Revolutionary Vol. 2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Revolutionary Vol. 2 | ||
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| Studio album by Immortal Technique | ||
| Released | November 18, 2003 | |
| Genre | Political hip hop | |
| Length | 67:46 | |
| Label | Viper Records | |
| Producer(s) | Toure "Southpaw" Harris Metaphysics Danja Domingo 44 Caliber Omen |
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| Professional reviews | ||
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| Immortal Technique chronology | ||
 Revolutionary Vol. 1 (2001) |
 Revolutionary Vol. 2 (2003) |
 The Middle Passage (2007) |
| Extended artwork | ||
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| Back artwork | ||
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Revolutionary Vol. 2 is the second album released by rapper Immortal Technique and is a follow-up to his debut album, Revolutionary Vol. 1.
In spite of the fact that it was released independent of major studio support, it made record sales, fueling its revolutionary concept. All of the CDs displayed Immortal Technique's phone number. It was endorsed by Mumia Abu Jamal, who introduces the album and also provides a speech about hip hop's relationship to Homeland Security. Apart from crude sexual imagery, Revolutionary, Vol. 2 attacks the United States Government, especially the Bush Administration. Immortal Technique goes as far as suggesting that there is a conspiracy that serves to divert and imprison blacks and Latinos, if not all of the peasantry. In an attempt to reveal the hypocrisy of American jingoism, he makes reference to the Templar Knights, MKULTRA, the Patriot Act, Acid Rain, American Companies with Nazi ties, and the Catholic Church's platform of non-involvement during the Holocaust, the Church calling Muhammad a "terrorist" amongst many other accusations.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer (s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Revolutionary Intro" | Mumia Abu Jamal | 0:13 | |
| 2 | "The Point of No Return" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique | 4:03 |
| 3 | "Peruvian Cocaine" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique, Pumpkinhead, Diabolic, Tonedeff, Poison Pen, Loucipher, C-Rayz Walz |
4:50 |
| 4 | "Harlem Streets" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique | 3:54 |
| 5 | "Obnoxious" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique | 4:51 |
| 6 | "The Message and the Money" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique | 3:57 |
| 7 | "Industrial Revolution" | Metaphysics | Immortal Technique | 3:40 |
| 8 | "Crossing the Boundary" | Danja | Immortal Technique | 4:49 |
| 9 | "Sierra Maestra" | Domingo | *Instrumental* | 0:49 |
| 10 | "The 4th Branch" | Danja | Immortal Technique | 5:20 |
| 11 | "Internal Bleeding" | Domingo | Immortal Technique | 2:47 |
| 12 | "Homeland and Hip Hop" | 44 Caliber | Mumia Abu Jamal | 2:46 |
| 13 | "The Cause of Death" | Omen | Immortal Technique | 5:55 |
| 14 | "Freedom of Speech" | Danja | Immortal Technique | 3:09 |
| 15 | "Leaving the Past" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique | 4:30 |
| 16 | "Truth's Razors" | *Interlude* | 0:21 | |
| 17 | "You Never Know" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique, Jean Grae | 7:50 |
| 18 | "One (Remix)" | Southpaw | Immortal Technique, Akir | 4:36 |
[edit] Song descriptions
In "The Point of No Return", Technique discusses the origin of Latinos, "just like the Spanish exterminating Tainos, raping the black and Indian women..." and mentions the Templar Knights taking Jerusalem and figuring out what was buried under Solomon's Temple. He raps about Mary Magdalene giving birth to the children of Jesus and about the depleted uranium scandal. He quotes Scarface and New Jack City in "Peruvian Cocaine", describing how the drug policies of the U.S. are in place to keep the underclass down, and the illegal drug market is supported by the government. This song tracks the flow of drugs and money from "the border of Bolivia" to an imprisoned drug lord, each telling their own part of the drug market story, with each rapper taking on the role of a character involved in the flow of drugs into the United States.
One of the more graphic songs on the album, "Obnoxious" speaks of several humorous and yet offensive subject matter. "I'm going to prank call (1-800) COP SHOT just for kicks/ payback for every time that they called me a spic/and Puerto Rican chicks tell me that I fuck like I'm loco/and Dominican women call me the rompe toto" A vulgarity to say the least but it is very political and attacks all angles of popular culture and yet flows very well in terms of its addition to the entire work. Obviously meant to have a wide range of insulting material in it, that did not stop it from being noted in several magazines as one of the most downloaded Hiphop songs on the internet in 2004 only beaten out by Eminem and The Neptunes.
"Cause of Death" suggests that the United States government was not only aware of, but indirectly and/or directly responsible for the September 11, 2001 Attacks. Technique also discusses the seven-headed dragon of the Book of Revelations, rapping that he will reveal "George Bush and Bin Laden as two separate parts of the same seven headed dragon". "Freedom of Speech" samples from Walt Disney's Pinocchio; Pinnochio's lack of strings serves as an allegory for Technique's artistic independence. Technique raps about the contractual slavery of the rap industry, hating the government's restrictions on free speech, and insulting Bill O'Reilly, criticising his influence in Ludacris' advertising deal with Pepsi being cancelled. And in "You Never Know", Technique relates a missed opportunity at love, with Jean Grae singing the chorus.
[edit] Impact
This album was referred to in the song "Truth" by Diabolic: "I wanna go to the oval office, pop a few and act out the cover of Revolutionary Vol. 2" [1].
[edit] References
- ^ list of audio of 9/11 Truth Movement related songs
