I'm fortunate to have two children - young adults now - that both have good taste in music, and they both like hip-hop a lot. They've turned me on to many hip-hop/rap artists over the years, but one of my favorites is Immortal Technique - particularly his fantastic recording "Revolutionary Vol. 2." He'll be performing at High Noon Saloon on July 20th together with DJ GI JOE, Poison Pen, Da Circle & J. Arch.

An intense political rapper, Immortal Technique's revolutionary lyrics confront the "reality" painted by mainstream media and he rails against the existing power structures.

He walks the walk too. He is heavily involved in visiting prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists. He has also raised tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas, and has invested his money not in chains, fancy cars and luxurious homes but rather in large pieces of farmland in Latin America. He has also created a writing grant program for high school students and involved himself in the structuring of an orphanage in Afghanistan.

In late 2007 before the continuation of the Revolutionary series Immortal Technique and DJ Green Lantern ("The Evil Genius") decided to do a mixtape/album together and connect the struggles of this nation to those that are occurring with much more destructive results outside of the nation.The result was the mixtape/album called “The 3rd World” that was just released June 24th through Viper Records.

I had a few questions for Technique. Here's what he had to say:

How has your global political awareness affected how you live your daily life?
"It makes me not as selfish as I used to be when I was running around being a criminal, it gives me a new perspective on forgiveness, failure, struggle, and what success really means."

What motivated/inspired you to set aside Revolution Vol 3 and get together with DJ Green Lantern for "The 3rd World"?
"I'm a writer I naturally write, (which is part of the reason I started that writing contest) and so when I am in a debacle or some sort of mood, whether pleased or discouraged, I sit there and script out not the feelings but rather the soul of what reflects not just in myself and my people. I kept getting instrumentals from DJ Green Lantern. And while the writing flowed, the conceptuality didn't match the work that I had had been doing for Revolutionary Vol.3 or The Middle Passage. The mixtape/album is more of a bridge from Vol.2 to the other albums I have half done."

Will "The Evil Genius" be touring with you? Tell us about the other accomplices with you on this tour?
"On the East Coast, Poison Pen, J.Arch, Da Circle and of course DJ GiJoe, and on the West Coast besides RTB with Tribe, Nas, Rae & Ghost and Red and Meth I'm doing an extra show with Rakim. It all oughta be crazy. But Green Lantern is only going to introduce me and hype up stuff on my set, cuz I have Dj GiJoe and I don't know too many people who can do those tricks and tear shit up, plus he was my Dj from before so I can't just move off on son."

Here's a couple tracks to give you a flavor. . . There are many people that believe Immortal Technique to be the best political rapper around. Why don't you see for yourself? I hope to see you at the High Noon!