Harlem rapper Immortal Technique has never been one to hold back when it comes to the debate between remaining independent and being signed to a major label, and during an interview with Hard Knock TV the noted emcee offered up quite the interesting analogy.
While speaking on his documentary, The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique, Immortal Technique compared being signed to a major label to being in a relationship with an abusive, rich man.
“It’s like a woman that wants to marry an abusive rich man because she figures she can take the ass-whooping for a few years and get some money from the divorce,” said Immortal Technique in a video posted on 2DopeBoyz. “That’s just the ass backwards way to think to me. I’ve always told people that independent was the way to go. I’ve always pushed that message and I think that the movie is a big part of that. Saying ‘Look, if I was signed to a major label this couldn’t happen.’ They don’t want me. They don’t want the real thing. They want what looks like the real thing because the real thing would tell them something about themselves.”
Although fans are still eagerly awaiting the release of Middle Passage, the rapper revealed that on top of that album he also has two EP’s in the work with artists he referred to as “underground legends.”
“Middle Passage and I’m working on two EP’s along with some other people. Famous underground legends and it’s gonna be big news. I can’t announce it yet but it’s gonna be some real big shit,” Immortal Technique explained. “It’s not just the Middle Passage coming, I got two [little] records coming after that and it’s gonna be amazing yo. It’s gonna be real big for the underground, real big for independent music. And this year and the following years are all about building together for me.”
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Immortal Technique>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
better get Hopsin in there 2…
Hopsin sucks.
It’s an appropriate analogy.
Immortal Technique makes me laugh so much. The way he’s always complaning about major labels, like he’s jealous of major artists or something. I’ve seen some pollitical rappers being signed on to majors and actually having success, so I just don’t get his point. Maybe they never wanted to sign because he’s garbage.
you are probally the stupidest… you obviouslt have no idea how much an artist really makes.. all you see is the image they give you… read up son.
He is complaining about major labels because they fuck the artists and hardly pay them shit. Self promoting, if done right, will put a fuck ton of money in your pocket. He’s not your “political” rapper. He’s a revolutionary.
are you talking about yesterday or today. if so name who your talking about today.
Translation: I’m jealous of them industry niggas cause they getting more money from me, so I’ll say “fuck them”
you are even more stupid than the other guy
stop using my nick bitch
Fuck is this nigga talking about. Eagles will thrash any New York motherfucker at any time.
again, stop using my nick. don’t give a fuck about football.
Yeah real recognize real, guess who else is indie? JA RULE.
I’d wish he would stop acting like an African American.
shut up.. thats stupid.
God dammed whites. They even fill concerts by independent rappers.
This is also what’s wrong. If I were to be racist as a white man, it’s the end of the world but you fucks turn around and do the same shit and it’s okay.
Grow the fuck up.
we took your music like we take everything else of yours monkey…
faker than a $3,00 bill. Always acting like he is some sort of revolutionary, his attitudes to women are appalling. he is like lupe, a sellout at the end of the day, whilst seeming to promise something more. *spit on him*
yeah his attitude about womans just awful.. i’m gonna go listen to some wayne, 2 chains or rick ross.. they treat woman right
Name one misogynist lyric he has ever written outside of Obnoxious (satire doesn’t count)…
“Wish he would stop acting like an African American?” That sounds so fuckin racist man. He’s Peruvian and Black FROM HARLEM?!?! Where the fuck are you from you culture leech Oklahoma?
He shits on the majors because he doesn’t need them and they are losing. The nigga sold 250,000 albums independently he’s not broke nor is he jealous. How you dumb niggas not gonna know much more money there is to be made independently…
dumb niggas you love that plantation, the other posters…shit your daddy probably OWNS the plantation. And you mad at one of the only niggas trying to help us leave the plantation.
I hear you … But most of the comments are just trolls …. Don’t feed the trolls !
dis nigga just mad cuz his ass broke with no major label deal. hey tech, ymcmb always has its doors open for you. swag
This nigga just has to collaborate with Ja Rule if he wants to be famous.
He’s just mad because he’ll never be rich and famous.
Mortal technique.. clever.. mortal instead of immortal.. dude you should rhyme
DIS NIGGA WANTED TO SIGN WITH CASH MONEY BUT ME AND BABY LAUGHED AT HIS FACE FOR WHINING ABOUT POLITICAL BULLSHIT…HEY, IF YOU DON’T LIKE AMERICA GO BACK TO YOUR CORRUPT DRUG DEALER INFESTED SHITHOLE OF A NATION YOU CALL PERU.
i guess wayne grew up your babys new boy lover eh
WHAT THE FUCK IS AN IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE?!!!?
what the fuck is a yebo ya fuckin tard
Shyne could beat this nigga hardcore. Jewish swag>>>>>this guy’s career
Whiny ass nigga.
No one wants to hear this puto whine about political bs and the fact that he’ll never be famous.
