Immortal Technique's Quotes & Sayings

Pessimism is an emotion not a philosophy. — Immortal Technique

Hip-hop is about the human condition; it's about people's lives. — Immortal Technique

I put the truth out there, I put the historical facts into Hip Hop to show us how much history repeats itself and that if we truly want to evolve as a human race, we need to stop sticking each other in ridiculous categories. — Immortal Technique

Tell 'em the truth and they call you a traitor,
Talk to 'em honestly and they call you a hater. — Immortal Technique

I love the place that I live, but I hate the people in charge. — Immortal Technique

It isn't me making money as much as it is me spending my money in a way that I feel is effective. My methodology is to say I'm not just going to throw money at a problem but rather personally invest myself in it. — Immortal Technique

If your religion hasn't made you a better person, then it has failed you as a religion. — Immortal Technique

I can't imagine Revolution being quiet, unassuming, or bashful — Immortal Technique

How do you think policing is in places like China, or North Korea? Whatever we experience, in terms of our policing, I also wanted to make known that the rest of the world suffers ten times more because of that power dynamic; because of the fact that there is no Posse Comitatus in other places which is what prevents in our country, or what is supposed to prevent the military from taking on a policing role of its own people. — Immortal Technique

I feel my body weakening but my spirit is fine, ready to go to war with devils at the drop of a dime — Immortal Technique

Read about the history of the place that we live in and stop letting corporate news tell lies to your children — Immortal Technique

Using some economic issues to make one group of people, regardless of race or religion, the scapegoat for all the problems of the country is just the stupidest, and yet, the most creative propaganda scheme that you can come up with. — Immortal Technique

I'll throw ya gang-sign up, and then I'll spit on my hand. — Immortal Technique

A man who walks with God, can walk anywhere. Hence, I fear nothing. — Immortal Technique

The interesting thing about that is one of the greatest critics of socialism and leftwing writings was Robert Michels who wrote a series of essays called "The Iron Law of Oligarchy" and in these essays he discusses how no matter what sorts of freedoms are advertised or put into a society structure, that all societies, all form of governments - whether they be a Roman republic, whether they be a democracy, whether they be a Russian communist system, whatever, a tribe ... a tribal council - all of the continuously, throughout the ages, have all converted back into an oligarchy. — Immortal Technique

Art has to be, you know, trade itself, conform to the old strict guidelines set forth by how it was going to act in the future. — Immortal Technique

When you talk about revolution, it's very easy to romanticize picking up a gun or marching in the street, but I think before we take any of those actions, violence of course being the last one, we first have to have a revolution of the mind. — Immortal Technique

Your fans can't just pop in whenever they want. I'm not gonna allow someone to just drop over my house whenever they want like, "Hey what's up? I bought your album so what's for dinner?" — Immortal Technique

I think that learning to read between the lines of traditional media is one way to stay informed, and also realizing that eventually you're going to have to cross-reference all sorts of different information coming from different sources. — Immortal Technique

Working your whole life wondering where the day went, the subway stays packed like a multicultural slaveship. — Immortal Technique

King Abdullah has died. A divisive figure in the Middle East. The sad irony is that the USA preached democracy in the face of absolute rule. — Immortal Technique

Only a f-kin imbecile would think they un-correctable, cause you're susceptible to becoming more than a spectacle. — Immortal Technique

I just had to get this stress off my chest like breast reductions. — Immortal Technique

Devils used to be God's angels that fell from the top. There is no diversity cos we're burnin in the melting pot. — Immortal Technique

The purpose of life is a life with a purpose. So I'd rather die for a cause, than live a life that is worthless. — Immortal Technique

I never tried to be Jay Z or Big Poppa,
I'm underground like them dead children buried in Gaza — Immortal Technique

It's not like America's view of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle is going to change. There are some things that are going to change and some things that are not going to change. — Immortal Technique

Hell is not a place you go if you're not a Christian, it's the failure of your life's greatest ambition. — Immortal Technique

Unfortunately, as inspiring as people find Barack Obama, change can be interpreted in so many different ways. I think he might do a great deal of good things for social programs here in America and as well, as much as people want to characterize anybody who's a leader and try and sell that, and market it and characterize them in a good way or a bad way, I think it's very telling about the system that we have when we come to the realization that the war is not going to end. — Immortal Technique

