Tag: Tech N9ne

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Tech N9ne: New Torment in a Faster World

October 4, 2021

Even when he’s in bed, trying to calm his crazy mind so he can sleep, Tech N9ne keeps his phone within reach. He never knows when the next lyric will come, and when it does, he wants to be sure he gets it down.

“I hate to lose my ideas,” Tech N9ne said in a phone interview with BandWagon. “My mind races. I have that kind of torment. I can see things behind my eyelids.”

That’s the kind of devotion you’d expect from a rapper who’s recorded 14 albums — with a new one on the way soon — but it’s also the kind of work he has to put in (even as he’s about to turn 50) for his record label Strange Music. 

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Ubiquitous of Ces Cru: Life After Ces

November 20, 2018

The rap duo Ces Cru have been Strange Music mainstays for 12 years. But over the past few months, there’s been a noticeable change within the group. Ubiquitous has embarked on his own solo tour while Godemis is seemingly laying low. During Tech N9ne’s 2017 Independent Grind Tour, there was some type of incident on the bus that resulted in Godemis leaving the tour.

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Don’t Always Believe What You See: Brotha Lynch Hung

September 1, 2017

Infamous for his tendencies towards dark, twisted rap tales, or what many call “horrorcore,” Sacramento native Brotha Lynch Hung (real name Kevin Mann) has established himself as an inimitable force in the business. Since stepping out with the 24 Deep EP in 1993, he’s continually pumped out solo albums, only taking a hiatus between 2003‘s Lynch by Inch: Suicide Note and 2009’s The Gas Station Mixtape Volume One. Admittedly, he was not exactly sure what he was going to do during that period of his life.

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Tech N9ne: Still At The Top Of His Game

April 3, 2017

Rap titan Tech N9ne (real name Aaron Yates) is sitting in his Star Coach tour bus behind the Slowdown music venue in Omaha, Nebraska, where he’s presumably getting ready to take material from his latest album, The Storm, to the stage. Fully stocked with a bed, shower, toilet and an entertainment center in the back, the bus is a symbol of the undeniable success he’s attained since establishing his Strange Music, Inc. imprint in 1999. Based in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, the label now has a massive roster, including Krizz Kaliko, Rittz, Murs, and Ces Cru. Not everyone, however, is impressed by his rock star status.

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Rittz: Top of The Line

October 4, 2016

Growing up in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Strange Music rapper Rittz (real name Jonathan McCollum) was exposed to a wide variety of music, which really influenced his current musical style. His father made a living playing music for the first nine years of his life and inspired him to walk the same path.

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Album Review: Top Flite Empire – Bad Decisions

September 3, 2016

In the opening track of Top Flite Empire’s Debut LP Bad Decisions, they give the definition of a bad decision. It states that it is a “poor judgement, conclusion, or resolution reached or given. The act of making up one’s mind.” These words set the precedent and theme for the rest of the album both lyrically and sonically.

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Fuck Being Anything Else But Crazy

June 28, 2014

Clearly the atypical rapper, he deals in fallen angels and atheism, which alone sets him worlds apart from most other MCs. He has a style that absolutely murders the competition; speedy raps that combine wicked, tricky wordplay with melodic hooks, an on stage presence that involves tribal face paint, a straight jacket and blood red hair, making him one of the most unique figures in the game. With a career spanning over two decades, including fourteen studio albums and over two million independent sales, he’s no slacker either. After becoming increasingly frustrated with major labels, Tech launched his own imprint, Strange Music, Inc. in 1999 with his manager.

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