Last week, HipHopDX infiltrated the Los Angeles Facebook offices for a very special interview with the number one independent rapper in the world Tech N9ne. The interview was Tech’s first time partaking in Facebook Live and his first interview since announcing his new album, The Storm. (His seventeenth album, you slackers!) In the interview which streamed and can still be viewed on both HipHopDX’s Facebook page and Tech N9ne’s Facebook page, the Kansas City, MO rhymer-in-chief spoke about The Storm – which comes out December 9 — future collabs with Eminem, the new generation of rappers and so much more.
The conversation clocked in at just under an hour. Trust us it’s worth the watch, but for those that don’t have time to check out the whole thing we picked out five things we took away from Technician Number One.
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Tech N9ne Isn’t Too Good To Get Killed On A Song
If you haven’t heard Tech’s infectious new single “Sriracha” featuring Logic and Joyner Lucas, the track starts out at a standard pace for the club banger it is but then once Logic get on it starts to feel like “Worldwide Choppers 4.” One might think that would inspire Tech to change his verse but as he tells it once his verse is done it’s done and if the featured artist has a better verse then so be it.
“It was not meant to turn into a chopper song but Joyner Lucas, whenever he gets on anything he has to kill everything,” said Tech. He continued. “This thing we did with Monster Energy Drink, it was dedicated to the troops, called the Warrior Build Contest, and every submission that I checked was everybody choppin’ my head off and I wasn’t even choppin’ in the song, but when they hear Tech N9ne [they’re like] ‘Okay, I’m gonna kill him.’ So the guy that won, J-Trilogy, 18-year old dude, when I told him he won on the phone, I told him ‘when you send me something for me to get on with you I’ma tear your ass up dog,’ you know what I’m sayin’ because nobody ever sends me tracks for real and the people that send me one are brave. Joyner Lucas sent me one because he’s a brave soul. That’s cool cause I’m usually always sending out. Then my fans always gotta say, ‘Oh Tech I can’t believe you let them kill you like that.’ I’m like ‘Dude, I do what’s best for the record. They said that about ‘Speedom.’ Me and Krizz Kaliko did our verses and sent it to Eminem, you know what I’m sayin’ so we supposed to push the artist to do the best they can do so it’ll be an overall beautiful song that will last forever but Hip Hop is competitive so people think that I should get the verses back and change them, and cheat. I don’t cheat. I’m a real nigga. I’m from the old school. marshall said his spot is forever reserved and it is. I feel the same way, so what I did on “Sriracha” and what I did on Warrior Build is what the beat needed. When you send it to other people, they’re gonna try to kill you.”
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He’s Not Anti-Mumble Rap So Stop Trying To Bait Him
While the new generation of “Mumble rappers” are taking over the younger generation, a lot of older heads continue to hate on guys like Desiigner, Lil Yachty and 21 Savage but Tech N9ne, who came up poor himself, refuses to hate on any man trying to get out of poverty. Also, both Tech and Krizz are big fans of D.R.A.M.
“I’m not gonna give the answer that mad ass, mad rappers would give you know what I mean? I know that there’s a forum for all type of shit so if you want Common Sense over here, you probably ain’t gonna listen to Lil Yachty over here. Go over there motherfucker and if you are over there why the fuck are you fuckin’ with this 19-year-old dude that’s trying to get his fuckin’ money and up out of poverty? Why are you fuckin’ with 21 Savage when you like to listen to Eminem? If Eminem is all you listen to then why are you even commenting on 21 Savage?” asked Tech.
He continued: “I congratulate these guys because I know how it is and I know how hard it is to get up out of poverty. And they’re doing something positive like music. When I first heard ‘I just want you for one night,’ I laughed like a muthafucka but every time I hear it I smile. ‘I can’t have no wife,’ you know what I’m sayin’? I get it but we bang ‘Broccoli.’ I used to be a dancer so I dance to a lot of shit. We’re D.R.A.M. fans! D.R.A.M. is the nigga cause soon as he dropped ‘Cha Cha’ we was on it you know what I’m sayin’ but I ain’t got no problem with what Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert. I let them do them. Find your muthafuckin’ lane. I found mine.”
