Click here for the feature.

Jessica, 22, Kansas City, Missouri

Strange Music Blog: So what are you doing out here at Best Buy today?
Jessica: I’m going to get Tech N9ne’s autograph for a girl that lives up in North Dakota.
SMB: No kidding?
Jessica: Yeah, she’s been to like every single Tech N9ne concert up in Fargo and she’s like a huge Tech N9ne fan–but she’s from Kansas City.
SMB: Uh, why did she go to North Dakota?
Jessica: To go to college. She’ll be back in December.
SMB: Fair enough. I’m from North Dakota so I just had to ask. Anyways, what do you think Tech N9ne means to Kansas City?
Jessica: He’s just an amazing rapper. He’s putting Kansas City on the map and I absolutely love all his music. My girlfriend is probably one of his biggest fans–that’s kind of the whole reason we’re up here. She’s like “Please go get his autograph!”
SMB: And what’s her name?
Jessica: Her name’s Jessica.
SMB: Ah Jessica and Jessica. Well thank you! Enjoy!
Jessica: Thanks, you too!

Gage, 13, North Kansas City

Strange Music Blog: What are you doing out here at Best Buy?
Gage: Getting all my shit signed by Tech N9ne!
SMB: Dope. Now when I say “Tech N9ne” what comes to your head?
Gage: Awesome.
SMB: How long have you been a fan?
Gage: Three or four years.
SMB: What do you think he means to Kansas City?
Gage: He means everything I mean, he’s the best–and the number one independent rapper in the world.
SMB: Thanks man have a good one.
Gage: You’re welcome.

Bill Brownlee from Inkkc.com gives his take on Tech N9ne’s latest release in the “Collabos” series, The Gates Mixed Plate. Brownlee touches on the quality of guest features on the project, and also labeled Krizz Kaliko as the ‘redeemer’ of two particular tracks on the album. Although he gives no quantitative measurement for the reader to gauge how he felt about the album, and refuses to take a stance on it one way or another, the review is entertaining nonetheless. Click here to read the full review.

Unfortunately, [Harvey Dent] clocks in at under 3 minutes, leaving you wishing he would have stretched it out a little longer. As a significant part of the project, the guests on “Gates Mixed Plate” hold their own weight. Fellow Strange Music labelmates Kutt Kalhoun and Krizz Kaliko make multiple appearances. Ruthless Records’ Stevie Stone lends his deep baritone to two tracks. Devin the Dude’s relaxed drawl dominates “Afterparty” while west coast newcomers Glasses Malone and Jay Rock add intensity to their respective tracks.

Click here to go to RapReviews.com then click on New Reviews and then The Gates Mixed Plate to read the full review.

What do you think of the review?

Here is more info on Joe Vertigo taken from his Myspace Page:

“I have met the man. Some say that personalities are relative to incidents in ones youth. Some say that near death experiences can change ones life. In his case, it probably did. It was a windy night in the fall of early 1990′s, and a candy apple red, early model 1980′s Cutlass pulled into a dim-lit gas station at about 1:45 a.m. The passenger got out to use the pay phone, and the driver got out and sat on the hood. The passenger was trying to call a female friend who lived in the area, since she paged him and left a 911 code behind the number. The third passenger, whom had ingested large amounts of beer and liquor at a previous location, stumbled out of the back seat, and sat on the trunk and lit a cigar. Now, this area that they were in is known as a gang territory. And they knew it. And still, on this night, the old saying that gangsters will roll, proved itself to be true. There were no other cars out. It was quiet. Too quiet, and it was known, but not mentioned, that a premonition had came to one of these individuals earlier in the night. He had said to one of the other friends, “Man, something don’t seem right about tonight”. He was right. As you probably assumed, these individuals were indeed gang affiliated, from another part of town, and that night, they were out of bounds. These young men were talented, they all loved to low-ride, and they were loyal to one another. It was all about “Familia”. 1:49 a.m. A car approached slowly, with the windows down, and the third passenger from the parked car yelled to his friends to look, as the vehicle drove by slowly. The approaching vehicle was occupied by four individuals. As they drove by, the third passenger noticed that the vehicle didn’t have any tags, and that clearly alarmed him. He understood that this was a moment of action, as hesitation would definitely get them killed. To him, this is when time stopped. It was a nightmare come true. As he opened the door to get inside the car, the approaching vehicle made an abrupt u-turn, and the head lights were turned off. The third passenger moved quickly to lift the back seat cushion up, and as he looked out of the window, he saw barrels and the glass shattered on top of his head. The gunfight ensued. Less than two minutes later, the Cutlass rolled into a 24 hour grocery store with the windows shot out, tires flat, and the occupants were covered in blood. Ambulances were called, and they survived. Authorities say that more than 90 rounds were volleyed between the two groups, and the shooters from the parked car couldn’t be determined, as the group refused to talk about the incident. Click here to read more about Joe Vertigo.

Here is a video taken from Joe Vertigo’s Youtube channel:

The Gates Mixed Plate, Tech N9ne’s latest release, features the singles “O.G.” and “Jumpin’ Jax”.  Tech’s third release in a series of collaborative studio projects coined “Collabos”, features Devin The Dude, Glasses Malone, Jay Rock, Yukmouth and many others. The Gates Mixed Plate is available in stores now!

To learn more about Joe Vertigo check him out at: JoeVertigo.com, Youtube, Myspace and follow him on Twitter.