Tech N9ne Brings His K.C. Flava of Craziness to The Blue Note: Show Preview

Tech and Wayne obviously had one hell of an evening. Although, I do predict that the following morning might’ve left something to be desired.

Where: The Blue Note
When: June 27 (Tomorrow!), doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m.
Ticket Cost: $25 (You can buy tickets here).
Openers: Freddie Gibbs, Krizz Kaliko, Jarren Benton, Psych Ward Druggies, OpiUm, Nic Danger

It’s kind of pathetic, I admit, but being a huge hip-hop fan from Missouri that hasn’t ever really gotten into Tech N9ne is pretty unacceptable. Tech’s been mowin’ down the indie rap game since 1999. When Tech started out, I was 12-year-old puberty-ridden kid at the time listening to a friend’s copy of The Marshall Mather’s LP in the back of the church bus. Which became ironic this morning when I came across this awesome collab between the likes of RZA from The Wu-Tang Clan, Xzibit, Eminem, Tech… so about everybody that was relevant to late ‘90s hip-hop. It’s done in that awesome Wu-Tang Killer Bees-style.

Much like my post before this about Edward Sharpe, I didn’t necessarily feel up to writing about Tech. My former posts on Schoolboy, Yelawolf, and Danny Brown I felt more knowledgable about. But I swim in hip-hop like the white wannabe Beastie Boy that I am, so I definitely felt like I could prod out Tech’s place in the culture.

Tech mows down Tha Carter IV:

Before checking out Tech N9ne in-depth, I was a somewhat overwhelmed. With 14 albums in the can, it’s kind of like starting out with Dylan’s self-titled first album and listening straight through to Tempest. (Still working on that, honestly. I’m lost somewhere in the late ‘70s). Plus, I was always just a little put off by the whole facepaint/crazy hair thing. But Tech told me kindly to fuck off in “Come Gangsta,” so it’s not like he’s not self-aware about it. I’d always thought of Tech N9ne as a local K.C. combination of Twista and the Insane Clown Posse. Although Danny Brown did redeem the latter for me a tad with a crazy ass orgy story from The Gathering.

See what I mean? Strange music indeed.

In a lot of ways, I wasn’t far off. Perusing a list of Tech’s favorite albums, Slipknot is on there. Now, I was always under the impression that the only people who listened to Slipknot were the hillbilly kids from back home that needed some good 4-wheelin’ music to trod off into the woods and snort Vicodin to, but it appears their fanbase is broader than I originally thought—extending even into the wide world of hip-hop.

“I love Slipknot.” said Tech. “When I first saw them, I was like, ‘Wow! More psycho motherfuckers like myself!’ I loved it.” Once again, dude knows he’s a bit crazy. And he prides himself on it. For a wannabe hipster douchebag like myself, it was initially a little off-putting. I can’t see Tech and The Postal Service recording a duo album in Seattle anytime soon. But in other ways, I was totally off. This video is a tear-jerker, where Tech questions whether the God he’s praying to for his sick mother is even up there. It starts off with a sobering revelation.

Once I started going through XXL’s list of Tech N9ne’s 30 Most Essential Songs, like most everyone I’ve ever actually invested time into understanding, Tech started to win me over. This isn’t Pitchfork, so I can say nice things like that. I also made a Spotify playlist for y’all so you don’t have to. They were missing a couple (“The Anthem” above seemed to be the main one), but you’ll definitely get the idea.

Here’s a few of my other favorites I came across:

1. “I’m a Playa” (from 2002’s Absolute Power)
I never knew Tech did this shit! The chorus is cemented in the American pop-culture consciousness, but the verses are filled with some quality advice about how to cheat on your lady friend and keep her more in the dark about it than Stan’s girlfriend is in the trunk. (Damn, that’s dark, Tyler. Oh well, this is a Tech N9ne article).

2. “The Rain” (from 2006’s Everready)
This is real, from the heart shit. His kids rap to him, and they do a pretty damn good job.

3. “This is Me” (also from 2006’s Everready)
“I love Kanye, his shit is bombay, but I’m rough.” I just found this interesting. I never thought I’d hear Tech rap about Ye. Love or hate Ye (I understand both), he remains the epicenter of pop culture. Rappers seem to judge their place in the game by his gravity, like Neptune, Mars, and Jupiter shouting out to the Sun.

4. “The Worst” (from the album of the same name)
This track could’ve been on The Chronic. It sounds like a Dre beat. Makes sense after I read that Tech’s a big Parliament fan. Great jam. XXL called it the best song of his early career.

5. “Real Killer” (From 2001’s Anghellic)
This album to me definitely seemed in The Slim Shady LP (dare I say influenced by?) vein. Tech has said that he feels this is his most slept-on album; it’s obviously a favorite of his. Since this article mostly came out of my fucked-up brain as an ode to Tech’s self-confessed fucked-up-ness, I figured I’d include this guilt-ridden ode to abortion. “So I murdered five kids of mine/I’m ’bout to sit in hell a lifetime bid for mine.”

