Immortal Technique Afro-Peruvian rapper and political activist Date of Birth: 19.02.1978 Country: Peru

1. Early Life
2. Criminal Background
3. Musical Career
4. Political Activism
5. Other Work
6. (R)Evolution of Immortal Technique
7. This Revolution
8. Business Ventures

Early Life

Felipe Coronel, better known as Immortal Technique, was born in a military hospital in Lima, Peru. He is of predominantly indigenous descent, with Spanish, French, and African heritage. His family immigrated to Harlem, New York City, in 1980, fleeing the Peruvian Civil War. As a teenager, he was arrested several times, partly due to what he has termed "egotistical and immature" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where his classmates included Chris Hayes and Lin-Manuel Miranda, whom he bullied but later befriended.

Criminal Background

Shortly after enrolling at Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault for his involvement in a fight between fellow students; the charges stemming from this incident resulted in his spending one year in prison. Upon his parole, he attended Baruch College in New York City for two semesters, majoring in political science, at the insistence of his father, who had allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he attend school.

Musical Career

Having honed his rapping skills in prison and unable to find decent-paying work after his release, he took to selling his music on the streets of New York City and battled other MCs. This, coupled with his victories at numerous freestyle rap competitions on New York City's underground hip-hop scene, such as Rocksteady Anniversary and Braggin Rites, led to his gaining a reputation as a fierce battle MC.

Political Activism

Immortal Technique visits prisons to speak to youth, works with immigrant rights activists, and raises money for children's hospitals overseas. He has also created a creative writing grants program for high school students. In June 2008, Immortal Technique partnered with non-profit human rights organization Omeid International, calling their work the "Green Light Project". With profits from his album "The 3rd World", he traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan to help Omeid build an orphanage, the Amina Institute, without corporate or outside political funding.

Other Work

Immortal Technique is featured in the Ice-T documentary Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.

(R)Evolution of Immortal Technique

A documentary about Immortal Technique was released in September 2011, premiering at the Harlem Film Festival. It was released on DVD on July 10, 2012.

This Revolution

Immortal Technique appeared as himself in the 2004 documentary This Revolution, which chronicled protests surrounding the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. The film also featured Akir and producer SouthPaw, a subsidiary of Viper Records.

Business Ventures

Immortal Technique has since taken control of Viper Records and signed a distribution deal with Babygrande Records/E1 Entertainment to release his next album. SouthPaw has remained in place as A&R for Viper Records.