Number Nine
By Rachel Kenshalo
It was August, somewhere in the Midwest, and Tech N9ne was traveling with Kottonmouth Kings as a part of the Strange Noize Tour. Dawn had not yet broken, but the hip-hop veteran was awoken by his cell phone as he slept on the tour bus.
“My manager called to let me know that we’d officially sold a million records. It took a while to sink in,” he says. “It’s an amazing feat, and a blessing. I’ve been in the game since the 90s. I’ve seen the bottom, and now it’s come full circle, you know what I’m sizzlin’?” (He says this with an upward inflection, as in “know what I’m saying?”)
The achievement is even more momentous given that Tech N9ne is the first independent rapper ever to have sold a million records. When that’s pointed out to him, his only response is to humbly laugh, “Yeah, that’s what they tell me.”
Tech N9ne, then known as Aaron Dontez Yates, wrote his first rhyme in 1985 at age 14. His stage name is a derivation of “Technique Number Nine.” He believes that the number holds special significance. “Nine is the number of completion. A cat has nine lives. Nine months completes a pregnancy. Three plus six is nine. Three hundred and sixty degrees is a circle. Technique Number Nine—I am a complete technique of rhyme.”
Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Yates was influenced by Run DMC, LL Cool J, NWA, and KRS-One. “I grew up listening to Cube, wanting to be like him. He and others helped pave the way,” he says.
Despite being acclaimed by industry insiders for his killer rhymes and lightening-fast delivery, Tech’s career got off to a rough start. The first several years were marred by bad business decisions, mismanagement and conflicts with his record labels. Eventually, Tech was approached by Travis O’Guin, a wealthy business executive hoping to invest in the music industry. O’Guin was a huge Tech N9ne fan, and after seeing how Tech’s career was being mishandled, O’Guin proposed that the two go into business together. They formed a 50/50 partnership, and soon after, their independent label, Strange Music, was born.
The label is aptly named; Tech N9ne’s sound is anomalous. It’s a mix of rock rhythms and heavy bass, punctuated with intricate and thoughtful rhymes. His delivery is forceful and has a unique, almost Eminem-like cadence.
He is simultaneously lauded and criticized for not fitting into hip-hop stereotypes. He paints his face before every show, with a different word emblazoned across his forehead. At various points throughout his career, he’s sported a red Mohawk or bright orange spikes on his head. He’s been accused of not sounding or looking “black” enough, and his gangsta credentials have been questioned.
TechN9ne raps about being stereotyped in “Industry Is Punks” off of his 2002 Absolute Power album:
How you gonna say
black people won't listen to this and don't listen to that?
Like sayin a fool can slang 'caine,
a fool can gangbang but never will get hit with a gat?
Tech doesn’t mind those who criticize his style. “I make music for the people. I have helped create a melting pot. My shit is gangsta. It’s the imagery and the way I spit it that’s different. When other people can get involved in your music, and love you and pay you to do your thing, that’s always a blessing.”
Controversies aside, Tech N9ne doesn’t have any trouble finding gigs. He tours half the year and plays sold-out shows from coast to coast. Though he has just released an double album, he stays busy recording and is in the midst of laying tracks for Sickology 101: The Study of Being Sick, which will be released sometime in 2009.
On Tech’s latest album, Killer, which was released in July, Ice Cube is featured along with big names like Paul Wall, Scarface and Kottonmouth Kings. The album is Tech N9ne’s first two-disc compilation and is a nod to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album, bearing similar cover art. Touring in support of this album brings Tech N9ne to Alaska, as a part of the Strange Noize Tour 08.
This will be Tech’s second time in Alaska, and he’s performing shows in Anchorage, Kenai and Fairbanks. He’s excited to return, he says, because he has some unfinished business here: “Last time, I couldn’t find any ladies to kick it with. This time, I’m on a mission.”
When pressed to give an opinion about local-turned-national politics, he replied, “Just celebrate life, people. People want to blow the world up; you have to live in the here and now. Kickin’ like a donkey, swingin’ like a monkey.”
