With a name that has become a synonym for vitriolic battle rhymes and militant politics, luminary rapper and noted political activist Immortal Technique is used to controlling a crowd. This Friday, the night before Halloween, belongs to Technique, who will take the stage in the Appel Multipurpose Room on Friday night before a tight group of 300 students, expounding on his political philosophies and explaining his most divisive songs.

“My political views have a historical reference point,” said Technique (born Felipe Andres Coronel) in an e-mail statement. “They have a combination of what I know to be true because I have seen it and what I know to be false because I have lived it.”

Technique has lived it all. Born in a military hospital in Peru, Technique moved to New York, New York when he was still a baby. The fabled Harlem streets imbued him with a love of hip-hop culture at an early age. Despite multiple arrests as a teenager, the young MC displayed enough precocity in academia to gain acceptance to Pennsylvania State University.

His short temper and pugnacious attitude did not serve him well outside of the city. Shortly after entering Penn State, Technique was arrested for aggravated assault, and soon was facing a one-two prison sentence. The prison sentence would serve as a rude awakening, and a continuous source of inspiration. After leaving prison in 1999 and returning to New York City, Technique almost immediately began immersing himself in the vibrant hip-hop scene, developing a penchant for ripping mics — and rhyming opponents — to shreds.

In 2002, after leaving an indelible mark on the New York battle scene, his independent release of Revolutionary, Vol. 1 became an unprecedented success, immediately moving 3000 copies without the support of a major label and earning him Unsigned Hype acclaim in Source Magazine. Rather than bow to record companies’ vision of a polished, bubble-gum sound, Technique continues to operate independently, and advocates artistic freedom for all rappers.

“Learn the business or be a slave,” said Technique of his philosophy on the music industry. “And, be prepared to find out who your real friends are. You might be disappointed.”

Technique has since recorded two more studio albums, Revolutionary, Vol. 2 and The 3rd World — his sociological perspectives developing with each subsequent release. Technique manages to weave his militant political stances into trenchant and razor-sharp battle rhymes, dropping enough knowledge and cultural references to keep even the most intelligent hip-hop head pulling up Google.

“I had a vision of nuclear holocaust on top of me / And this is prophecy / the words that I speak from my lungs / The severed head of John the Baptist speaking in tongues,” spits Technique on “Internally Bleeding” on Revolutionary, Vol. 2.

Technique is as adamant about inspiring revolution as he is about inspired rhyme schemes. A vocal critic of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, the MC notes that his ultimate goal is to “more specifically understand the true power of Revolution and what we can learn from one another's struggles around the world.”

With a corpus of work as vast and layered as Technique’s, it’s worth noting the incendiary potential of his music. The veteran rhymer emphasizes that the key to creating fresh and relevant hip-hop is to maintain independence and creative control, at all costs.

“Hip Hop just grew up and rather than provide guidance for the next generation; a lot of the elders responded with judgment and bitter resentment,” said Technique, speaking on the all-too-common maxim “Hip-Hop is Dead.”

“Some of them who are the most knowledgeable spoke but it was lost in the mixture of both sides being confused about what direction we should move in. The future of rap … is to be determined by whether or not we will invest in ourselves to find independent or continue to do things the old way, and the old way was leading to hip hop dying. The new way is making the same mistakes, and we need to control our dollars, our investments, to keep the culture alive, not just the music.”

Immortal Technique will be performing on Friday Oct. 30 at 8:30 p.m. in the Appel Multipurpose Room. Admission is free for the first 300 students.