HIP-HOP ARTIST A MOMMA'S BOY AT HEART
By MARC CABRERA
Herald Staff Writer
Updated: 05/08/2009 01:31:14 AM PDT
This Mother's Day, Kansas City MC Tech N9ne will be on tour in Salinas for Mother's Day, but he hopes the payoff will benefit his momma in the long run.
"My momma's very sick — epilepsy, lupus, pancreatitis all at the same time, you know what I mean?" said the emotive Mid-west rap artist, whose star has risen in the past decade-plus of underground grinding. "The biggest thing I can get her is home care. When you don't have Medicaid, it's expensive, brother. And the fans are making it possible that I'm gonna be able to to that (for her) after this tour. So I'm just praying that she makes it through this tour.
"So that's the best thing I can get her is home care. Someone to care for her daily," he said with a sigh. "That's what I'm working for. That's exactly what I'm working for on this tour."
One of the most successful underground artists in hip-hop, with a recent milestone of selling a combined 1 million units on his own independent record label, Tech N9ne will perform a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee show at Fox Theater Salinas, along with fellow hip-hop indie hero MURS and opener Short Dog Tha Native.
The tour is dubbed the "Sickology 101 Tour 2009" in support of Tech's newest release, "Sickology 101," a collection of collaborations with artists on his Strange Music record label as well as other underground rappers such as Chino XL and Crooked I.
For the seeming gritty and sometimes wicked imagery he has used in the past — he's sported devil's horn-shaped corn rows in the past and is partial to a blood-red wardrobe on his album covers — Tech is a complex lyricist capable of stripping down to the barest emotion.
Songs like "God Complex" off his album "Angelic" speak of his personal struggle with faith and the wicked ways of his gangsta lifestyle.
"I got the spirit of an angel, Mixed with demoniac ways of living/ So this means I'll beat the evil out of a non-believer, until praise is given/ But I know torture is evil, though it says in the Bible/ You got to be righteous spirited for the arrival ..."
Even his name, at first looking like a reference to a high-calibre semi-automatic rifle, is a play on his multilayered style.
"Tech N9ne is everything. I don't say that to sound conceited ... that's what my name means. Technique number nine, a complete technique of rhyme," he said. "Number nine s the number of completion, so that means I'm everything in one. So that's why I can fit in everywhere."
And by everywhere, he means he can go from touring with rock bands like Korn and Kottonmouth Kings, to being put on the bill for Rock The Bells, the popular underground hip-hop tour, alongside artists like Talib Kweli and The Roots.
Tech admits it might seem like a stretch to some fans, but he insists his place on the tour, which runs through the summer, is well-earned.
"If it wasn't hardcore hip-hop, I wouldn't be on there," he said.
For Tech N9ne, it's more than the hardcore. His ascent has been as much about constantly paying dues as his rhyme skills and keep-it-real aesthetic.
Relating the story of his first San Diego performance, he said there were only seven fans in the crowd. That didn't stop him from giving his all.
"We rocked it like it was 7,000," he said
The next SD trip, there were about 100, then 300, until he was selling out 1,000 capacity music halls and having to book multiple nights. Similar stories have played out in other towns like Denver.
Looking back on the lean years, he's content with his consistency. Last year, his album "Killer" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Independent chart and number 12 on the Billboard Top 200.
The success has helped him vanquish some of his past troubles.
"I was into a lot of drugs back in the day, real hippie like, you know what I'm sizzling," he said. "I did ecstasy to where I almost died. Fifteen pills in one night, trying to escape my broken spirit. It was a weak thing to do. But that's what I did. I'm happy to say I've been clean for three years."
He's also happy to say he can care for his three children, including a trip to Disneyland when the tour stops in Southern California.
And hopefully, he can get his mother the help she needs.
"It's about money. It hurts me to say that, but that's the way of the world," he said. "That's just the best thing I can get for my momma on Mother's Day, health care."
Marc Cabrera can be reached at 646-4345 or [email protected].