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There’s No Specific Plans To Sign Lil Wayne To Strange Music But….
Lil Wayne praised Tech N9ne for visiting the Young Money rapper while he was locked up. Weezy was so appreciative in fact that he put Tech on a song that would catapult his fan base to a higher plateau than it had ever been before, “The Interlude” which also featured Andre 3000. Now that The former Hot Boy is having problems with his label, Tech does not see him coming to Strange Music but also said that whatever Wayne wants he’s happy to help with.
“Wayne, he created Young Money. Just think what else he will create. He don’t need us. That’s my nigga man. We work together but if he ever needed anything from us, yes, but Wayne is a creative motherfucker man. He’s gonna come through. And if he stops through Strange Music. Sheeeit!”
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Kid Cudi’s Mom Warned Them About The MC’s Depression Long Before It Became Public
Kid Cudi made headlines back in September when he accused Kanye West and Drake of being fake friends. Then, just a few weeks later the man on the moon confronted his own depression and checked himself into rehab. Tech and Krizz Kaliko were actually asked by Cudi’s mom to look after the embattled rapper while they were overseas.
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“We’ve been knowing about it for a long time. His told us, ‘don’t let my baby do anything to himself,’ and we weren’t sure what she was talkin’ about. Cause we went to Australia together,” remembered Tech.
Krizz added, “We were hanging out with his management. His mom was talkin’ to them and saying to watch him especially at that particular time. Cause I got an attitude. I got kind of a chip on my shoulder just in life. He didn’t really speak. I spoke to him and Tech is a nicer guy than me. People think that I’m nice but Tech is way nicer, and I was like “Fuck that.” But I understand because I suffer from depression and anxiety and so I understand how it can make you feel angry at the world and make you feel like not talking to loved ones and especially to some strangers so I got it.”
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Photo: Instagram/Tech N9ne
Family Tragedy & An Arduous Divorce Delayed The Storm
When Tech first announced The Storm, it was supposed to come out on September 9, one day after the tour was set to begin. But between his divorce which as Tech also admits “TMZ almost fucked the whole thing up,” and his aunt getting hit with a stray bullet, Tech was unable to give the fans what he felt they deserved.
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“My auntie just got shot, a month ago right at the beginning of the tour. Just stray bullets, niggas shootin’ through the house and it hit her lung and she been in the hospital all this time and she’s still there but she’s getting better after surgery like last week or a week and a half ago. We can be down about shit like that, don’t wanna go to the meet-and-greet cause [I’m] hurting and hoping that my mom’s sister won’t pass just like my mom just passed,” admitted Tech. He continued. “I’m going through a fucked up divorce right now. I have to stay focused. It’s hard but I make sure that I have some happiness around me when everything is fucked up. This actual album was supposed to come out September 9. I wasn’t done so I missed that beautiful date. The tour started September 8. This tour was supposed to be in support of this album,” noted Tech.
“I missed the date. And it was a cute date too, 9/9, Tech N9ne 9/9 but I missed it because it took me longer to do all these songs and if I would have made that date I wouldn’t have had the song with Marsha Ambrosius, I wouldn’t have had the song with Gary Clark Jr., which I’m so happy about, and the Marsha Ambrosius as well, I wouldn’t have had the one with Jonathan Davis.”
He continued, “It wasn’t a perfect storm. but as a result of that even though our fall tours are lighter than our spring and summer tours, the attendance at the beginning of the tour was fucked up dude, and it was on me because I didn’t have the record so when all that collapsed and when touring is one of our main things and merchandise is one of our main things, if you can’t get people to come to the shows we’re fuckin’ done my nigga you know what I’m sayin’? so I had all that on top of me, with my auntie [Editor’s Note: Tech’s aunt was wounded by a gunshot in September 2016], with the divorce. I been fucked up. I been drinking like a muthafucka on this tour. I got my little belly back.” he added but also rounded it out with the mission statement of all his projects.
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“I wanna make it the best for the fans.”
Tech N9ne’s 17th album, The Storm hits the fan on December 9. Pre-order it on Strange Music now.
And check out the #DXBreakdown on the argument of Tech N9ne’s G.O.A.T. status.