I got no problem with no Canadian niggas ... as long as y'all niggas know how to barbeque I got no problem with you being my neighbours. I mean, Canadian beer sucks, but.. — Immortal Technique

I'm baptized by America and covered in leeches. — Immortal Technique

You don't have to either choose to save the world or become a sellout. I say to people, "Listen dude, how can you save the world if you can't even save yourself? Why don't you try to affect one person's life who's in your life, and that would be historic." — Immortal Technique

If you don't have self-respect, if you don't have dignity, if you don't have some true knowledge of self and who you are, and where you're coming from, then you're absolutely lost. — Immortal Technique

Your mind is your weapon. Load your weapon. — Immortal Technique

Some artists think every woman is a groupie, and that every dude is a sucker, and I never looked at people like that. — Immortal Technique

Doubt that there could ever be ... a more wicked MC. 'Cuz AIDS infested child molesters aren't sicker than me. — Immortal Technique

Scary rock n' roll bands had all the devilish imagery. But at the same time, it's not because they were devil worshippers, they were saying that society is run by devils. It was human society that created these things, they become the devils. This is what you worship. This money is what you worship. This idea is what you worship. — Immortal Technique

Plastic metaphors and carbon copy similes that aren't going to do anything for anybody and it doesn't showcase creativity; it showcases the fact that the soul of the music has been compromised to control the industry. — Immortal Technique

I'd rather be proud of what I am, rather than desperatly try to be something I'm really not; just to fit in. — Immortal Technique

My first Hip Hop concert was at the Apollo at the age of 12. Southpaw's father was interviewing Queen Latifah and Treach as well as many others. The place was so packed no one could move but I got to be backstage with the video equipment and so I saw the show from a great place. — Immortal Technique

I wasn't always a revolutionary, I used to live life like a criminal even though I was going through high school or college, or the fact that I was smart, had no bearing on that. People can have intelligence all the way but have no direction. Not all criminals are idiots. — Immortal Technique

Write it down and remember that we never gave in, the mind of a child is where the revolution begins, so if the solution has never been to look in yourself, how is it that you expect to find it anywhere else — Immortal Technique

I would love for [Jesus] to come back because I would love for him to face what is happening and to really have some sort of perspective. In that same respect, I'm sure that Prophet Muhammad would be disgusted by what some people use his name to justify. — Immortal Technique

I'm a business man and I'm a grown man. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to restructure my life, support my family with this music ... I don't have time to deal with the repercussions of breaking somebody's jaw or breaking their nose. — Immortal Technique

Hold the person that you love closely if they're next to you The one you love, not the person that'll simply have sex with you Appreciate them to the fullest extent, and then beyond 'Cause you never really know what you got, until it's gone — Immortal Technique

There is no excuse for a billion dollar industry to have somebody who's pushing papers on an administrative level - which is still very important in terms of getting projects done - it's imbalanced and completely illogical and example of how badly this art form has been rapped ... for them niggas to have health care benefits but for themselves to share in no part to that? It's very telling about the climate of the music industry. — Immortal Technique

We still haven't gotten the message; we still don't see that it's bad. And then we copy everything about their [Roman Empire] structure. I mean Paul Bremer was the proconsul of Iraq. We're still using ancient terminology, we still have Senators and we have an Emperor, almost. — Immortal Technique

I think that when you look at history and when you look at these facts that shape nations and shape countries and give us present examples of how we're supposed to live, we find more and more often that we're not paying attention to what's actually happening. — Immortal Technique

I've had lots of discussions with my Muslim brothers and sisters who have said to me, "Christianity is a white man's religion" But I'm like, "how is that possible when Christianity went into Africa before it ever went into central Europe?" Even the first people to become a Christian nation were not Romans, they weren't the Byzantines either, they weren't the Greeks ... the first people to claim a Christian empire were the Armenians. — Immortal Technique

If I lend my support to a specific cause, it has to be something that I look over and that I have a complete understanding of and it's not just some extracurricular bullshit. — Immortal Technique

I Freestyle my Destiny, It's not written in Pages. — Immortal Technique

I hate it when they tell us how far we've came to be; as if our people's history started with slavery. — Immortal Technique

Just because I choose to question religion doesn't mean that I'm spitting in God's face; it's the opposite. I'm tired of people spitting in God's face. I'm tired of seeing these divisions over a different type of Christianity, over a different type of Islam. — Immortal Technique

