Back in grade school kids would secretly play versions of Eminem, or even NWA and Snoop Dogg. They were the top – about as hardcore as anyone could get back in the day.

But not anymore.

After a five-year hiatus, Immortal Technique released his newest record, “Third World” with DJ Green Lantern.

Technique, who was considered an underground rapper until recently, appeared in Omaha last fall to play a show at the Waiting Room in Benson. The people who were at that show were holding their breath for a few new Technique tracks, and he did not disappoint.

This man, who is the ultimate rap lyricist, is not the standard. Instead of rapping about booze and sex, Technique raps about the state of affairs in the United States. As a Harlem-born Peruvian, he knows firsthand about poverty, racism and classism because it has affected every moment of his life.

He fills his tracks with stories and examples of the points he’s trying to make and wraps it all up with metaphors that could make an English professor blush. On top of the rich lyrics, he wraps it all up with strong beats that make each and every track different.

And for any political science students, names like Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft and Bill O’Reilly have turned on his albums.

Anyone who wants to get a glimpse out of the “ivory tower,” spring the $12 for Immortal Technique’s “Third World.” Take a minute and see how real Americans live day to day.