Tech N9ne

Even though his beginnings lay in the shadowy corners of horrorcore, where a lasting legacy once looked improbable, Tech N9ne ultimately emerged as an indie rap powerhouse. Along the way he transformed his Strange Music imprint into an empire modeled on Psychopathic Records, complete with its own fiercely devoted following. In terms of reach, Tech arguably eclipsed earlier underground pioneers Insane Clown Posse through partnerships with major-label acts and a sonic evolution that moved beyond horrorcore into hardcore intensity and raw personal confession. By delivering four Top Five albums during the first half of the 2010s—All 6's and 7's, Something Else, Strangeulation, and Special Effects—he cultivated an enormous, self-sustaining audience without mainstream assistance. Moving from the late 2010s into the 2020s, he maintained a relentless pace, dropping a new full-length every year and scoring notable successes with 2018’s Planet, 2019’s N9NA, and 2021’s ASIN9NE.

Born Aaron Dontez Yates in Kansas City, Missouri, Tech first absorbed literacy and arithmetic through instructional rhymes. Music later became a refuge during his mother’s protracted battle with lupus, while his fascination with horror and the supernatural supplied a compellingly bleak escape. Those same elements surfaced in his recordings once he aligned himself with crews such as Black Mafia, 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians, Nnutthowze, and the Yukmouth-led Regime. In 1996 he joined Quincy Jones’ Qwest roster, then shifted to the independent Midwestside Records and issued his debut, The Calm Before the Storm, in 1999. The Worst appeared on the same imprint the following year, after which the Interscope-affiliated JCOR label signed him for the 2001 horrorcore project Anghellic, which also marked the debut of his own Strange Music sublabel.

Extensive road work and an extravagant live presentation secured a core audience, yet dissatisfaction with JCOR’s sales reporting prompted Tech to exit the deal and retain Strange Music outright. Absolute Power surfaced on the label in 2002, featuring guest spots from labelmates Krizz Kaliko and Kutt Calhoun plus Eminem’s D12 crew. Everready (The Religion) arrived in 2006 with additional contributions from Brotha Lynch Hung and E-40, the latter extending Tech’s gradual mainstream crossover that also placed his music on game soundtracks such as 25 to Live and Madden NFL 06; the album entered the Billboard 200 at number 50.

Misery Loves Kompany, released in 2007, inaugurated the rapper’s Collabos series in which nearly every track included an outside guest, though Kutt and Krizz remained the dominant presences alongside a return appearance by Yukmouth. Killer followed in 2008, its cover playfully referencing Michael Jackson’s Thriller; the set debuted at number 12 and brought in Ice Cube, Scarface, and rapcore outfit (hed) p.e. Krayzie Bone appeared on the 2009 collaborative effort Sickology 101, which also introduced Big Scoob as a Strange Music signee and included Suburban Noize duo Potluck. Tech’s performance that year at the Gathering of the Juggalos, hosted by ICP, placed Strange alongside Suburban and Psychopathic within the indie rock-rap landscape. Closing the year, the conceptual K.O.D. arrived with Three 6 Mafia among its guests, while 2010 proved especially crowded with the EPs The Lost Scripts of K.O.D. and Seepage, the collaborative The Gates Mixed Plate featuring Devin the Dude and Glasses Malone, and the XXL-sponsored mixtape Bad Season.

The polished crossover album All 6's and 7's dropped in 2011, its roster of Lil Wayne, B.o.B, Kendrick Lamar, Twista, T-Pain, and Snoop Dogg signaling Tech’s arrival in the mainstream; the project bowed at number four before ascending to number one. Welcome to Strangeland, another collaborative set, closed the year, and 2013 brought Something Else, which showcased System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, Kendrick Lamar, and surviving members of the Doors. A fifth Collabos collection, Strangeulation, followed in 2014, succeeded a year later by Special Effects, whose guests included B.o.B, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, and Eminem; the album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Also in 2015 came Strangeulation, Vol. 2, spotlighting Big Scoob, Ces Cru, and newly signed Murs.

Tech’s seventeenth studio album, The Storm, arrived in late 2016 and again assembled an eclectic cast—Korn’s Jonathan Davis, Boyz II Men, Gary Clark, Jr., Logic, and Strange artists Krizz Kaliko and Big Scoob—propelling the project into the Top Five of the Billboard independent, R&B, and rap charts. The seventh Tech N9ne Collabos installment, Dominion, surfaced in spring 2017 with returning contributors Krizz Kaliko, Ces Cru, Murs, and Brotha Lynch Hung under production from Michael “Seven” Summers. A second Collabos project, Strange Reign, followed months later, again featuring familiar voices and reaching the Billboard 200’s Top 100. Tech’s twentieth album, Planet, landed in early 2018 and once more topped the independent chart. N9NA arrived the next April, again spotlighting multiple appearances by Krizz Kaliko. Continuing without pause, Tech released the EnterFear: Level 1 EP and its sequel, EnterFear: Level 2, in early 2020 before merging and expanding them into the full-length EnterFear that April, again centering Krizz Kaliko alongside Flatbush Zombies, King Iso, Merkules, Landxn Fyre, and Mackenzie Nicole.

In 2021 the annual installment took the form of ASIN9NE, whose highlights included the rap debut of actor and former wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the track “Face Off.”