SOURCE: http://www.anchoragepress.com/artic...t/music_article/doc48d2a0af89cde771359218.txt
By Rachel Kenshalo
It was August, somewhere in the Midwest, and Tech N9ne was traveling with Kottonmouth Kings as a part of the Strange Noize Tour. Dawn had not yet broken, but the hip-hop veteran was awoken by his cell phone as he slept on the tour bus.
“My manager called to let me know that we’d officially sold a million records. It took a while to sink in,” he says. “It’s an amazing feat, and a blessing. I’ve been in the game since the 90s. I’ve seen the bottom, and now it’s come full circle, you know what I’m sizzlin’?” (He says this with an upward inflection, as in “know what I’m saying?”)
The achievement is even more momentous given that Tech N9ne is the first independent rapper ever to have sold a million records. When that’s pointed out to him, his only response is to humbly laugh, “Yeah, that’s what they tell me.”
Tech N9ne, then known as Aaron Dontez Yates, wrote his first rhyme in 1985 at age 14. His stage name is a derivation of “Technique Number Nine.” He believes that the number holds special significance. “Nine is the number of completion. A cat has nine lives. Nine months completes a pregnancy. Three plus six is nine. Three hundred and sixty degrees is a circle. Technique Number Nine—I am a complete technique of rhyme.”
Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Yates was influenced by Run DMC, LL Cool J, NWA, and KRS-One. “I grew up listening to Cube, wanting to be like him. He and others helped pave the way,” he says.
Despite being acclaimed by industry insiders for his killer rhymes and lightening-fast delivery, Tech’s career got off to a rough start. The first several years were marred by bad business decisions, mismanagement and conflicts with his record labels. Eventually, Tech was approached by Travis O’Guin, a wealthy business executive hoping to invest in the music industry. O’Guin was a huge Tech N9ne fan, and after seeing how Tech’s career was being mishandled, O’Guin proposed that the two go into business together. They formed a 50/50 partnership, and soon after, their independent label, Strange Music, was born.
The label is aptly named; Tech N9ne’s sound is anomalous. It’s a mix of rock rhythms and heavy bass, punctuated with intricate and thoughtful rhymes. His delivery is forceful and has a unique, almost Eminem-like cadence.
He is simultaneously lauded and criticized for not fitting into hip-hop stereotypes. He paints his face before every show, with a different word emblazoned across his forehead. At various points throughout his career, he’s sported a red Mohawk or bright orange spikes on his head. He’s been accused of not sounding or looking “black” enough, and his gangsta credentials have been questioned.
TechN9ne raps about being stereotyped in “Industry Is Punks” off of his 2002 Absolute Power album:
How you gonna say
black people won't listen to this and don't listen to that?
Like sayin a fool can slang 'caine,
a fool can gangbang but never will get hit with a gat?
Tech doesn’t mind those who criticize his style. “I make music for the people. I have helped create a melting pot. My shit is gangsta. It’s the imagery and the way I spit it that’s different. When other people can get involved in your music, and love you and pay you to do your thing, that’s always a blessing.”
Controversies aside, Tech N9ne doesn’t have any trouble finding gigs. He tours half the year and plays sold-out shows from coast to coast. Though he has just released an double album, he stays busy recording and is in the midst of laying tracks for Sickology 101: The Study of Being Sick, which will be released sometime in 2009.
On Tech’s latest album, Killer, which was released in July, Ice Cube is featured along with big names like Paul Wall, Scarface and Kottonmouth Kings. The album is Tech N9ne’s first two-disc compilation and is a nod to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album, bearing similar cover art. Touring in support of this album brings Tech N9ne to Alaska, as a part of the Strange Noize Tour 08.
This will be Tech’s second time in Alaska, and he’s performing shows in Anchorage, Kenai and Fairbanks. He’s excited to return, he says, because he has some unfinished business here: “Last time, I couldn’t find any ladies to kick it with. This time, I’m on a mission.”
When pressed to give an opinion about local-turned-national politics, he replied, “Just celebrate life, people. People want to blow the world up; you have to live in the here and now. Kickin’ like a donkey, swingin’ like a monkey.”
SOURCE: http://www.anchoragepress.com/artic...t/music_article/doc48d2a0af89cde771359218.txt
