The song “Rich Man’s World” by Immortal Technique is also known as “1%” because the lyrics talk about the richest “1%” of the world and all of the corruption that circles that small group of people. Immortal Technique is a rapper known for having extremely graphic, real songs about controversial topics going on around the world. Even though some of them may even be too gruesome to listen to, I can seriously respect all of the truth that Immortal Technique incorporates into each of his songs. First, “Rich Man’s World” starts out with a speech from the movie Network in which it is boldly stated that “there is no American; there is no democracy.” Immortal Technique then starts speaking to all of the petty criminals in order to allude to the fact that the big business men are the real criminals of the world. He touches on topics such as unfair bailouts given by the government, using politicians to control the government, the outsourcing of jobs, and the fact that this very small portion of the world is living so much better than the rest. I happen to think that this is a really great song. I feel that many of the points brought up have a lot of truth in them and that the song brings light to a lot of things that people don’t want to accept as true.
In this song particularly, the music really does complement the lyrics. The very “in your face” beat gives the right kind of power to the song that Immortal Technique is referencing to in the lyrics. The whole beginning of the song just sets the mood and gives a great feeling. With the small introduction that tells the listener what the song is about and then the complement of the music coming in strong with the cash register sounds in the background is just really well done. Immortal Technique’s voice itself also really complements the song. His voice has a rough, hard quality to it and the way he almost spits the words out allows you to picture a skeezy big business man that doesn’t care about a thing in the world besides himself (especially with the evil laugh in the beginning).
This type of song is very typical of Immortal Technique. He is extremely opinionated when it comes to the government and the way that people are treated throughout the world. Growing up in Harlem and being a member of a gang (not sure if he still is, but he used to be affiliated with at least one), Immortal Technique feels that he has seen what people have to go through on a daily basis just to survive. Many of his songs tell stories about experiences he’s had or things he’s seen in the streets. What I like about Immortal Technique the most is that he’s not a typical rapper that talks about girls, money, drugs, and getting laid. Well, maybe he does a little bit, but in a more respectable, educational way. He talks about the truth in all of these things. Instead of talking about a girl’s looks he talks about the way she acts or the hard mask she has to show the world. If he talks about money he doesn’t talk about how much he has or wants, he talks about how it ruins people and how the world revolves around it. You can feel the lyrics and each song is like a story that you don’t know whether to believe or not but something in his voice makes you know that it’s real.
Unfortunately this song is definitely not for everyone. Though it has an awesome beat, great lyrics and a controversial, interesting topic, some people simply wouldn’t like all of the profane language and possibly the fact that it’s a rap song. For people who don’t mind curses and want to hear a great story about the possible corruption of the government and how the other half lives, this song is definitely a great choice though perhaps not on repeat.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2NETSIzFr8
Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/rich-manas-world-1-lyrics-immortal-technique.html