything stopped going, 180 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 2: stop working. You know, the label shut down for like 181 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 2: two weeks. Essentially, what I'd like to do is get 182 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 2: as many of these songs to a working mode as 183 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,199 Speaker 2: we can. And now we don't have as much lead time, 184 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 2: so I think that when we put the record out, 185 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,319 Speaker 2: it's going to be very sudden. 186 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 3: My producer is resituated. 187 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 2: He's in a new apartment and he's okay, and I'm 188 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 2: feeling like a lot better about everything else. Also, a 189 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:47,559 Speaker 2: very very close friend of mine, his mother, who's a 190 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 2: medical professional, she's a nurse. She caught a very serious 191 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 2: case of coronavirus, and thank god, she's in recovery now, 192 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 2: and I just want to send prayers to her and 193 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 2: say that you know, we love you and appreciate all 194 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 2: the people that are on front lines of this thing. 195 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 2: So that was something else, not just getting myself right, 196 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 2: but I got to make sure all my people are 197 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 2: right around me, you know what I mean. 198 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: That was Philippe Gronell aka Immortal Technique, talking to us 199 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:31,200 Speaker 1: from his apartment in Harlem, New York. When I last 200 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: sat down with Immortal Technique face to face at the 201 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: NPR Studios in New York City, we really got deep 202 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: into his background. He spoke about building his career in 203 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: New York City's underground rap scene and how he was 204 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:48,839 Speaker 1: going to become the activist that he is today. We're 205 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,679 Speaker 1: going to bring back that conversation now, and just a 206 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: heads up. In this interview there will be some discussions 207 00:10:54,440 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: about rape and sexual violence. So, Felipe, you were born 208 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: in Peru, were in Biddle. 209 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 3: I was born in Los Pitela de. 210 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: Lima, and what what area of Lima? 211 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 2: I lived in a place called sam Martine Boris. I 212 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 2: have a house there, and now it's very much like 213 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 2: Harlem in the sense that it was, you know, a 214 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:21,319 Speaker 2: dilapidated neighborhood for years, even though it has its originations 215 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:25,280 Speaker 2: in a very very upscale area right fifty eighty years ago, 216 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 2: and then it turned into a slum. And it's funny 217 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 2: because you know, my father, who grew up in Bedu, 218 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 2: who thought he would live his whole life there, experienced 219 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,559 Speaker 2: you know, five thousand percent inflation in a year, a 220 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 2: virtual civil war between you know, maoist gorillas and a 221 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 2: CIA backed paramilitaries, and in order to find peace and quiet, 222 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 2: he moved to Harlem in the nineteen eighties. 223 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 3: And that's the life I began to live. 224 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 2: I'm on the border of Bolivia, worker for pennies, treated 225 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 2: like a slave. 226 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:55,680 Speaker 3: The poker fields have to be very discovered. 227 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 2: Of my people is starving, broken and sweaty, and treatment 228 00:11:58,480 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 2: about revolution. 229 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 3: Looking now as a youth, I would go back there whenever. 230 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 3: My parents. 231 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 2: We wouldn't buy like fancy things, you know what I mean. 232 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 2: We didn't have the newest toys or something like that. 233 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 2: If we got them, we got them off secondhanded. My 234 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 2: clothes all came from a church. Everything that we had 235 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,559 Speaker 2: was saving up to go home to see my family 236 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 2: and to make sure that we maintained that cultural connection, 237 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 2: because I think it was it was very important for 238 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 2: my parents to make me understand what it meant to 239 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 2: be here and to have those opportunities. It definitely was 240 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 2: an eye opener in the sense that it exposed poverty 241 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 2: to me in a way I had never seen it. 242 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,439 Speaker 2: In America, you live with the illusion of a safety net, right, 243 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 2: the illusion of the safety net. You're gonna have medicare, 244 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 2: you got social security, all these things are going to 245 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 2: take care of you. And I think out in Bedu, 246 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 2: it was more like you're swimming in the ocean alone 247 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 2: and you realize that you're swimming in the ocean alone. 