Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique

by Amanda London · Published November 2, 2021 · Updated November 2, 2021

“Dance with the Devil” is a lengthy tale of life in the ‘hood gone wrong. So instead of just summarizing it, we will highlight its main points in a linear fashion.

William

It starts off with Immortal Technique referencing someone he knew back in the day named William, who is the subject of this story. And in many ways, he’s like your quintessential Black or Latino teenager from the ‘hood, which the vocalist himself having grown up in Harlem. That is to say that William wants to be rich and influential, as learned from pop media. Also, his mind is further “corrupted” by being raised in such a, shall we say morally-lacking environment like the ghetto.

For instance, as with perhaps most youth from the ‘hood, his father isn’t around. Also, as fate would have it, his mother used to be a crack “fiend”. And by the time she did get around to sobering up, it was too late for her to change William’s course. So the lad himself eventually becomes a drug dealer and promiscuous, thinking that running around having affairs with different girls is more or less a game.

And he is also wise enough to know that being paid alone is not going to afford him street credibility. So William goes about engaging in further criminal activities for that very purpose.  However, doing so ends up landing him a jail, a setting we can say is even more messed up than the streets. 

William, The Rat

And by the looks of things the kid is able to pick upon on that fact also, as he proceeds to “squeal”, i.e. rat out his co-defendants or other criminals. He does this in the name of getting himself off the hook. But you know how they say out of the frying pan and into the fire? Well doing so earns him a reputation of being a snitch. 

So now, even though Bill is back out on the streets, the people he runs with don’t see him as a “real” ni–a, which is like a cardinal sin as far as gangstas go.

And there are two main points that Immortal Technique is putting forth in that verse. First off, as alluded to earlier, is this concept of young men from the ‘hood ‘fiending for props’, i.e. craving respect and recognition and as a result feeling a need to ‘prove to everyone that they’re evil’, as the culture of the ‘hood dictates. 

And second would be that these kids are also the products of a larger, “capitalistic” society that they live in. 

So it’s like if you mix a lust for money with the senseless violence of the streets, what you get is someone like William. And at this juncture in his story, what he is doing by behaving so is “dancing with the devil”, i.e. being engaged in a dangerous, amoral lifestyle that is bound to catch up with him sooner or later.

From Bad to Worse

So the second verse commences with the subject now being a full-fledged armed robber. And again, he is doing so for reputation, not money. The way life is on the streets for teenagers like Billy is that the only way certain peers will respect you is if they fear you. So keeping in mind that he’s already established himself as a snitch, it can be postulated that he’s overcompensating, if you will, in an effort to clear his name.

Also, William is still involved in the drug game and is in fact even prospering in that regard. So he graduates, if you will, from selling ‘cr–k rocks’ to the more-lucrative coke proper. And in that respect, Immortal Technique even namedrops Scarface of Hollywood fame as someone the kid looks up to. 

And yes, in the eyes of aspiring criminals from the ghetto “Scarface”, even if a fictional character, is widely considered a role model. So for instance, he has regularly been referenced in rap music.

However, things don’t quite work out for him as planned. The big boys in the ‘hood aren’t fully convinced that Will is a thug. Under their estimation, it doesn’t take much heart to sell drugs or to shoot someone. And in getting that idea across, Immortal Technique even takes a roundabout jab at P. Diddy. In other words, even Puffy himself was once involved in a shooting. 

However, that doesn’t mean that all of a sudden established criminals actually view him as a certified gangsta. 

What it takes to be a Certified Gangsta

So these individuals who are higher in the criminal hierarchy than William advise him that if he really wants to prove himself “a real thug”, there is one thing he should do. He would have to “stab someone” and ‘stand right in front of them, staring straight into their eyes’. 

So the situation is like the subject wants to become a big-time drug dealer, and these are the people who can introduce him to that kind of product. Now either he has to do what they say or give up on his dreams of living large. And being who he is, he chooses the former.

Major Crime

So William proceeds to hook up with these guys on the weekend to commit the crime. And the victim they chose is this lady who is unfortunate enough to be “walking alone” while they’re on the prowl. 