GFID>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Tech’s career
well you read the article ya fuckin geek
lol @ these pedo moustache rockin herb. Hes never been signed to a major, fuck does he know
That’s right.
actually sony offered him a deal and he turned it down.. he sold 40,000 copies of his first album that he made and sold himself at shows and online.. he made 10.00 off each album he sold (400,000 since alot of you on this site probably arent that great at math).. that’s more money than most of you will make in your life so shut your fackin hole ya zeke
^^ Typical butthurt nigga excuse.
Tech needs a lil bit of Ja in his life.
Tech, when you gonna collaborate with Ja Rule?
Ja and Immortal should form a group together, and call it Immortal Rule.
YO THATS A DOPE ASS CONCEPT MY NIGGA!!! ONLY A REAL NIGGA COULDA THOUGHT OF THAT!!!
BRUH, you been around since I was in MIDDLE SCHOOL and I’m damn near 30. WTF have YOUUUUUU done besides talk about politics like you graduated with a degree in political science??? Dudes LIKE HIM is the REASON underground doesn’t get play…..granted I listen to some of the underground dudes, but guys like Tech just fuckin’ RAMBLE on…..we get it homie, you ain’t happy wit society and want change…….now what??
CO-FUCKING-SIGN.
THANK YOU!
@ milehighkid303, and exactly what have YOU done to make any kinda difference?? Didn’t think so.
haha what has he done? maybe he hasnt been on the radio or at the MTV video awards or bullshit like that…but he has built an orphange with his money in afghanistan, opened up a school in kabul with his own money, donated all of the money he made from his “third power” album to “The Green Light Project…and why would he want to be on the radio? obviously the radio will not play songs that tell the truth about our government…stop hating and listen to his music, you might actually learn something instead of lisetning to elementary rappers that speak about guns, bitches, money, drugs, and cars
Yea ur a jackass. Wayne rap bout the same shit since ELEMENTARY school.nyet u still blasting d4.
you got a point a lot of it just talk the could say gather up the guns and lets go to war the end, but they will never do. instead sight light on little shit and hope that is leads to revolution.
He’s already doin what he believes artists should do go independent and get all the money instead of givin it over to someone who doesn’t give a damn about you or hip hop. Now what?
Well now he
1 has been featured in several movie and video game soundtracks
2 visiting prisons to speak to youth
3 working with immigrant rights activist
4 raising tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas.
5 invested money in large pieces of farmland in latin america
6 created a writing grant program for high school students
couldn’t do that if he was signed to a major.
And for the record he doesn’t care about gettin played on the radio, all he cares about is makin sure he gets to control how much he makes.
Tech is 100% right, in this day in age everybody should be fighting to control and own their entire catalogue of music. The biz has changed, you don’t gotta be a slave to labels to make it anymore, yet people still come to table begging for the scraps they kick down to them. If your gonna act like a puppet allow yourself to be manipulated and whatnot don’t complain when they shove their hand up your ass.
Reading some of these comments makes me understand why society is worthless.
yall stfu yall don’t know shit about the rap game dumbasses why sign with a lable and let them take 75% of your money while you get 25% databases when you go solo you get 100% back dont gotta pay no motherfucker yall so damn slow
Period.
LOL at this nigga he gets no love by HHDX niggas
signing to a major label is basically the same as taking out a loan and paying a really really shitty interest rate on it..if you go independent A) you get to keep all of your money and B) you get to make your music however you want and wont have people changing your music to make it sound what the “people” want it to sound like
I seen a lot of comments arguing about being indie or signing to a label. By being independent you do get more money back from your projects but overall you make less than if you were signed to a label depending on how much buzz you have. At the end of the day you would never make it to a Kanye, Wayne or Jay-Z level without a label supporting you. Now, someone like 2 Chainz was independent but he got more shine (buzz) after he signed to a label. So being indie or being with a label both have their positives and negatives.
I’m not using my talent to make anyone else but myself rich.
Even the names you mentioned started indie, they are the ones that caught the majors eye and their work ethic did not change. Some artists think going major allows them to sit on their laurels when in reality they have to work harder than before because the pie gets sliced more ways and they won’t even get the first slice. Kanye’s persistense, 50 cent’s mixtapes etc. you can tell some cats think the talent and contract alone gets it done, Slaughterhouse thought that while they should’ve been doing features on major releases whenever the opportunity came, if it did.
i can’t believe this site put this up and featured it haha
he is right majored labels are now promoting child gangsta rappers, look lil wayne fucking with little mouse.
instead of making songs about killing those in power they make song about killing us the people that are the most powerless which makes up sitting ducks.
we are nothing but sitting ducks children dont even know the consequences of their action they shoot a nigga like me and only later find out what type of trouble they are in.
if people were making record about killing them they wouldnt release it but make record about killing black males and will be on the charts.
see my video on youtube call ” lil mouse reaction ” and you will see more of what i’am talking about.
records companies are promoting a hostile environment to get black males killed.
