Interview with Rapealo Magazine

[dagster11]

Translation:
Hosted by: Soldia & Mr. Lyrico

Soldia: We are here with Immortal Technique for rapealo.com. A great MC. He’s Peruvian. He’s visiting his homeland.
Soldia: What was the reason of your visit to Peru?

I.T.: Well, I didn’t come here to make music or anything. I came here to buy some land…. In the north close to Chiclayo. My Idea was to buy this land and the majority be the best percentage of what was took from the people of Peru.

Soldia: How had your beginnings been in this of hip hop, over there in the United States, talk a little about was it a bit hard?

I.T.: Well, the people in Lima for example, Label people who live in the United States as fortunate because they have more, but nevertheless, the people in Lima are fortunate, because they don’t live in the conditions that I have seen that the people in the north and the farm workers live in. And what I speak about in the CD, for the world, whatever thing it wants. The music isn’t revolutionary only because of what it talks about, its because I am not controlled by a big corporation. I made my own company, and that for me is the revolution because no one is able to control me, and tell me what I’m able to say, and dictate the culture. That is the biggest problem that I had with hip hop in Spanish and reggaeton that’s happening now in the United States. Not that I’m complaining, those that are getting money and making their music, its all good. Everyone wants to dance with women. Everyone wants to party. Hip hop was intended for all types of people. Dark-haired people, Africans, Latinos. We wanted to make party music so that we forget all the bad shit happens. But also, it was protest music, revolutionary music that spoke truthfully of what has happened in such corrupt gov’t. And if I don’t have economic liberty, then I don’t have political liberty. If I don’t have the liberty to make what I want in my business, then they control the culture, and that is what I see throughout all of the U.S. and what I see throughout all of Latin America. Controlled culture and the people that see themselves with eyes that aren’t theirs. The idea is to take control. They have to say that what they control is not going to be their music it is always going to be word of someone else that is spoken by them. Hip Hop came to re-unite everyone, if they be white, black, Chinese, motherfuckin’ whatever part of the world. They are not able to expand to other places, the same thing happened in the U.S. with different cities, it had been New York, after Los Angeles, and now Chicago, Miami, St. Louis, whatever thing, These cities took their own artists and the people joined. But what discluded and what is discluding in hip hop now is that the people don’t speak. They think they are so big, more than us but can’t even connect with others. Or only call when they need something. What we need to do is gather ourselves in a way that speaks to the business, that speaks to the culture, that speaks truthfully about what is happening in this country. I had started entering into hip hop battles, and winning a lot of them. It was completely freestyle, the majority of the freestyle now is written. For a win I made $200, $500 and with that money I kept working hard and working all in different places. In that moment, when I came out with my first CD “Revolutionary Vol. 1”, I sold them alone meanwhile the big music companies wanted to catch me in a contract, but knowing viper records I told them “Look, as an artist I only take 4% of them selling the CD; really. And the people you listen to in your videos, Peru, Latin America, the people you have in your videos with chains and cars are rented stuff, even the women.” But what the people need to know is: with a company there, in order to separate me from the artists I came back so that if a company or something wanted to buy the name or wanted to buy whatever it be, they had to pay for the record, not 6%. But now I make 75% because I put whatever thing I need on my own CD.

Mr. Lyrico: You Started underground and you have come to be with the biggest of hip hop like KRS-One and Chuck D. How can you transmit that to the people that everyone with hard work can arrive where we want to be?

I.T.: Well, that is the idea that the United States sells, that with hard work and dedication everything is possible, but it’s more than that because in international business you have to rob in order to get forward. In Peru, It’s not a poor country. It has all these natural resources almost infinite, such as gold. If you want, you can take all of what you are planting, and give it to the people to eat, who are sick and tired of being hungry. But its because its victimized by the system that has done to them. It makes me laugh because it’s almost the same as what I see in hip hop. The people that have the power to do the same thing, but it happens with a bigger company because it is easier. And of course a private company is going to be more efficient than the gov’t, but the gov’t is made to help the people. A private company is created with only one proposition: to make money. And when getting money is in conflict with the hand rights of the people… So, I don’t think that it was only hard work that put me in the place that I was in. It was also, fighting hard for it, and not living by the rules that they went by in hip hop. They told me: “To have success in this game, you have to sign with a big company”. So for me, the music isn’t just revolution in what I live. And we didn’t do it with Coca-Cola, Sprite, Toyota, or whatever business that wants to buy it. Because they want to control the message, they are scared of the message, they always wanted to get their hands on it because once they see that you all have the opportunity to say something that they don’t control, it makes them scared. They try to control our culture, they try to control hip hop, they try to control reggaeton, whatever thing they can. Because if you show a woman dancing, or a whore on the corner, that is a Latina woman for me, everyone has a mother. The mothers of all Peruvians are whores? Of course not. She is a soldier. She is a mother. Who controls the policy of these countries where drugs leave? Who controls the policy of Columbia? Where is it coming in the most? In the United States. And who dictates the policy now in Afghanistan where the most heroin leaves. So that the people know, so that they don’t do it, so that they don’t know the mythology, and I’m not selling dreams. We didn’t want to be economic slaves of something that is failing. I don’t respond “Hey, Look, Capitalism has failed in El Salvador, it has failed in Argentina, it has failed the people of Peru, It has failed in Columbia, It has failed in the problem in which we talk about in Africa”. I’m simply here to speak of the truth and speak estimately, because the truth can be seen from many perspectives. But really, you can only see it from 2 different perspectives: truth and false. Immortal Technique, Harlem, New York Mother Fucker…. And to all of the people of Peru remember: have love in your life, don’t hate..Viva el Peru!



Translated by: dagster11 with a little help of Diegoscp.

[dagster11]

Yo... I just finished the translation to this whoooooole video. This is the only place on the net where this is translated. So if you don't speak spanish, here is the translation. Your welcome.

p.s.: rep me! :rtfm:

[Sasha]

Rep+ thanks for the translation.

[dagster11]

no problem.

[El Mono]

Gracias mi amigo.

[dagster11]

No hay de que amigo.