''Revolutionary Vol. 1'' is the debut album by rapper

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...

, released on September 18, 2001, and re-pressed in 2004 (by

Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...

). The first edition had no distribution and no barcode; it was sold by the artist on the streets and at his shows. The album re-press was manufactured with a barcode and is being distributed worldwide by Viper Records and Babygrande Records. Immortal Technique said in 2009 that the album had sold more than 45,000 copies.

Reception

Stewart Mason of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album a score of three-and-a-half stars out of five. He praised Immortal Technique for being able to fit complicated political themes convincingly to music. Mason wrote that listeners may not approve of the production quality, but noted that it had a "rough-edged charm" to it. Writing on RapReviews in November 2005, Steve 'Flash' Juon responded positively to the album, calling Immortal Technique "a smooth flowing, rough hewn vocalist with an excellent sense of timing and breath control" and judging the production as "good to outstanding".

Track listing

*"Dance with the Devil" ends at 6:48. An untitled hidden track featuring Diabolic starts at 6:57 and lasts for 2:42.

Samples

* *"Creation & Destruction" samples the song "The Letter" from the album '' Green Is Blues'' by

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

. * "Positive Balance" samples "Ice Dance" from the movie soundtrack for ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American gothic romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as the title ...

'' by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

and " Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G. * "No Me Importa" samples the song " Comin' Home Baby" by

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

. * "Dance with the Devil" samples "

Survival of the Fittest "Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, th ...

" by

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

, "Love Story" by

Francis Lai Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film '' Love Story''. The ...

, and "

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.' ...

" by

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

; The hidden track version with Diabolic also contains a sample of "Sonata for Viola and Harpsichord - 1st Mvt" by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. * "No Mercy" samples The Ballot or the Bullet" by

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

and "Yuri Escapes" by Maurice Jarre. * "The Illest" samples " Change the Beat (Female Version)" by Beside and " Swan Lake Suite (Op.20)" by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

References

External links

Viper Records official website
Immortal Technique albums 2001 debut albums Babygrande Records albums Horrorcore albums {{2001-hiphop-album-stub