And my kids, all three of ‘em suffer in the worst ways
Cause last year I missed all three of they birthdays
So when you see me with me eyes full of pain
Give me love cause these are three of the reason why I call the road ‘the rain’

- Tech N9ne “The Rain”

In celebration of Father’s Day, HipHopDX commemorated one of the most interesting father figures in hip hop.

To commemorate the upcoming Sunday holiday, HipHopDX tallied 10 songs from hip hop that celebrate fatherhood. Out of the 10 emcees and the songs listed, Tech N9ne is cited with undoubtedly one of the most heart-wrenching and complex songs in “The Rain” from Everready.

The deceptively upbeat-sounding track features Tech talking about the drawbacks of fame on his family, and even has his daughter Alyia bust an inquisitive middle verse, with questions like “Will mommy still love you and be with you everyday?” The song stands as one of Tech N9ne’s greatest and most truthful offerings to the world of music and fatherhood.

HipHopDX writes:

If you are familiar with Tech N9ne’s music or rapping style, you know that it is extremely unique: he expands on what’s come before, while adding a little bit of his own special sauce. His approach to parenting seems to be no different, as he takes advantage of all the resources at his disposal in raising his children. For instance, Tech N9ne released a video on his record label’s YouTube channel urging people to vote for his daughter for homecoming queen. As he explains, “It’s me, Tech N9ne, urging you to vote Alyia Yates for homecoming queen because she’s beautiful, she’s funny, and she has a wonderful heart. An angel heart. How do I know? Because she has my heart. Why? Because I created her.” His other daughter Reign and his son Dontez have likewise made public appearances. Both his daughters are on the 2006 track “The Rain.” They describe the unique and no less sad struggles of the children of celebrities. His son Dontez is mentioned on the songs “This Is Me” and “P.A.S.E.O.”  The self-proclaimed owner of an evil brain and angel heart, seems to always be comfortable displaying the latter when it comes to his offspring.

Click here to read the entire article.

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER SOMETHING ELSE

• What do you think about “The Rain”?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Curated by Atmosphere & Rhymesayers Entertainment, Soundset has become the go-to festival for where underground & mainstream hip hop meet, but this year, Soundset got Strange with the addition of Tech N9ne & Krizz Kaliko!

The day was full of exciting moments & dope music, so we thought we’d give y’all a photo recap of some of the highlights from the day-long festival.

The Graffiti Wall! Rhymesayers cultivating the culture.

LOL! Lil’ Krizz stuntin’ on Dizzy Wright while pops is on the phone.

Had a great time at @Soundset today. Caught up with all the homies…including Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko. Possible Dizzy Wright collab in the works?!? #stillmovin #independentliving – Funk Volume on Facebook

Big Krizz on the BIG SCREEN!

Smilin’ at the masses

This kid is more of a G than we could ever be.

The legend Snoop Lion!

Hell yeah! Soundset host & Hip Hop legend Sway rockin the Snake & Bat jacket!

Sway reppin’ the Snake & Bat on the big screen!

Sway & the homie Scenario!

Tech & Sway watching Snoop’s set!

The KC King doing his thang on the jumbotron!

Look at that crowd for Tech!!! Bet we made some new Technicians!!

Tech, Lil’ Krizz, & Juicy J! Trippy!

Two legends in the same room.

If you have pictures from Soundset, send them to ‘Fans@StrangeMusicInc.com’ and you could be featured!

• Were you at the festival? Who had the best set?
• Would you like to see Tech at more festivals? 

Let us know in the comments below! 

When it comes to emcees other than Tech N9ne that are quick-spitting, hyper-intricate, and actually have something to say, it’s pretty much impossible to leave R.A. The Rugged Man’s name out of that short list, so it comes as no surprise that the hip hop Gods eventually brought the two together.

On “Holla Loo Yuh” from R.A.’s recently released Legends Never Die album, Tech and Krizz join R.A. in a three-and-a-half minute burst of quickfire lyricism, a style that all three emcees are comfortable enough in to call home.

In a recent drop for R.A.’s new album, Tech shares his thoughts on New York vet’s abilities as an emcee, his overall attitude, and what it was like to work with him.

Hip hop heads around the world can only sit back, enjoy Legends Never Die, and pray to the almighty hip hop Gods that the universe brings these two explosive emcees together for…we don’t know…like, 1,000 more tracks? That’d be great.

Click HERE to purchase RA’s new album ‘Legends Never Die’

• What other Strange artists would you like to see RA work with?
• Who had the sickest verse on “Holla Loo Uh”? 