248 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: At what point did you, as Philippe, as a young person, 249 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:56,559 Speaker 1: did you begin to kind of process, well, there's this reality, 250 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,319 Speaker 1: but then there's the illusion, because so much of your 251 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: work as an artist, as a musician is about kind 252 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: of pulling back the. 253 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 3: Cover in terms of the world itself. 254 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 2: I think my father was one of the first best 255 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 2: teachers I had, Like he was recruited out of the 256 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 2: Peruvian military to be at Columbia University. But it wasn't 257 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 2: until I started actually studying human beings that I came 258 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 2: to certain realizations about the society that we live in. 259 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 2: It wasn't an epiphany that I came to these realizations. 260 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,679 Speaker 2: I think it was more of a slow burn of 261 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 2: realizing that they were just one other layer, one other thing. 262 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 2: You know, I'm a person who's visibly Latino, but you know, 263 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 2: my mom's father is black originally his families from the Caribbean, 264 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 2: So I grew up with a very, very different idea 265 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,559 Speaker 2: of African Indigenous Latino relations. You know, in many ways, 266 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 2: I witnessed a lot of people, both especially Puerto Ricans 267 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 2: and Dominicans that I grew up with friends of mine 268 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,680 Speaker 2: that were in total denial of their African ancestry, and 269 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 2: I'm looking at them and I'm like, dude, you're you're 270 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 2: blacker than Pepper. 271 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 3: And you're talking about how you're not black. 272 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 2: You're calling people Brieto and all these other names, and 273 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 2: you're talking about your mom. You know that, right, just 274 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 2: like the Spanish sixth terminating tin News, raping the black 275 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 2: and Indian women, creating lots of hills. 276 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: Your parents had a lot of hopes, maybe about the 277 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: illusion of the United States. You're actually going to at 278 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: that time, You're going to one of the best public 279 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: schools in New York City. 280 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 2: That's the reason my parents stayed in the city. They 281 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 2: were originally going to move to Canada for the free healthcare. 282 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 2: And I got into I was living in Harlem and 283 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 2: I got into Hunter. 284 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: So when you say Hunter, that's Hunter College High School, 285 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: which is this public school in New York City. It's 286 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 1: very high performing. You can test into it, so you 287 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: have to be super bright to get in. And speaking 288 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: of Hunter College High School, we've got to bring up 289 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: somebody who has also been on Latino USA a couple 290 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: of times, Lean Manuel Miranda. You know, the accusation is 291 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: that you were actually a bully to lean Manuel that 292 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: you says you terrorized kids and that you even threw 293 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: him in a trash can. 294 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 5: Well, his rapper name is Immortal Technique. He's one of 295 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 5: the most sort of politically ideological. He really made sort 296 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 5: of an incredible life for himself as a rapper. Right, 297 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 5: he was a school bully and he terrorized kids. He 298 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 5: thrown into the garbage. I got thrown in the garbage 299 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 5: by him. 300 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: Isn't that interesting? 301 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 5: And yeah, he was a really angry kid. 302 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: And how are you and nim Manuel? 303 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 4: How is that? 304 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 3: No? 305 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 2: We talked and he was like, yo, I'm sorry about 306 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,680 Speaker 2: the way the story came out. I mean to say 307 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 2: that you were like the most wicked person in the world. 308 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 2: And obviously, you know, you change as an individual since then. 309 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 3: And we have been on good terms. 