[Interview] Tech N9ne: Hip-Hop's Independent King Talks Independent Creation and Direction

Green Bay, WI is known for the Packers, cheese, and paper, but lately they have been known for something else, a creepy clown by the name of “Gags” that shows up in random areas throughout the city. The recent outbreak of clowns may not have originated in Green Bay, WI, but there was a sighting of one that turned out to be the now infamous Gags promoting an independent film. A different type of Killer Clown came to Green Bay on October 14th; one hailing from Kansas City. I sat down with Tech N9ne to talk about everything: his new album, the up-and-coming artists in the rap game, the bad name being given to clowns, and everything in between. While some find it funny and others are genuinely scared, Tech had to deal with it on a personal level. When I asked him if he had heard of Gags, he responded:

Tech N9ne: No I haven't heard of Gags the Clown, but I have heard of all the gags going on out here and it has nothing to do with me.

Upcoming Hip Hop: And that's what I wanted to get at, you have been the Killer Clown for a while now, it’s a staple of you but it has a whole different meaning.

Tech N9ne: Since 94' and the fact that I have people calling me from Dallas saying they can't wear face paint to the shows cause the cops will pull them over is so racist. It’s like saying all cops are the same as the one that killed Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge because they are scared of people [or] all Muslims are bad and blow up things because these extremists groups have done these things and that's just not true. [When I hear] they are pulling people over, I wish they would pull me over. I am a taxpayer and I am puttin my kids through school but I look like someone who might be harming people. [There are] idiots out here harming people and getting shot, this that and the other. [These clowns] are not me so I hope for anybody's sake that they don't stop me from walking out of one of these venues because I look like and resemble a Killer Clown.

Tech N9ne to me has always been two things. First, he is the Kansas City King and Killer Clown, and second he is the number one independent artist in the world. Similar to him, Slug and Ant [Sean Daley and Anthony Davis respectively] are doing the same thing in the Twin Cities. Tech was doing this when it wasn't the trendy thing to do. In a time where major labels were the route that people were taking, Yates was saying “The Industry's a bunch a f*ckin' punks”. Lately, artists like Chance the Rapper, Logic, and Joey Bada$$ are making giant splashes as independent artists. Aesop Rock, a New York native, Portland transplant, and Rhymesayers affiliate, was recently on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Tech N9ne was nothing short of humble on the topic, speaking highly of Atmosphere and Rhymesayers along with a shout out to Funk Volume short-lived rise. One thing that stood out to me is, alongside his busy touring schedule and constant creation of new music, Tech also finds his label mates.

[Interview] Tech N9ne: Hip-Hop's Independent King Talks Independent Creation and Direction

Photo by Rachel Anker Instagram.com/rachelanker

UHH: “Along the lines of independents, do you go and seek out new talent or let them come to you? I mean do you want these guys to say 'I want to do this one my own' or are you trying to pull them in?”

Tech N9ne: No, I go to the shows. I love to go to the shows [and scout]. That's how I said yes to Rittz after I saw him in Nashville, Tennessee, live on one of my off days you know what I'm sayin. Me going to a festival show over and over and over in Kansas City being a fan made me want to sign Ces Cru [and] finding Krizz Kaliko at an open mic session years and years ago. It was the same thing with Mayday! They opened up for me in Orlando and I was like 'Travis we gotta have these guys'. I choose them, just like I wanted to choose Snow Tha Product but she was signed to Atlantic before I got to her.

Being from the Twin cities has its perks for music lovers, but so does stopping through on a national tour. Tech, being the Everready and always hard working man that he is, managed to squeeze in studio time along with a radio show with local DJ Mr. Peter Parker before hitting the stage at the Myth in St. Paul. He once again showed his humble side and his appreciation to Rhymesayers for allowing him studio time and even had one of the label mates, and Minnesota fan favorite, PROF greet him in the morning and bounce ideas off him in the studio all day.

Tech N9ne: ...he sat in the studio with me and gave me pointers like 'what do you think about that line PROF?' [I might have struggled] and he goes 'yeah maybe do it over again' and I was like 'yeah Ima do it over [laughs]. It was really wonderful to have him there giving me the thumbs up...

