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Noah Carpenter
English
Ms. Robisch
12 December 2014
Dance with the devil Immortal Technique
The song Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique gives an insight on the
life in the ghetto and what many of the kids had to grow up with. He tells a story how
people think murder, rape, and selling drugs will make them bigger people and make
them powerful. This songs talks about the violence and poorness or the hip hop world.
This song Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique gives off a disturbing
perspective of a story in his life but a positive message to live by.
This song is about a guy named William who grew up in the projects with a crack
head mother and he never knew his father. He dealt drugs and got put into jail and
snitched on people so his reputation and trust was ruined. So to gain it back he started
to rob people sell crack but the people he was trying to impress still thought he would
snitch on them and didnt think he was evil enough to become one of them. The crew
told him to rape a women to prove he was cold hearted, in the song he says so now he
has a choice between going back to his life or making money with made men (Immortal
Technique) so Billy gave into the greed and agreed to do it.
They drove around the projects at 3 in the morning and found a women walking
around and wrapped her in a shirt. They beat her and raped her, then when they were
done the crew members gave Billy a gun. Before he was about to shoot he ripped off

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the shirt and it was his own mother. Immortal says crying out to the sky 'cause he was
lonely and scared, But only the devil responded, 'cause god wasn't there (Immortal
Technique) symbolizing the sin and wrong he has done and feels empty. Close to the
end Immortal Technique says listen to this story Im telling you is true because I was
there with Billy Jacobs and I raped his mom too, and now the devil follows me
everywhere that I go (Immortal Technique). He talks about how people should think
about their actions more before doing them because your choices can affect you forever
and his last quote in the songs describes this perfectly, So when the devil wants to
dance with you, you better say never, Because a dance with the devil might last you
forever (Immortal Technique).
The beginning of the song really describes how he felt alone and empty, he felt
like he needed to fulfill that emptiness. Since his mother was cracked out all the time
and he has no father figure to point him in the right direction. So Billy turns to the only
thing many of those kids know, selling drugs. He started at only thirteen, and he only got
deeper and deeper in the drug business. Immortal says in the song how as the years
passed Billys mother became sober but his heart only got colder. Immortal says Billys
goal in life was to fulfill his scare face fantasy and sell cocaine. It does not take much
for a kid with a bad childhood to turn into something even worse. He gets arrested a
couple times but he thinks this will help him get more respect but instead it backfires
because he rats on other people to get out of jail faster. This is a big no no when trying
to get respect and trust this does the opposite.
The gang refuse a member that they cannot trust. They also think his heart is too
big to kill anyone. This is where things really start to get messed up. The crew members

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now want him to murder someone to get their trust back, and not only murder but rape
as well. Sick people like this start out with bad childhoods and to me that is obviously
the source to how people act when they get older. At this point of the story Billy is
scared but like he says in the back round of the song Ive fallen and I cant turn back
(Immortal Technique), because he cant. Not he has went this far with it he has to prove
to them he can do it, no matter how scared he actually is.
The gang member pick him up at three in the morning and drove around to find
their victim. At this point Billy is having a good time, smoking weed, drinking and joking
around with his friends. Hes not thinking about what he is actually about to do, but this
is what he wanted just to be able to hang out with these thugs. They finally see a
women walking home from work so they get out of the car and follow her and as soon
as she goes into the darkness they throw a shirt over her head, "This is it, kid, now you
got your chance to be raw" (Immortal Technique). Now Billy is officially fully committed
to doing this crime, Immortal says he grabs her by the hair and drag her to a roof where
nobody was. She kept moving and clawing so in the song Immortal depicts a mental
image that is scary, So Billy stomped on the bitch until he broken her jaw, The dirty
bastards knew exactly what they were doing, They kicked her until they cracked her ribs
and she stopped moving, Blood leaking through the cloth, she cried silently, And then
they all proceeded to rape her violently, Billy was made to go first, but each of them took
a turn (Immortal Technique). This description makes me sick. The women cries for help
and God but they dont stop. He describe more horrific things but just from that quote
you get the point.

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One of the gang member pulls out a gun and hands it to Billy. In the back ground
vocals it says Ive fallen and I can turn back (Immortal Technique), which describes
the situation perfectly. Billy did not have these intentions but he has no choice, he has
come this far and cannot just walk away now. Billy puts the gun up to the womens
head, in his mind he was thinking she was almost dead so if anything he is putting her
out of her misery, which is a disgusting thought. Before he pulls the trigger, marking the
end of the womens life and beginning his new one as a gang banger. Billy stood their
feeling excited and strong standing around with his brothers, Cocked the Gat to her
head, and pulled back the shirt cover, But what he saw made him start to cringe and
stutter, Cause he was staring into the eyes of his own mother, She looked back at him
and cried, cause he had forsaken her, She cried more painfully, than when they were
raping her (Immortal Technique). At this point he is empty, he had done these horrible
things to the women who raised him fed him and gave him shelter. He is lonely and
scared crying out to the sky for god, but only the devil responded (Immortal Technique).
Billy Jacobss emotions running crazy hes lost and feels like life is worth nothing
anymore. The gang members then killed his mother and never spoke about it, and
Immortal tells the audience that the story is true because he was one of the members.
In this song I believe his intended audience he is trying to reach all the kids
growing up in hard times where their parents are messed up or not around. He is trying
to tell them there is better choices to make then living a life with bunch of skeletons in
the closet. When he talks about how a dance the devil will last you forever he is saying
that when you make those choices the haunt you and will always be with you. He
doesnt want to see more people get killed and put their lives on the line just to be in a

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gang and sell drugs. Also his unintended audience is the people that are fortunate
enough to not live like that. He wants them to know what the poverty does to people and
make them act. It shows those people that its a real thing that happens.
He tells this story to show this disparity in bad choices. The decisions people
make in their lives affect them good or bad. But no matter what those bad decisions will
sit in the back of your head, making you feel guilty or make you think that the other
options were better. Immortal obviously believes in God because he believes when you
commit a sin you better be careful and think over how it will affect you otherwise it could
last you forever. Just like he says in the ending lyrics of the song so when the devil
wants to dance with you, you better say never, because a dance with the devil might
Last you forever (Immortal Technique).

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Work Cited
Technique, Immortal. Dance with the Devil. Revolutionary Vol. 1. Complex.
Released. September 14, 2001. Viper Records.