310 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 2: You know, I've never had like an outstanding issue because 311 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 2: of that particular interview. It was more about what other 312 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 2: people have brought into the conversation, because, to be honest, 313 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 2: he wasn't the only one that got thrown in the 314 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 2: trash can. There were dozens of people thrown in the 315 00:15:54,800 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 2: trash can. I was a definite, definite violent person, and 316 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 2: I think that the contrast came because I was expected 317 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 2: to be a certain way at school, and then when 318 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 2: I left school, a lot of the kids from school 319 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 2: didn't have to deal with the same repercussions and same 320 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 2: issues that I had to. It's like your voter, you 321 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 2: atic killing fields uptown. We live in distress and hang 322 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 2: the flag upside down the sound of conservative politicians on television. 323 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 3: People in the hood are blinds, so they tell us 324 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 3: to listen. 325 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 2: They vote for us, to vote the war instantly, but 326 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 2: none of their kids serving the infantry to all a 327 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 2: stacked against us like a casino. Think about it, most 328 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 2: of the Armies black and Latino. The rage and anger 329 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 2: that I experienced as a kid was from living in 330 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 2: that dual life, you know what I mean, From going 331 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 2: to a good school with a bunch of people who 332 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 2: you know, maybe sometimes would have a gattitude problem, and 333 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 2: then me going home to Harlem, which was just totally different. 334 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 2: Like with Harlem, I remind people in nineteen eighty eight 335 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 2: eighty seven, it was tough. So I maybe a lot 336 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 2: of the things that I had seen in witnessed really 337 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 2: kind of change stuff. Like a lot of kids, Sure 338 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:05,919 Speaker 2: you lived in New York, but you didn't see the 339 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 2: same things that I saw. 340 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 4: Was the problem. 341 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,680 Speaker 1: So at one time you were asked about the bullying 342 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 1: and the violence, and you said, quote, I guess at seventeen, 343 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: it was hard for me to see that the person 344 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: I was really fighting was myself. 345 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 2: I chose violence to be the tool of deconstructing other 346 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 2: people's issues, and it led to creating more issues to myself. 347 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:35,719 Speaker 2: So every time someone thought just because he's smart, he soft, 348 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 2: I reminded them every day that I would hurt them 349 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 2: in some way. Like everything about me was structured to 350 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,199 Speaker 2: fight with people. To be honest, While I imagine that I 351 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:47,720 Speaker 2: liked that at the time, really inside of me I 352 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 2: didn't like that. It wasn't something that I enjoyed. It 353 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 2: was something that I saw as a necessity. 354 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 3: It's touch and go. It's not like I was just 355 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 3: a purely wicked kid. 356 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 1: So the rage actually lends you in prison? Is it 357 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: in prison and where you basically decide that that's where 358 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,479 Speaker 1: you want to move into rap? Or how is it 359 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: that you decide rap is the place where you're gonna 360 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: find your expression. 361 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 2: I think one of the things about prison isn't that 362 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 2: it decided to make me choose rap as a career. 363 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 2: I chose rap in prison as a form of meditation, 364 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 2: as a form of finding peace. I was thrown in 365 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 2: the hole one time. For people who don't know what 366 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 2: that is, that's solitary confinement where you basically live in 367 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,400 Speaker 2: and exist in a very dark space. Native American cat 368 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 2: named Judge. He came by my cell and he shoved 369 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,640 Speaker 2: the piece of paper and like a half broken pencil 370 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 2: in the cell and he was like, yo, man, don't 371 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,480 Speaker 2: go crazy in there. And I really, man, you know, 372 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 2: if there's a person out there who I owe, you 373 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 2: know what I mean to pay their rent, it's definitely Judge, 374 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 2: because man, that piece of paper was covered with so 375 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 2: many writing it looked like like I only had one 376 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 2: piece the. 377 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 3: Paper to write on. 378 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 2: So it was like I wrote on all the lines 379 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:04,080 Speaker 2: that I wrote on the sides, and I wrote on 380 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 2: the other sides. I rode on the back, I wrote 381 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,160 Speaker 2: on the outside lines. This thing was like the holy Grail. 