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Revolutionary, Vol. 2

by Immortal Technique

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Despite the popular perception that the death knell has already rung for political hip-hop, Immortal Technique jams a shot of adrenaline through the chest plate into hip-hop's conscious heart. Tackling topics from America's complicity in the drug trade ("Peruvian Cocaine") to the cycles of inner-city poverty ("Harlem Streets") to the global military complex ("The 4th Branch"), Immortal Technique unabashedly radiates his radicalism in a time of apathy. There's a thin line between passion and didacticism, and, at times, he forces rhymes that sacrifice style in service of content, but most of the time his delivery is as razor sharp as his politics. The beats are mostly understated and minimalist, armed with just enough punch to accent the rhymes. "You Never Know" drifts sweetly on jazz-guitar strums while "Crossing the Boundary" snaps with a hard, funk edge. Clearly though, Immortal Technique is the strongest sonic force on the album, a claxon alarm that shatters the complacent silence. --Oliver Wang