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April 27, 2005

Fake Revolutionaries Need Not Apply

In which I (appropriately enough) hide in the corner at the Immortal Technique show

Immortal Technique's "Dance with the Devil" is one of the most disturbing songs I've ever heard. The synopsis: enterprising young gentleman from compromised socio-economic circumstances decides to pursue opportunities in the narcotics sales and distribution space. He enjoys early success, but decides that he would like to advance into the ranks of management. To do so, the hiring committee insists that he demonstrate his commitment to the firm's objectives by participating in a sexual assault and first-degree murder. He complies, but is soon disappointed to discover that the victim of said sexual assault and first-degree murder was his mother. In despair, he leaps from the roof of a building. The narrator uses this incident to illustrate the presence of "the devil" in the ambitions of certain wicked young men. In fact, said "devil" is probably here right now.

Yeah, pretty awful. But also pretty compelling. Though the song contains a fair amount of tough-guy posturing, it's very sobering, very reflective, and very well told. (And the fact that the hook is the theme from "Love Story" doesn't make it any less creepy.) And that's what drew me to the Immortal Technique show last night at S.O.B.'s on Varick Street: anyone who can tell that compelling and creepy a story on a recording is going to be even better live.

Turns out he actually was pretty good in person. I feel like I've been burned by half-assed hip-hop shows in the past (but more on that in a moment), but not last night. Immortal Technique had a ton of stage presence, did a great job connecting with the crowd, and generally seemed like a gracious and competent performer. I walked out of his show more impressed by Immortal Technique than I had been before.

The crowd seemed pretty into him as well; they definitely knew a lot of the words to his songs. Which, from a macro level, is pretty encouraging -- because, unlike most popular music (and especially hip-hop), Immortal Technique actually has something to say. Beyond his graphic commentary about Why Drug Dealers Aren't Nice People, Immortal Technique raps extensively about the Bush Administration, the DEA, 9-11, and the morality of United States foreign policy. This is not Lil Jon; Immortal Technique is pretty political. And his politics seemed to resonate with the crowd.

That his politics seemed to energize the crowd is something of a mixed blessing. In general, it's good to see pop music, and especially hip-hop, engaged in the relevant political questions of the day. It's good that there's a voice in entertainment that questions the government and the mainstream media -- and that said voice isn't a spoiled Hollywood know-it-all. Some of his songs are dead-on; "Peruvian Cocaine" does a great job describing how the drug trade in the United States and a complicit CIA are keeping scores of poor South Americans trapped as indentured field hands, "On the border of Bolivia/ Working for pennies." (This was also the best tune at the show last night). But some of his accusations are a bit scattershot and, ahem, ridiculous. Though the connections between the Bush family and the Bin Ladens certainly merited journalistic investigation, I do not believe that "Bush Knocked Down the Towers." This is the refrain of his song "Bin Laden": the ostensible reason for last night's event (it was a single release party for a "Bin Laden" remix). Again, it's worth discussing the past connections between the CIA and Osama Bin Laden in a pop song, but saying that the President killed a few thousand people and crippled the country to serve his own interests? There's a word for saying things like that: demagoguery. It's easy to make wild accusations and stoke people's fears; it's much tougher to provoke meaningful debate and discussion. Immortal Technique straddles that line.

Still, I'll take a little demagoguery over the nonsense thrown out there by the three opening acts. Ugh. Not to go all Chris Rock about it, but dudes like this are why people can justifiably criticize hip-hop. The first guy, Diabolic, would have been a bit more decent if he didn't keep talking about how tough he was. Yawn. Dude, if you're so tough, then go box someone. Also, his attempts to talk about politics made Technique seem nuanced; it was the sort of unsubstantiated drivel you expect from a drunk auto worker. Next up was Poison Pen. There were a bunch of them, and they were pretty unremarkable -- but at least they were in a good mood and were friendly to the crowd. (In fact, they hung out in the audience afterwards -- right next to me for a bit -- and they seemed like a pretty funny bunch of dudes.) Boring, but not offensive: essentially exactly what you're looking for from the opening act.

It was with the third guy, Akir, that things started to go off the rails. Following a a lengthy and, ahem, rather florid introduction, Akir (it means Always Keep It Real -- I know, very clever) took the stage and started to talk about how he had just been written up in a bunch of magazines, and how he was about to become very very rich and famous. Uh huh. That's lovely. Now do a song.

But no, more talkie. Talkie talkie talkie. All about Akir. And that's when the boos started, or as Akir called them, the "hating." Dude, Akir, the "hating" was your fault for standing up there bragging instead of doing a song. And when he did start performing, it was pretty half-assed. He started two songs over (unforgiveable -- just keep going, jackass). He argued with people in the front row, but not in a funny or cool way -- more in a petulant, don't-you-know-how-hot-I-am sort of way. When he finished, there were some polite cheers, but mostly boos.

And the boos were justified. We paid to hear you perform, Akir. Nobody booed the other acts, and they weren't spectacular, but they were put together and at least tried to do a good job up there. You disrespected the audience with your lack of effort -- that's why they booed. You wonder what it means that of the four performers last night, the one with the lamest show was the one with the most press and hype. I've gone off about empty and meaningless hip-hop before, but it really is pretty offensive to see these dudes posturing about how famous they are and how rich they're going to be without having the talent, or even the effort, to back it up. Play your music, dude. We'll decide if we like it.

And it made Immortal Technique, when he did finally take the stage, all the more refreshing. Sure, maybe he's a bit blustery, but he was gracious and friendly toward the audience, and you could see that he really believed in what he was saying. Immortal Technique didn't care about the haters, he cared about the "fake revolutionaries," the folks who just pay lip service to his political agenda but who aren't actually committed to it. I have no idea what the hell being a real revolutionary is about, but I prefer listening to someone call Bush a draft dodger than talk about how famous they're going to be. It might be partisan bullshit, but at least it's something.

Posted by thatkid at April 27, 2005 5:23 PM under Stuff To Buy

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