when artist want to make anti police records major label wont even put them out any more they say it makes hostile environment for the police.
but you gas up 13 year old to shoot me that dont know any body.
makes sense kids are the most senseless killers among us most have never even been to jail or seen what it is like and they will do anything.
and nigga defend him saying he keeping it real not even know they setting themselves up to get shot haha
soon will have children 5 years old standing out in front of cars rapping about bitches and hoes saying their killing it real.
i sold crack there was no way in hell i was close to making enough money to buy a bemer i was closer to the jail house than anything yet this is the image they promote and you niggas fall for it. haha
HE IS COMPLETELY OUT OF HIS MIND, HOW HE DARE TO JUDGE MAJOR LABELS, HE AIN’T EVEN RELEASED ANY MAJOR ALBUMS. FAGGOTS LIKE HIM ARE KILLLING THE REAL HIP HOP IN ITS ESSENCE.
what! you major label whore you like being a ho then be a quiet one and let the gods build on.
I guess…. But he kind of showed us another difference between what a major and a independent label does for artist. He talked about recording songs with some underground legends. Those “underground legends” must be on independents. If you were to ask me I would rather be on a major. Atleast then If I were to have a great career with longevity with a great body of work I would atleast be called a LEGEND instead of underground one. The latter sort of takes away from the peson. They don’t sound as renown as someone who is simply called a legend.
i get what your trying to say…but there are plenty of legends that never signed with a major label and did everything independently
biggest right now is tech n9ne
e-40
atmosphere
krs-one
raekwon
sean price
talib kweli
j dilla
z ro and trae the truth
andre nickatina and mack dre
dead prez
the roots
i could keep going but those are just some huge names that did everything on their own
yo, what Tech Nine did is impressive, he was on the list of forbes highest paid rappers…he proved you can be a millionaire by pushing independent
anybody can do it…put out good music, and you’ll make your impact and money…put together a good marketing team, good production, and good lyricism
Immortal Technique can also become a millionaire … Canibus can, Killah Priest, Chino XL, Ras Kass etc…man everybody can….
THE FIRST ANONYMOUS, DO YOUR RESEARCH, E-40, THE ROOTS OR RAEKWON WAS OR ARE ON MAJOR LABELS, TALIB KWELI WAS UNDER WARNER BROS, SO STOP TALKING SHIT… AND AT LEAST HALF OF THESE SUCKERS AIN’T NO LEGENDS.
NOSIGN THAT LIST
GO DO THAT HOMEWORK OVER
My dick don’t work I’m unsuccessful in life..??
Yes not only have you failed to please your woman but failed your very exsistence as a human male. Tough break.
LET’S PUT IT LIKE THIS, TECH:
IF YOU PUT THE MIDDLE PASSAGE OUT, YOU’RE MY FUCKING HERO!!!
IF AFTER THAT YOU PUT OUR AN EP WITH RAS KASS, YOU’RE MY FUCKING GOD!!!
IF YOU…FUCK EVERYTHING ELSE!!!
What Tech N9ne had success with was that he wasnt bound by any of those major corporations to deal with whateva he was told to. But he so freely makes music which he loves..
All love to Immortal Tech !
fuk u then!!
Being on a major is only bad if you aren’t pushing units. Other than that, you have a label paying for everything. You tour around the world on someone else’s dime. You do endless interviews. Basically get everything, but the catch is you have to deliver. Indie artists for the most part don’t do any of that. They pay for everything, and while there are exceptions like Tech Nine, whose to say if Tech signed to a major his music would suffer?
Major or indie you only get out of it what you put into it. Being on a major you still gotta grind like you’re indie in order to push units. If you’re willing to put yourself out there the label will facilitate that after all it’s somewhat of a loan you gotta pay back and pray there’s still something left for you at the end, but they want a return on their investment first right now I’m sure they’re barely breaking even, and their performers have to compromise what they liked about the music to please other people’s tastes and it shows they are more like trained tigers and can’t go tiger on you because a trainer is holding a whip so the crowd is amused(Keith Murray went tiger on Def Jam lol).
If Tech n9n9 went major his music would suffer. Majors always try to fix something that ain’t broken.
everyone who is saying indie doesnt get you anywhere is forgeting that Drake blew up off of a mixtape before he was signed to a major and was considering going indie because he had the fanbase already. Why be a slave to a 360 deal?
“that Drake blew up off of a mixtape before he was signed to a major”
Good point, but once you’re in the position to blow up, it’s almost a no brainer. You have to go for the major deal.
NOBODY BETTER THAN EMINEM SO YOU GUYS AKA FAGGOTS STFU BELOW YOUR ALL GAY BITCHES ANYWAYZ
Go back to Europe.
BITCH IM NOT EVEN WHITE IM BLACK STUPID ASS CRACKER
He talks like every artist is getting raped by major labels, but there were actually a lot of independent rappers back in the days and there are a lot of independent rappers now.
You talk like he was talking about back in the day when he was talking about majors and independents in general.