382 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 2: If I should have before and get caught in a 383 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:13,399 Speaker 2: hustle and let him know that I died, well, I 384 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 2: fought in the struggle from the hood. 385 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 6: Rest the rich kids cost in the bubble, straight painted 386 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:19,199 Speaker 6: on the streets, set in the subway. 387 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:23,080 Speaker 1: So I used to one night, coming up on Natino USA, 388 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 1: we talk about Immortal Technique's first album and this song 389 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: that launched his career, stay with. 390 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 7: Us one night more than they self, And then I 391 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 7: saw the way they portrayed us, that everyone else that 392 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 7: cursed us the only see the worst than ourselves, blud 393 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 7: that in fact, the whole time that we were hurting ourselves. 394 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:42,400 Speaker 2: I used to one night, one. 395 00:19:42,400 --> 00:20:21,160 Speaker 1: Night, Hey we're back, and when we left off, Immortal 396 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: Technique was telling us about how he got into rap. 397 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,800 Speaker 1: We're gonna pick up now with his first album and 398 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: the infamous song Dance with the Devil. Justa heads up 399 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: in this section of the conversation, we're gonna be talking 400 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,880 Speaker 1: about rape and sexual violence. You released Revolutionary Volume one, 401 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,120 Speaker 1: that was your first album in two thousand and one, 402 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: and on that album is basically the song that launched 403 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 1: your career, Dance with the Devil, which I was listening 404 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: to it this morning in preparation again just yeah no, 405 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: And I'm sitting here like. 406 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 3: They drove around a project slow on. 407 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 2: It was raining, smoking, Blunt's, drinking and joking for entertainment 408 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 2: until they saw a woman on a street walking along 409 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:05,959 Speaker 2: fig in the morning, coming back from work on their 410 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 2: way home, and so they quietly shot out the car 411 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,679 Speaker 2: and followed up walking through the projects. The darkness swallowed her. 412 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 2: They wrapped the shirt around their head and knocked the 413 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:14,479 Speaker 2: wall on to the floor. 414 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 3: This is it, kid, What. 415 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 1: Was it about the Dance with the Devil that you 416 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: think launched your career? Essentially? 417 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 2: I could give you a million different answers, but I'm 418 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:30,280 Speaker 2: going to give you the ugliest one. Everybody either knows 419 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 2: someone or has been sexually assaulted themselves, And I think 420 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 2: the song came at a time when people were trying 421 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 2: to kind of weed through a new generation of hip 422 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,960 Speaker 2: hop during the two thousand era and looking for who 423 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 2: had kind of substance in the music. We never had 424 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 2: a song about rape ever in hip hop. Ever, we've 425 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,720 Speaker 2: probably discussed that it's been thrown around, but a song 426 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 2: in which we showed how that really means you're raping yourself, 427 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 2: you're destroying yourself. And then the underlying themes of its sister, 428 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 2: which are that all human beings that are alive right 429 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,400 Speaker 2: now have to be related. And I wanted that point 430 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 2: to resonate in the people's minds when they were out 431 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 2: there listening to that music. 432 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,400 Speaker 3: I'm pull in and I can't serve back. 433 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 2: Right before he pulled it down and the end of 434 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 2: the life, he thought about the cocaine with the platum ice, 435 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 2: and he felt strong standing along with his new brothers. 436 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,200 Speaker 2: Cocked it to a head and pulled back the shirt cover. 437 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,439 Speaker 2: But what he saw made him start to cringe and 438 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 2: stutter because he was staring into the eyes of his 439 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 2: own mother. 