Get at us in the comments below! 

The man who has produced hits for the likes of Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, and more has a new target in sight: Tech N9ne.

West Coast producer FredWreck is a bonafide veteran, and has worked with pretty much everyone we could ever dream of working with, and in a recent tweet he confirmed that he’s headed to KCMO to begin a session with Tech N9ne!

Heading out to Kansas City for my session with @techn9ne !! Can’t wait for you guys to hear this!

— FredWreck (@Fredwreck) May 10, 2013

Of course with FredWreck coming into town on the same day as the hometown Independent Powerhouse show, we had to show him the otherworldly experience that is a KCMO Tech N9ne concert. Needless to say, he was impressed.

To all the independent artists out there that need some inspiration.. Nobody does it like the @strangemusicinc team! twitter.com/Fredwreck/stat…

— FredWreck (@Fredwreck) May 12, 2013

The next day as the haze of awesomeness settled over KCMO, Tech & Fred went straight to work.

“@techn9ne: Straight to my studio session with @seventracksand @fredwreck twitter.com/TechN9ne/statu…” POW!

— FredWreck (@Fredwreck) May 12, 2013

With FredWreck’s legendary production skills as the groundwork for Tech N9ne’s constantly-mutating lyrical showcases, we’re sure that whatever comes from this will be nothing short of eargasm material.

Click HERE to follow FredWreck on Twitter!

• Who else on Strange would you like to see work with FredWreck?
• Do you have a favorite track he’s produced?
• What other producers to you hope to see Tech work with in the future?

Get at us in the comments below! 

The amount of love that goes back and forth between Tech N9ne and the entire city of Denver, Colorado gets bigger and bigger every year.

Proof of this is in an article posted by the Denver Westword for the 10 Best Hip Hop Shows In Denver for the month of May. Tech N9ne was listed of course, along with Big Boi, Mobb Deep and Juicy J and others.

The Westworld says:

To say that Tech is one of the hardest working rappers is an understatement. He’s one of the hardest working musicians, period.

Click here to read the article.

The show goes down Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Denver Technicians and surrounding, get your asses to the The Summit Music Hall!

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND VIP PACKAGES

• Have you ever seen Tech N9ne perform in Denver? What was it like?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

On May 7, find out what happens when Brooklyn beats meet Kansas City bars.

New York producer Harry Fraud is releasing a free EP called High Tide that will feature Tech N9ne on a song called “Rising”, the first track on the EP.

High Tide will also feature Action Bronson, French Montana, Earl Sweatshirt, Riff Raff, Smoke DZA, Mistah F.A.B. and more.

The EP will be a free download so be on the lookout!

• What do you think of this collaboration?
• What other producers do you want to see Tech N9ne collaborate with?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Take a view from both sides of the board when it came to putting magic on wax.

In this fascinating and insightful article on Hot New Hip Hop, both Tech N9ne and Seven are given chance to shed light on the making of “B.I.T.C.H.”, the lead single from Tech N9ne’s hotly-anticipated album Something Else.

This piece traces the song from the end product, to the concept, to the beat itself which sparked the entire record.

Tech N9ne lets people into his mind concerning the content of the song, stating:

So when I heard the beat for “B.I.T.C.H.” and I called it “Breaking Into Colored Peoples’ Houses,” I needed somebody on the chorus, to get me in those houses, you know what I mean, to get me on that television tube and get me into these houses that don’t really accept Tech N9ne. And I called T-Pain ‘cause I know he’s perfect at what he does, and I had to give him a pep talk, I said, ‘you are my instrument, to get me into these folks houses. So you don’t have to say ‘bitch’ on the hook, you don’t have to say anything, you’re just like, ‘I’m breaking into your house, this is what I’m gunna do, through my music, coming through your television.’ And I think he did a wonderful job, and I’ve seen it pop up everywhere now. And I thank him so much to get that message out to my peoples. I asked for so many years, I asked, I been knockin and knockin and knockin. Now I’m breaking into colored houses, as me, and they’re gunna accept me like this, through the song.

Beatsmiths and production geeks will love Seven’s portion of the article, in which he breaks down his thought process behind the beat, the style he molded for Tech N9ne and even goes in-depth into the equipment and programs that he uses to achieve his sound.