For Tech N9ne it was more than just a little recording. He would go on to tell me that he got to do one of his dream collaborations before rushing off to a different studio for the Mr. Peter Parker interview only to return to finish off his last track, a solo.

UHH: “Can you tell me who that dream collaboration was?”

Tech N9ne: [Well the track list is up today] so I think I can. My dream collaboration, and this is my first time [actually] saying it, I have been wanting to work with Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry. It's a song, straight from my heart, called 'Anywhere' because I'd rather be anywhere but here. All these bad things happening, you mention my Aunty, I am going through a divorce, the music is free now because of streaming. We are making masterpieces and getting paid pennies for it. It's a sad song but it's beautiful and it's produced by Kon Artis of D12.

I had sent my condolences to Tech before we started. For those who don't know, his Aunt Ivy Yates was shot in a drive-by shooting in her home in Kansas City. She needs all the love and support you can send her way and so does he. He mentioned they performed the surgery and got the bullet out of her lung and she is expected to make a full recovery. Knowing a lot of my early writing came from pain and knowing what passion can bring out of an artist, I know that this song will be as powerful as ever. With a past including 'Show Me a God', 'Fear', and 'Mama Nem’, dedicated to late Mrs. Yates-Kalifah, Tech N9ne has never shunned from pouring his pain into his music and this one will be no different. Tech N9ne wears his heart on his sleeve, or in his case, his face.

As his other half, the Killer Clown, Tech has had many different styles of face paint for his numerous tours. These renditions were mimicked by fans worldwide and became a part of the Tech N9ne experience. This tour however, he has ditched the paint, which many considered a devil worshipping aspect, but he explained it as a tribute to African roots and brought along three different colored masks. After having to resort to his label mate and touring partner, Ubiquitous of Ces Cru, after his fourth face painter in the last twenty years had retired to be with his family. To make life easier, Tech decided to call up a close friend and personal favorite as a metal head.

UHH: “You mentioned Mr. Peter Parker of the Twin Cities Go95.3 and I am gonna give him a shout out because I told myself I wouldn't call it make-up when I ask this question, but you are going away from the face paint this tour is that correct?”

Tech N9ne: ...you have to be back before 7 [p.m.] to be painted to go on at 10 [p.m.] So on the last tour I was talking to my friends in Slipknot, Corey Taylor and his wife Stephanie and they helped me out and gave me a number. I needed something special for [performing] that can really endure an hour and a half [show] every night. I have seen Slipknot do it over and over again cause I am a fan [of theirs] and they hooked me up with their guy Jake...

Since then he got a new mask, Tech described how he doesn't rely on anyone to paint his face as he only paints black around his eyes. Although Tech reached out Corey Taylor for his new mask, he sought out a fellow metal head for a new single. Tech N9ne has never shied away from working with artists from anywhere. In the past he has had features with the Deftones, the Doors, and Serj Tankian of System of a Down, but to fans of 90's metal, this one is big. Those who follow him on Instagram already know, but before a show last week he released a quick video of him rapping a verse of “Starting to Turn” and then you can hear the ever-so-noticeable vocals of Jonathan Davis, lead singer of KoRn, take over the chorus. Having worked with Nas before, along with his hip-hop/metal friend Fred Durst, Jonathan Davis is no amateur to the hip-hop world, even being portrayed by Lil' Jon in the song “Twisted Transistor”. You can see the video on his Instagram where Tech describes himself looking like “the Hamburgler with my eyes painted and nose painted.” This is another testament to the range and ever growing creativity of the Kansas City King. Creativity is often scoffed at when it's first heard.

[Interview] Tech N9ne: Hip-Hop's Independent King Talks Independent Creation and Direction

Photo by Rachel Anker Instagram.com/rachelanker

Knowing firsthand how that feels, being a black man with bright red spikes and face paint, Tech N9ne was the perfect artist to talk to about the current rift in hip-hop. Younger artists are doing things that have old heads cringing and frustrated. People are claiming it’s not rap, it’s not hip-hop and some say it isn't even music, but creativity is essential in hip-hop because it allows for growth, diversity and it broadens your idea of what music is. If we start to hone in a box of what hip-hop is, we will lose it all together and we definitely wouldn't have a guy like Tech N9ne, and that's not a world I want to live in. When I brought up the subject of Lil Yatchy and Lil Uzi Vert Tech had some interesting words for the old heads and new.

