One of the sickest MCs in hip hop is bridging the gap between Revolutionary Vol. 2 and the upcoming and much awaited The Middle Passage with the mixtape/street album The 3rd World. After a five year absence, Immortal Technique has surfaced with some new rhymes and a new spin on the issues that matter to him.
Released on his own Viper Records, The 3rd World picks up where Revolutionary Vol. 2 left off. Having toured relentlessly, Tech gained some infamy for tracks like “Bin Laden” and “Impeach the President” and used his experiences to fuse together the original tracks for the mixtape. Produced by DJ Green Lantern, The 3rd World is an electrifying entry in the catalogue and serves as a nice preview to the madness that will be The Middle Passage.
As per usual, Tech brings the content and brings it hard. In fact, it might be a good idea to have a search engine or a solid library as an accessory to his vocal ambush.
Don’t let the notion that this is a mixtape throw you; this is a complete album in every sense of the word. The production by Green Lantern is tight, but it takes a backseat to Tech’s command of the mic and his facility to spit information and challenge his listeners to educate themselves.
With perfect timing, Tech emerges on each track with lethal precision. A spoken word track (“Open Your Eyes”) proves an expository blast at capitalism and corruption, unleashing an invective with cool and concise language to take a chunk out of the status quo.
Immortal Technique has never been one to hold back and he proves it again, spitting out lines like “I’ll paint the white house black and park my car on the lawn/I’ll marry a Muslim girl and fuck her five times a day/right before we shower and pray” on the feral track “Lick Shots” like a man possessed. His lyricism knows no boundaries and there are no subjects he won’t crack wide open.
Sampling the infamous Michael Richards episode serves as an effective “skit” on “Adios Uncle Tom” and Tech takes off all over the insanely great “Mistakes” with his natural flow pushing things along for one of the best hip hop tracks I’ve heard in the last few years.
The 3rd World is a ballsy and articulate album from Immortal Technique and will do more than please the salivating fans – believe me, I’m one of them! – waiting for the next one. It’s a well-produced record and DJ Green Lantern never gets in the way, allowing Tech to do what he does best and spit fire all over the place.
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