Seven on his method for making the choir-sounds in the production:

When I sit down to look for opera samples, I usually just find a really good high quality patch and play around with chord progressions until something feels right.  I’ll stack everything with big lush harmonies and make them feel really big.  A lot of times I’ll resample the choir part I’ve put together and then chop it back up as if it was a sample I looped from somewhere.  That way it can actually feel like a real sampled loop, but still completely original.

For a first-hand look at geniuses at work, this article is a very necessary read.

Click here to read the entire article.

• What do you think about “B.I.T.C.H”?
• What was your favorite part of this article?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Complex magazine has never been one to ignore Tech N9ne’s lyrical genius, and nowhere is that more apparent than on their newest list “The 30 Most Lyrical Rap Songs of the Past 5 Years”, on which Tech N9ne’s “He’s A Mental Giant” appears at number 20.

The super-lyrical smash from last year’s All 6′s And 7′s was loved by fans and critics alike upon it’s release, and is the perfect example of Tech’s ability to indulge in his narcissistic side while still remaining likable, and above all else, honest.

Hardcore Technicians could make the argument that pretty much any of Tech N9ne’s infamously intricate tracks could have appeared on this list, but the fact of the matter is he’s mentioned among the likes of Raekwon, Nas, Elzhi, Jay-Z, and more (and rightfully so!).

Tech has built his career at the junction where intricacy and honesty intersect, and somehow continues to age his flow like a fine wine, acknowledging weaknesses and manipulating his delivery and content to erase them and in the process picking up new strengths.

While fans anxiously await the release of Something Else which is set to drop this summer, maybe it’s time to go back and give All 6′s and 7′s another listen.

Who knows? You might catch something you’d missed before!

Click HERE to see Complex’s full list.

Click here to purchase All 6′s and 7′s

•  What other tracks do you think could have made this list?
• What do you think is Tech’s most lyrical track?
• Who do you hope to see featured on Something Else?

Get at us in the comments below! 

Greatest rappers from the Midwest? Can’t leave this guy out.

In an article published by the Denver Westword, Tech N9ne was ranked #3 out of the 10 Greatest Midwest Rappers, behind Kanye West and Eminem. The Westword wrote

Tech is an incredibly gifted rapper technically and a good lyricist, but the most impressive thing about his rise from obscurity to being a household name has been that he’s done it by himself, without the help of a major label. He’s always traveling, which you’ve probably noticed, as Denver is one of his favorite places to come, and by all accounts, he puts on an incredible live show — so incredible that he was famously said to be lip synching by the L.A. Times, an accusation he didn’t take kindly to. To say that Tech is one of the hardest working rappers is an understatement. He’s one of the hardest working musicians, period.

 Click here to read the entire article.

• What do you think of the list?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

When it comes to giving something brand new, unexpected and game-changing to the world of hip hop, there’s no room to cut corners.

In a very well-written and insightful article from Oregon Music News, Tech fully explains why it’s taken him so long to deliver a follow-up album to the chart-crushing All 6′s and 7′s.

We had to push it back again because we’re trying to put together a massive, massive album. You have to top your last one, which was also extremely massive, which was All 6s and 7s. We have a lot of wonderful features thus far that I can’t really talk about but the music and the lyrics are “Something Else” and what I mean by that is that the music is something else other than what you are used to listening to on the radio or television—that it’s something else! Tech N9ne is something else. Not like another. The beats are that, the lyrics are that, and when you hear the way I did my collaborations you’ll get that too. I just made music on this thing. I didn’t try to have a format. I just don’t care if the song is seven minutes long. I’m just going to do it. You know? That’s what I did. I’m not sure if I have a “Freebird” on there like Lynyrd Skynyrd  or maybe something like Five Finger Death Punks, how about that!

The article is also a very well-written account of Tech N9ne’s demeanor and appeal. In it Tech also describes “Come Gangsta” as his quintessential song:

It has everything I do in it. It’s melodic. It’s steamy. It’s word play. It’s simple. It’s intricate. It’s everything in one. It’s theatrical. There’s operatic stuff happening in it. There’s rock and roll happening in it. There’s hip-hop happening in it. You know what I’m saying? It’s everything and if you can listen to that song and actually say, “Oh I don’t like that” then you don’t like music.

Click here to read the entire article.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND VIP PACKAGES TO
THE INDEPENDENT POWERHOUSE TOUR

• What do you hope to see Tech N9ne do with his music on Something Else?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

]]> http://blog.therealtechn9ne.com/2013/04/tech-n9ne/tech-n9ne-explains-why-he-pushed-back-something-else/feed/ 12