Search - Immortal Technique :: 3rd World

The concept behind the album coming is built around relating the streets here in the US to those around the world. To illustrate that no matter what we face here, our native post-colonial lands are suffering 1000 times worse. This project was made to create more dialogue and communication between this country and Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, The Middle East, and South East Asia, all those lands that were under European or American rule (less than 20 years ago in some places). For far too long we have been separated by petty rivalries and the unfathomably counterproductive superiority complexes that divide our people. No matter how difficult the conditions of our lives are in this nation they are still incomparable to the struggle of the people, (who we were once a part of) that are overseas or right across the border. Revolution is about a constant movement. So instead of retreating intellectually and physically, I choose to advance. I chose to build stronger alliances with my peoples overseas and here in this nation. This album/mixtape has something for everyone, not only in the style of music but in terms of it's mention of so many important topics that are sometimes swept under the rug by corporate media and culture that was bastardized by the oligarchy of the music industry. The title itself has a dual significance, the struggle of developing countries (who are usually almost always former slave states or vassal kingdoms) are mirrored within the Rap Industry. In the same way that First World Super Powers have traditionally and now continuously exploited the 3rd world for its natural resources, land, labor and industry the Major Label Super powers have done the same. Not only in the underground of Hip Hop but music in general, because the underground is the "The 3rd World." They have taken the industry, the labor and the intellectual property of our culture and claimed ownership as they once did by landing on foreign soil that didn't belong to them in the first place. They have fed us propaganda on both ends, one telling us that I order to be civilized and part of a globalized economy that we had to privatize our water, communications transportation, sell the rights to our oil, diamonds, farm lands etc... the other telling us that to succeed in the music business that we have to sell our publishing, our masters, and sign 360 deals where they own the rights to our merchandise and a large % of our shows. This album is a vivid and up close and personal look at the two intertwined battles for independence. Burt besides criticizing the album is also self critical, not only of myself personally for the mistakes I made in life and those my friends around me have made, but what we as a people have done to prolong our own mental, physical and spiritual bondage. The fight is not just against invasion and occupation thought but we struggle within ourselves, as the album itself doesn't try to paint America as "the great satan" but rather as simply a corporate mechanism that has vavasour like representatives in places like Africa, Latin America and The Middle East. There the people who are oppressing us are ourselves, motivated by greed, avarice, and an overwhelming lust for power that created once asset allies turned fallguys like Manuel Noriega and Sadaam Hussein. In other words oppression is not so much about the mask of race that was created to justify the existence of a class system but now our own people are the same ones exploiting us. Just as in the music industry as well, because the manner in which they are educated to operate is no different from that of the people that have traditionally exploited us. The struggle for independence is not just a metaphor for what goes on in countries fighting for their hegemonic voice, but also for the will and the strength to be interpreted so by the very music that defines a people and a country. This struggle that is playing itself out between the resistance that fights for the culture and soul of Hip Hop opened my eyes to that fact that we are not outnumbered. Just not organized as well as we should be. I have traveled to many places South America, Central America, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean and I look forward to building more solid frontiers with people who are doing the same where they are. Many told me that this war was impossible to win, and that the inevitable death of the substance left in this music and any music would come by force. But I, and the people I involved with this project such as Green Lantern who has been working on this with me since early 2007, and Southpaw as well as the few and proud over at Viper Records will not accept such a fate for our people. The 3rd World has a very diverse sound in its production and in the slew of guests I have asked to be a part of it. It also has a wide variety of concepts that are in the form of songs, which help to bring the story of this struggle to life. And even though it is an album in terms of being all original tracks Dj Green Lantern cut and blended the tracks together like a traditional mixtape. There are supporters of mine who have been waiting on other projects I promised, "The Middle Passage" and "Revolutionary Vol.3" two interestingly complicated projects that I am still working on and actually about half done with. This album was a bridge to the other albums that I have coming. It is a violent but lyrically saturated expression of music with a purpose and I thank all of the long time supporters of the message and the music for all that they have done in joining this Revolution that continues. Peace & Respect, Immortal Technique