Anyone who knows freestyling knows Tech N9ne from his days on The Wake Up Show. Despite being a resident of Kansas City, Tech N9ne used to appear on Sway and King’s popular Los Angeles (though nationally syndicated) hip hop show on a regular basis and spit ridiculously intricate and intense off the top rhymes, sometimes even rapping backwards and in his own alien language. His appearance alongside greats like Canibus and Chino XL on the infamous Wake Up Show Freestyles CDs and the posse track “The Anthem” featuring Eminem, RZA, Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, Kool G Rap, KRS-One and more, cemented his rap as a unique MC.

You’ve also heard his songs “Jellysickle” and “My Wife, My Bitch, My Girl” from 2006’s Everready (The Religion) on the 25 To Life (PS2, Xbox) soundtrack, in which he is an unlockable character, and his track “The Beast” was also featured in 2006 Madden NFL (PS2, Xbox). His 2001 album Anghellic is considered a classic and the followup, 2002’s Absolute Power, was also well received, especially in the Juggalo community and amongst fans of horrorcore and rap-metal. That same year, he formed the label Strange Music, where he has released all of his albums since and even started signing other edgy independent artists. He is also a member of The Regime, a large collective of MCs including Yukmouth, Dru Down, Tha Realest and Messy Marv, among others.

So it was quite an honor when Tech dropped by with labelmates Kutt Calhoun and
Big Krizz Kaliko on tour to support his latest release, Killer, which debuted #12 on the Billboard Top 100 charts and is still creeping around the Top 40. This trio of terror gave us a cipher of epic proportions over a tense Bruce Yi beat. Tech gave us a glimpse of the methods behind his tongue twisting madness, his days on the Wake Up Show, and the difference between Kansas City and the rest of the world.