After pouncing on her in the dark, they proceed to subdue her. And now it is up to William to prove just how thuggish he actually is. So, aided by his fellow outlaws, he violently drags her to the roof of what is apparently an apartment building. In doing so, he breaks her jaw and cracks her ribs. Afterwards, they gang defile her. Then they tell Billy that since she actually witnessed what transpired, she must be murdered. And they put the onus on him to do so.

So now he is faced with the true point of no return in this story, for at the beginning of the fourth verse we once again have him contemplating whether to proceed or give it all up. Up until this point it’s as if he’s committed every crime imaginable except murder. 

So while in the process of agreeing to murder the victim, well, it would seem that William and co. never actually bothered to study her face. For in doing so, he realizes that it is actually his own mother. And it’s like, talk about a twist ending.

William Ends His Life

Of course William can’t do it and, in response of the tragedy he has committed, jumps off the roof and commits suicide. Meanwhile, the other thugs do in fact murder his mom, once again for the purpose of not leaving any witnesses behind.

Morale of the Story of “Dance with the Devil”

And of course this story, particularly that last segment, sounds a bit outlandish. And this is something that the vocalist acknowledges. But him having been one of the aforementioned rapists himself, he can verify that it is indeed true. 

In fact the full name of the subject is revealed as Billy Jacobs. And the moral of the story is that, even as a child really, if you allow yourself to be controlled by “the Devil”, then it’s messed up acts like these that he will ultimately lead you to committing.

So this is Immortal Technique’s way of telling the youth of today that even if you do lust for dollars, respect or what have you, don’t get too carried away in your ambitions. 

Or as relayed in the chorus, these days everybody wants to be a certified thug. But there’s a difference between committing minor crimes and doing a little bit of time in jail, as opposed to actually getting into some serious trouble and serving a major bid. 

And regarding the latter, he encourages all of the little hard heads to consult someone who is actually serving life in prison and ask that individual if they had do it all over again, would they chose the same course of action. But at the same time, the vocalist is knowledgeable enough of the streets to know that some individuals, like William, will still choose to “dance with the Devil” nonetheless.

Part II of “Dance with the Devil”

Afterwards, there is a second part of this song that features another rapper known as Diabolic.  It doesn’t seem to have anything first part per se. Or rather, let it be known that Immortal Technique is the type of hip-hop artist who, as they would say in the old days, spits jewels. 

What that fundamentally means is that he is countercultural and critical of the society at large. So this second half for example has Diabolic claiming that his words are even more pertinent than those ‘spoken in churches’. 

And what he is actually saying is that Christianity, if you will, is a “worthless” religion. That notion is latter buttressed by Immortal Technique, who claims that the White, “blue-eyed” image of Jesus is a ‘fake’. And so on and so forth. 

Indeed one aspect of this entire piece that we didn’t really harp on earlier is that there is a religious undertone permeating throughout, which is basically centered on this God-versus-the-Devil type of dynamic. 

So it isn’t like the rappers are dissing religion in and of itself but are more like it’s better to follow righteousness and truth than evil and deception. But that said, it’s not like they’re trying to become preachers themselves. And if anything, the main function of the second part of this track is to show that the vocalist(s) can really rap when he’s not burdened with sticking to a particular storyline.

So the first part of this song is meant to tell a story with a moral lesson. But the second is more along the lines of displaying the homeys lyrical skills.

Immortal Technique

Immortal Technique is a turn-of-the-century rapper who is more associated with the underground hip-hop scene than the mainstream. From 2001 to 2008 he managed to put out three studio albums. And the last of those, The 3rd World, made an appearance on the Billboard 200.

“Dance with the Devil”

Meanwhile, “Dance with the Devil” is one of the songs that came out as part of his debut album, “Revolutionary Vol. 1”, on 14 September 2001. The primary label behind it is called Nature Sounds, with Immortal Technique also being personally involved in its issuance.

Scarface

The aforementioned Scarface is of course a reference to the 1983 film of the same name starring Al Pacino and based on what is more properly known as an era in history known as the Miami drug wars. 

The movie itself is obviously intended to serve as a (spoiler alert) tragedy, as in what can happen if an individual allows himself to get too caught up in violence, drugs and wealth. But many viewers have not interpreted it as such but rather look up to the titular character as a hero. Simply put, someone who, via the illicit drug trade, went from basically being homeless to one of the richest men in America.

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