If you go ·What: Tech N9ne performs with MURS and Short Dog Tha Native ·When: 3 p.m. Sunday ·Where: Fox Theater, 241 Main St., Salinas ·Tickets: $25 at www.vallitix.com, at the theater box office, or by calling 888-825-5484
SOURCE: http://www.montereyherald.com/living/ci_12324490
By MARC CABRERA
Herald Staff Writer
Updated: 05/08/2009 01:31:14 AM PDT
This Mother's Day, Kansas City MC Tech N9ne will be on tour in Salinas for Mother's Day, but he hopes the payoff will benefit his momma in the long run.
"My momma's very sick — epilepsy, lupus, pancreatitis all at the same time, you know what I mean?" said the emotive Mid-west rap artist, whose star has risen in the past decade-plus of underground grinding. "The biggest thing I can get her is home care. When you don't have Medicaid, it's expensive, brother. And the fans are making it possible that I'm gonna be able to to that (for her) after this tour. So I'm just praying that she makes it through this tour.
"So that's the best thing I can get her is home care. Someone to care for her daily," he said with a sigh. "That's what I'm working for. That's exactly what I'm working for on this tour."
One of the most successful underground artists in hip-hop, with a recent milestone of selling a combined 1 million units on his own independent record label, Tech N9ne will perform a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee show at Fox Theater Salinas, along with fellow hip-hop indie hero MURS and opener Short Dog Tha Native.
The tour is dubbed the "Sickology 101 Tour 2009" in support of Tech's newest release, "Sickology 101," a collection of collaborations with artists on his Strange Music record label as well as other underground rappers such as Chino XL and Crooked I.
For the seeming gritty and sometimes wicked imagery he has used in the past — he's sported devil's horn-shaped corn rows in the past and is partial to a blood-red wardrobe on his album covers — Tech is a complex lyricist capable of stripping down to the barest emotion.
Songs like "God Complex" off his album "Angelic" speak of his personal struggle with faith and the wicked ways of his gangsta lifestyle.
"I got the spirit of an angel, Mixed with demoniac ways of living/ So this means I'll beat the evil out of a non-believer, until praise is given/ But I know torture is evil, though it says in the Bible/ You got to be righteous spirited for the arrival ..."
Even his name, at first looking like a reference to a high-calibre semi-automatic rifle, is a play on his multilayered style.
"Tech N9ne is everything. I don't say that to sound conceited ... that's what my name means. Technique number nine, a complete technique of rhyme," he said. "Number nine s the number of completion, so that means I'm everything in one. So that's why I can fit in everywhere."
And by everywhere, he means he can go from touring with rock bands like Korn and Kottonmouth Kings, to being put on the bill for Rock The Bells, the popular underground hip-hop tour, alongside artists like Talib Kweli and The Roots.
Tech admits it might seem like a stretch to some fans, but he insists his place on the tour, which runs through the summer, is well-earned.
"If it wasn't hardcore hip-hop, I wouldn't be on there," he said.
For Tech N9ne, it's more than the hardcore. His ascent has been as much about constantly paying dues as his rhyme skills and keep-it-real aesthetic.
Relating the story of his first San Diego performance, he said there were only seven fans in the crowd. That didn't stop him from giving his all.
"We rocked it like it was 7,000," he said
The next SD trip, there were about 100, then 300, until he was selling out 1,000 capacity music halls and having to book multiple nights. Similar stories have played out in other towns like Denver.
Looking back on the lean years, he's content with his consistency. Last year, his album "Killer" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Independent chart and number 12 on the Billboard Top 200.
The success has helped him vanquish some of his past troubles.
"I was into a lot of drugs back in the day, real hippie like, you know what I'm sizzling," he said. "I did ecstasy to where I almost died. Fifteen pills in one night, trying to escape my broken spirit. It was a weak thing to do. But that's what I did. I'm happy to say I've been clean for three years."
He's also happy to say he can care for his three children, including a trip to Disneyland when the tour stops in Southern California.
And hopefully, he can get his mother the help she needs.
"It's about money. It hurts me to say that, but that's the way of the world," he said. "That's just the best thing I can get for my momma on Mother's Day, health care."
Marc Cabrera can be reached at 646-4345 or [email protected].
If you go ·What: Tech N9ne performs with MURS and Short Dog Tha Native ·When: 3 p.m. Sunday ·Where: Fox Theater, 241 Main St., Salinas ·Tickets: $25 at www.vallitix.com, at the theater box office, or by calling 888-825-5484
SOURCE: http://www.montereyherald.com/living/ci_12324490