The business of beauty isn't a natural model;
It's built to be the opposite of the cultures we topple.
These magazines got you caught in a hustle,
Cause when you starve yourself, your body doesn't burn fat, it burns muscles. — Immortal Technique

Reality is nourishment, but people don't believe it,
I guess it's hard to stomach the truth like a bulimic. — Immortal Technique

A lot of individuals I've met that I've done a song or two with. But to be honest I'm not incredibly familiar with the scene. I mean, I'm more familiar with people coming from other countries like Latin-American MCs and African rappers ... that type of stuff I'm really starting to get a hold on. — Immortal Technique

We're more Christian than the Pope. And, I mean, that's not our religion. We pray to the Gods of our conquerors ... all black and brown people. — Immortal Technique

Changing the course of destiny, so I'm strapped with weaponry cause the government don't give a f-k about protecting me. — Immortal Technique

The perfect world for me is to find some sort of inner peace. I believe that a man that walks with God can walk anywhere. — Immortal Technique

Those people who kill women, children, and defenseless civilians are about as Muslim as mass murderer Christopher Columbus was a Christian. — Immortal Technique

People always have these debates about who their favourite rapper is. And I think it's based upon what mood that particular person is in. If someone's favourite rapper is a lyricist then they're focused on rhymes or substance. If someone's favourite rapper is a party rapper, you know, someone who makes music about the clubs ... "Oh, he's my favourite rapper". No, his subject matter is your favourite. — Immortal Technique

They [people of Afghanistan] didn't want Al-Qaeda in their country. They didn't appreciate the Taliban taking control. But they really have an incredible amount of dignity. And by that, they are grateful for America's help in ridding them of the Taliban. The average, ordinary person is glad that their daughter can go to school now. There's no public executions, no banning of soccer games. The difference is, they're appreciative, but they don't want any prolonged military presence of the United States there. — Immortal Technique

I don't think the war is going to end, but the war is just going to change. So we talk about change all the time, well that's what's going to change. You know, we tried having an idiot try and justify the war and give us these rationales and now we're going to have a very articulate and capable black man say it. — Immortal Technique

It doesn't matter what race you are. It doesn't matter what religion you are. I always tell people: If you want to be a part of hip-hop, you just need to have a heart. You need to have the courage to tell the truth. — Immortal Technique

I work with Kick G.A.M.E., the grassroots artist movement. Not to tell people we have the best union plan in the world, but to show people that if some activists, if some revolutionaries, if some street organizers from the hood can come together and put together a preliminary program to give health care to independent artists. — Immortal Technique

Universal truth is not measured in mass appeal. — Immortal Technique

People who go out and try to be a rebel at night,
Try to make up for the fact that they settled in life. — Immortal Technique

The mind of a child is where the Revolution begins, — Immortal Technique

I try to take people at face value and then beyond, taking them out of face value and out of the category of being Black, Latino, Asian, White, Jewish, Muslim or Christian or Atheist, none of that matters to me. — Immortal Technique

I'll leave you fulla clips like the moon blockin' the sun. — Immortal Technique

I just want to be remembered as someone who wanted people to think free and wanted people to be free, whether it's at the end of the day, or at the end of the mortal coil. — Immortal Technique

I don't need to put jewels on to make myself feel important. I'd rather drop them for the benefit of less fortunate people. I don't need to put gold on my body, and I'm not criticizing people who do, but for me, I'd rather be around my family and see them be happy because that's worth more to me than gold. — Immortal Technique

I hope one of my fans has one of your kids shot: and blames it on acid, prozac, and slipknot. — Immortal Technique

The military ain't there for the people's protection,
They're just there to protect an investment.
That's why people get arrested, electrocuted, molested,
Connected streets are infested with those tired of protesting.
Traumatized children grown in guerrilla garrisons,
9/11 generations pale in comparison.
And you will learn a lesson repeated through history:
That no matter what you think, occupation is not victory. — Immortal Technique

The kingdoms of Africa and Mesopotamia, machine gunning your body with depleted uranium, this is the age of microchips and titanium, the dark side of the moon, and contact with aliens. — Immortal Technique

I have favourite songs for different things. The diversity of it is the strength. — Immortal Technique

A pretty face can capture my attention but only a beautiful mind can hold it. — Immortal Technique

The Devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th,
The New World Order was born on September 11. — Immortal Technique

As much as racism bleeds America, we need to understand that classism is the real issue. — Immortal Technique