440 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: She looked back, what comes up for you as you're 441 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:39,880 Speaker 1: processing that song? 442 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 2: I mean, it's a it's a difficult thing to talk about, 443 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 2: only because there are women in my family and people 444 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 2: I've known my whole life that have been survivors of rape. 445 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:58,000 Speaker 2: And you know, obviously it's it's not my choice whether 446 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 2: I share their story. It's not my place without their permission. 447 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 2: But I felt like I wanted to draw some idea 448 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 2: towards the disgusting nature of what it is and how 449 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:14,080 Speaker 2: it actually has a huge place in our human society. 450 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: It's really tough to hear that. And so when I've 451 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: been able to listen to, for example, your love song, 452 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: you never know. 453 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 2: People like you set out souperaut to be a problem 454 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:27,200 Speaker 2: with the Bronx. 455 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: Which I just love because, you know, you talk about 456 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,439 Speaker 1: taking your love, whether to the Metropolitan Museum about or 457 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: to Mussel del Barrio, you know, and seriously just hearing 458 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,960 Speaker 1: that in a rap song, that's a love song. That's 459 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,960 Speaker 1: a side of you, you know, the gentle kind of 460 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: romantic side. 461 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 3: There is a romantic side. 462 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember the I think I've written a lot 463 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 2: of interesting tweets. I think one of the ones that 464 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 2: went the most viral is I don't know how many 465 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,679 Speaker 2: thous it had, but I wrote something and I said, 466 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 2: you know, if I really like her, I might buy 467 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 2: her flowers. I said, But if I love her, I'll 468 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 2: write her a story. After all, what good are flowers 469 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 2: when you can create a universe just for her. Writing 470 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:17,400 Speaker 2: brought me out of misery and pain. You know, sometimes 471 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,640 Speaker 2: if I really love somebody, I would write something for them, 472 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,760 Speaker 2: something that would help them heal, something that would put 473 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 2: their problems, whatever it is that I know about them, 474 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 2: into the proper perspective. 475 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,560 Speaker 6: Little credit cards, game and jewelry stealing, crack selling liquor 476 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:32,640 Speaker 6: store Robin. 477 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:36,200 Speaker 4: So. 478 00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: In twenty eleven, you released rich Man's World. You know, 479 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:42,360 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, it feels like you were 480 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: kind of expecting a Donald Trump to appear on the 481 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 1: scene before a lot of other people were. 482 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 2: I mean, I put out a lot of messages in 483 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 2: the music some people that some people at first accused 484 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,720 Speaker 2: me of being a conspiracy theorist. But here's an interesting thing. 485 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:03,159 Speaker 2: What were my conspiracies on Revolutionary Volume two that the 486 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,959 Speaker 2: Iraq War was based off lies? I then brought up 487 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 2: that the government was listening to all your emails and 488 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:10,119 Speaker 2: tapping your your. 489 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,199 Speaker 3: Phone, and people said, that's absurd technique. 490 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 6: You live, you live in nineteen eighty four, that's never 491 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 6: gonna happen. 492 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 3: And look what happened. 493 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 2: So the idea that the demagogue at Gaudio would come 494 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:24,399 Speaker 2: in isn't something that is part of the radical imagination 495 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 2: of someone who lives in the never ending story. It's 496 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,359 Speaker 2: something that was eventually going to happen here in the 497 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 2: United States because they don't want. 498 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:31,639 Speaker 3: My dirty laundry. 499 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 6: And when I fight it forget my lawyer is excited, 500 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,280 Speaker 6: because what good is the law if you can't rewrite it. 501 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:46,159 Speaker 6: I got Seat eight traders, Dictatus gods, the blowers in hats. 502 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: All of this money from out a lot of latinos, 503 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: and latinas immigrants are waking up and they're feeling powerless, angry, 504 00:25:52,800 --> 00:26:00,679 Speaker 1: filled with rage, confused, sometimes hopeless. How are you translating 505 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,280 Speaker 1: those emotions into your art right now? 506 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,240 Speaker 2: One of the things I started doing is I started 507 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,959 Speaker 2: working with various human rights organizations. That's something that has 508 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 2: always given me a really grounded sense of peace. One 509 00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:17,200 Speaker 2: of them, of course, was the Border Angels, the people 510 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,000 Speaker 2: that leave water drops and food drops for those people 511 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 2: walking through the desert. And the other was a group 512 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 2: that I feel doesn't receive enough attention as well. It's 513 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 2: called the Green Card Veterans, and these are people who, 514 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,880 Speaker 2: some of them served in multiple theaters of war. I 515 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 2: think people need to realize a lot of these individuals 516 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 2: have been deported or are fighting deportation. 