UHH: Getting back to the independent scene and the new school, there has been a bit of a rift with the new genre and school of hip-hop. Acts like Future, Young Thug, and Lil Yatchy are bursting onto the scene and older heads are saying its not real hip-hop, what is your take on artists like these and where the genre is heading in that direction?

Tech N9ne: The problem with people is whenever someone does something that's not like you do, they say it’s not 'real'. It's all different types of hip-hop, it’s always been. When Soulja Boy came out they said the same thing, when Master P came out they said the same thing, when Wacka Flocka [Flame] came out they said the same thing, but there are millions of people that want to hear this. This is why it’s called hip-hop because it branches out in every direction, know what I'm sayin. Nelly has a song with Tim McGraw, [I] have a song with The Doors. You said a key word, 'Old Heads', and old heads will never understand the young. I mean of course we laugh at a bunch of stuff that's on the radio, I get it. They are kids, they don't care you know what I'm sayin. They are smokin weed and drinkin lean, they get it. I mean you aren't gonna hear [Lil Yatchy] on a song with Eminem, but Lil Yatchy sounds great on a song with D.R.A.M. and it works, Broccoli works. Just because they aren't master rappers doesn't mean they don't have a place in this music because this music has so many places you can go. If you don't like that, then don't go there. If you are saying they are taking all the shine I don't think that's correct because you have top sellers like Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, JayZ, Eminem. It keeps going and it's all out here for you...

He went on to discuss the reasoning for why this artist need to have their moment. Everything from Rick Ross' abilities lyrically improving over time to the simple fact that these guys are helping move people out of poverty and taking care of the family. The old heads will never get it, and the young guns will continue to rebel against it. Something I have learned in almost every facet of my life is that the generation before you is always right, and the one behind you is always wrong, and there you are in the middle. Hip-hop has a long standing history and an impressive one at that, but Tech N9ne notes that “we don't know what these guys are going through, being in the streets” and “not everyone has to know the history of hip-hop.” Both of these things I feel are very important to know. The young artists are moving out of poverty, trying to make a name for themselves, and trying to provide for their family. If everyone stayed in the lanes of others, hip-hop would be flat out boring. For every person that has ever said a rapper is “the best in the game” someone else has said “they are terrible” and vice versa. Tech N9ne explained how he became a fan of Young Thug even though the first time he heard one of his songs he was laughing at how cheesy it was because he didn't get it. Over time he started to appreciate it because he “could finally understand what he was saying” and now he has become a fan. To finish off the interview Tech N9ne gave a great experience that he couldn't help be laugh at when reflecting.

Tech N9ne: I remember being in New York some years ago, this is before I met Wacka Flocka and he was my homeboy. We were in a cab and there was a Nigerian guy driving, you know what I'm sayin. Middle aged or like late 20s or something, I don't know. My publicist Richie was sitting in the front and I was sitting in the back with my colleague, Dave Weiner, and another guy. [My publicist and the Nigerian driver] were talking about music and he's like 'what kind of music do you listen to?' and the Nigerian driver was like 'Man, we like Wacka Flocka, [he] is the best' and my publicist says 'That guy sittin in the back is the number one independent rapper in the world' and he looked back at me and said 'Him?! He isn't better than Wacka Flocka' [constant laughing]... we died man. You can't tell nobody nothin about Wacka Flocka.

UHH: I just wanted to say thank you again and I appreciate you taking your time, I know you are a busy man and all that hard work shows, its an incredible thing to watch it come to fruition.

Tech N9ne: Absolutely I appreciate it 100%

As a pioneer not only of the rap game, being an outcast due to his persona and style but also a pioneer of independent music Tech N9ne is a true inspiration to young hip-hop artists trying to make it. The ability to maintain the quality of music, the energy of national tours, and constant affection for the fans through meet and greets after twenty plus years is nothing short of a miracle. His newest album The Storm has 32 tracks on featuring everyone from Logic to Jonathan Davis. It is a testament to a true legend of hip-hop. The title “The Storm” gets its name as an homage to his first studio album “The Calm Before the Storm”. While the new craze of clowns is taking over the nation, one Killer Clown has been steady taking over the world. Much love and respect from a Technition, wholeheartedly, in life and in death.