My revolution is born out of love for my people, not out of hatred for others. — Immortal Technique

This is the ultimate war of ideas. You're trying to get somebody to change their mind about conservatism, because that's exactly what we're fighting out there. We're fighting an insanely fundamentalist mentality that relies on taking certain things absolutely literally, and they're people on both sides of the conflict doing that. Even now, some people still take the Bible literally, and those are the ones wanting to fight a war against Islam. — Immortal Technique

In a world of regret, sacrifice and hardship, laughter and music are medicine. — Immortal Technique

We have to create the ability to police our own communities instead of leaving it in the hands of a system that has never understood us, tried to marginalize and politically assassinate all of our leaders whenever they came to challenge the status quo. — Immortal Technique

If we can sell out a venue that's just as big as this in Omaha, if we can sell out DePaul in Chicago tomorrow, which looks like it's going to happen for 1100 or 1200 people, then obviously everyone will know that we can affect between 700 to 1000 people at a time in damn near every city in America, then I think that's a good start. It also tells people, and gives them an example, how independent hip-hop is able to do this without gigantic corporate support. — Immortal Technique

The Government covers their own ass from things they fail to do to protect its own people from corporations that control the government, which is the reason we don't have checks and balances in this country. They checked how much balance they needed to influence congress and all the other branches of government in some way, shape, or form, and cash is king. — Immortal Technique

True wealth is having your health, and knowledge of self. — Immortal Technique

Since the police department is becoming more and more militarized we're stuck in a position where we're reverting to that sort of behaviour that other places still suffer from because they're kept in that post-colonial state of development indefinitely so we can reap the benefits of taking whatever natural resources they have. — Immortal Technique

Traditionally people are on the side of the government all the time. — Immortal Technique

The problem with always being a conformist is that when you try to change the system from within, it's not you who changes the system; it's the system that will eventually change you. — Immortal Technique

I'm not trying to sell pipe dreams to people. I'm not giving them some fake utopia. I'm not telling them it's easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But you don't fight the fights you can win, you fight the fights that need fighting. That's the most important part. — Immortal Technique

The way music reflects real life, the way that painstakingly, over the years, what I have said is really a metaphor for what's happening to America. It used to be about, or tried to be at the very beginning, about what was right. It has stopped being what was right for America; it started being about what was right for companies that are in control. — Immortal Technique

The immortal photographers will be straightforward photographers, those who do not rely on tricks or special techniques. — Philippe Halsman

There was a lot of rebelliousness, without focus, in my younger years. And even when people ask me, "Oh you went to prison and you went to college for a couple years?" I'm like "Yeah, I learned more in prison than I think I ever learned in college." That's the sad truth. — Immortal Technique

People are educated into the fact that as a people we stand a better chance of knowing how to work the law if we know the history of the law and the history of our people's relationship with it. — Immortal Technique

I met some brothers out from Canada recently who are real cool people. They make Spanish-language music called Cold Blue and I met then at a Lat-Rap conference and they seem like real good peoples from Central America ... and that's what it is. It's just based on mutual respect. So when I meet people like that I'm like, "if y'all going to be real with me, I'm going to be real with y'all" and that's all it takes. — Immortal Technique

The average ordinary person, in the worst slums of America, someone who might even hate the law and disagree with the government, they would do something about that [abandoned child]. But in Afghanistan, people hardly have the means to take care of themselves, let alone a random child on the street. — Immortal Technique

Love ... doesn't need a complicated metaphor And sometimes nothing needs to be said at all — Immortal Technique

Pharoahe Monch is a long time supporter of my music and I'm a long time supporter of his music so when we met each other it was almost like a natural occurrence.I met him before a few years earlier and we were just politicking with each other and we had a conversation about possibly doing something but our schedules have always been in conflict. — Immortal Technique

People were like, "Someone who made a song like this, there has to be more to them. I'm interested in hearing how they would describe something else." So my flow has matured, my voice has matured, the content has gotten more descriptive but at the same time we still talk about a violent reality that exists in the world which is why this is a supplement to the Revolutionary series and it's not a part of it but it's the same Immortal Technique. — Immortal Technique

I have a strong army I keep with me and we don't go out there looking for problems. A lot of people have this perception ... but I don't have a superiority complex about me because I'm from New York or because I'm Peruvian/Black. I think some people get caught up in that stuff. — Immortal Technique