517 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 1: Is there any of your writings recently that you can 518 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 1: share with us about those issues about the creed. 519 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's actually a song I have. I can't spit 520 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 2: it right now because I know my producer listen. I mean, 521 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 2: we've kept this under wrapped so hard. 522 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: One line, no, God bless me. 523 00:26:58,119 --> 00:26:59,399 Speaker 3: One line A great hustler. 524 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:03,880 Speaker 2: I love you got a good hustle. No, I think 525 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 2: that what we're talking about is a song that describes 526 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 2: the uh. We touched on it earlier, the depression and 527 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 2: the suicide of people who have gone to war, and 528 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,760 Speaker 2: part of that was talking about this particular issue. 529 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: So what is Immortal Technique processing now as a musician, 530 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,119 Speaker 1: as an American? Where is it coming together for you? 531 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,919 Speaker 1: My son, of course, who was your biggest fan, was like, 532 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:40,200 Speaker 1: how come he hasn't. 533 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 3: Written no, no, no no. 534 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 2: I've written plenty of stuff. I just haven't I haven't 535 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 2: released it, And there's a lot of reasons for that. 536 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 4: Okay. 537 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: So the question of your many many many fans, you 538 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: know that, the question is dad, your dad and your 539 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 1: mom me. We want to know when's the next text 540 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: song that we can Okay. 541 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,120 Speaker 2: I actually do have a couple of features coming out, 542 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 2: which are just songs that I'm on for other people's projects. 543 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 2: And then in terms of the record that I have, 544 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,120 Speaker 2: I'm closer than I've ever been. 545 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,480 Speaker 1: And we're looking forward to hearing it too. Thank you 546 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: so much, Immortal Technique, Felipe Coronelle, thank you so much 547 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: for all of your work. 548 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 3: Thank you very much for having me here. 549 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 2: The Middle Passage coming soon, sp and the building my 550 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,680 Speaker 2: due Mecca Harlem, Brooklyn. 551 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 4: You already know Harlem. 552 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: This episode was produced by Alejandra Salassar and Maggie Freeling 553 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: and edited by Marlon Bishop and Sophia palisa Ka. The 554 00:28:54,640 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 1: Latino USA team includes Niens, Luis Dreyes, Antonio jenesim, Gini Montalbo, 555 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: and Alissa Scarce, with help from Raul Prees. Our engineers 556 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: are Stephanie Lebau and Julia Caruso. Additional engineering this week 557 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: by Lea Shaw, and we're sending you a big thumbs up. 558 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,280 Speaker 1: Our director of programming and Operations is Natalia fidel Huz. 559 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: Our digital editor Isamandel Cantra. Our intern is Julia Rocha. 560 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,360 Speaker 1: Our theme music was composed by Senia Rubinos. If you 561 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: like the music you heard on this episode, stop i 562 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,720 Speaker 1: letyousa dot org and check out our weekly Spotify playlist. 563 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: I'm your host and executive producer Maria Roposa. Join us 564 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: again on our next episode, and in the meantime, look 565 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 1: for us on all of your social media. Stay safe 566 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: and astell Approxima Chao. 567 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:46,400 Speaker 8: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Heising 568 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 8: Simons Foundation, Unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities. More at Hsfoundation 569 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 8: dot org, the wind Code Foundation, and funding for Latino 570 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 8: usa is. Coverage of a culture of health is made 571 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 8: possible in part by a grant from the Robert Wood 572 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 8: Johnson Foundation. 573 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 1: We could go on for a while, but wherever