Politics aside, that’s some real shit. And I’m a big fan of real shit in my music. Dude won me over with his craziness. I can now officially say I’m proud to have Aaron Yates (Tech N9ne) as a fellow Missourian. Stay strange, dude. (I know you will).

P.S. – This album art is awesome. Had to say that. Alright, I’m done. Whew.

It’s gettin’ hot in here, all the clothes are off, and I’m picking up a level of deep, symbolic mysticism not seen from the likes of Nelly in a while—not since “Country Grammar” at least!

This post was written by Tyler McConnell, contributing writer for The Blue Note.

Schoolboy Q a.k.a. The Most Important Show I’ve Ever Attended (culturally, at least): Show Review

I’ve been lucky enough to catch some awesome shows over the years. The crowning achievement of sheer entertainment value probably still remains The Flaming Lips, but Schoolboy Q Monday night felt different. It felt like I was witnessing a moment in hip-hop history—in real-time.

Even heading into the show felt dangerous. I can’t recall the last time I’ve gotten padded down for a concert before, but evidently these L.A. cats don’t fuck around. The first artist, Vince Staples, stormed the stage donning a local Mizzou hoodie. Within five minutes, he was calling out some dude in the front row for talking smack. My friend with me was impressed. This wasn’t predominantly conscious hip-hop we were witnessing. It felt like the real deal gangsta shit that Q was raised on.

Honestly, it didn’t really matter what happened at the show due to the importance and timeliness of the Black Hippy crew in modern hip-hop culture, although I will say that it didn’t disappoint. Label-mate, Isaiah Rashad, opened for Schoolboy. A T.D.E. (Top Dawg Entertainment) logo adorned the entire front of the DJ booth behind him. It would remain that way for the rest of the night. Rashad shopped the bangers off of his stellar debut, the Clivia Demo, and worked alongside the DJ to get the crowd pumped up.

After his final song, Rashad just stayed on stage and danced to whatever the DJ played. Whereas hip-hop shows are usually pretty boring (it’s hard to spice up a DJ and emcee outside of thundering low-end without a Kanye West-level light show), this didn’t really feel like any hip-hop show I’ve ever seen. It felt like a damn party.

(The above is my personal favorite Schoolboy party video. The below is a close second. Ah, hell, I can’t really choose. They’re both now my favorite. I’m writing this, and it’s 1 a.m. I’m gonna do what I want).

The songs played between sets weren’t used like they usually are at shows, as set pieces to tide things over while the next group sets up. They felt like jams the T.D.E. crew wanted to hear themselves. As the DJ finished up spinning a Kanye banger, Rashad leaped into the crowd—to another artist’s song. I smiled. It was hard not to. The ego/lack of ego dichotomy was ironic to say the least.

By the time Q hit the stage, the vibe in the sold-out crowd was ecstatic. Fans were feverish. And while they usually are for a headlining act, this felt different. It felt somewhat like seeing Snoop Dogg on the Doggystyle tour. Or Raekwon on the road for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…

Why, you ask? Well, if you know the genre, you know that the Black Hippy crew (left to right: Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock) are going to go down in hip-hop history. It seems that Kendrick has taken the crown as the long-prophesied savior of the modern generation, with even Lil Wayne, the former “best rapper alive,” conceding Lamar’s superior skill.

I unfortunately couldn’t get as close as I wanted to for this snap due to the pit living up to its name that evening.

And when Q put on Lamar’s “M.A.A.D City,” the place exploded. Little snippets of Soul and Rock could also be heard in Q’s hits, and the entire crowd seemed to know that we were part of something that would last. Some Wu-Tang-level shit. The entire industry is anxious (and crazily excited) to see what Black Hippy (collectively and individually) does next.

Right before Q asked everyone to pull out their lighters and cellphones prior to playing “Blessed,” his “I’m no longer living this fucked up life I’m rapping about and used to live” song, he told the crowd:

“Just a few years ago I was broke and homeless. I had no idea how I was going to feed my two-year-old daughter. But I didn’t give up on myself. I lived in the studio. Until one day, I got a phone call. And my whole life changed. You all, it’s because of you that I’m up here today.”

It was off-putting, but heartwarming and honest at the same time. Which seems to be the area that Schoolboy occupies best. He has been the lean-sipping gangsta. He has been the loving father. He’s now the ridiculously successful hip-hop artist. Sometimes he feels like all three at the same time. Contradictions perhaps, Oxymorons maybe, but always the Truth. Q ended the show with his most fitting song for the occasion, “Man of the Year.” You can check out the live performance below.

Schoolboy definitely rocked the show, and the fans were not let down. All of the major hits from Habits and Oxymoron were laid out, but I think what most of the crowd will remember, me included, was the energy in the room. It felt like Eazy-E in ’88. It felt like Dr. Dre in ’92. It felt like Eminem in 2000. Like I said before…

Q relaxin’ all cool. He deserves a break. The man of the year has, as is characteristic of men of the year, had a big fucking 365.

It felt like hip-hop history.

This post was written by Tyler McConnell, contributing writer for The Blue Note.

Yelawolf “Slums Up” the Blue Note: Show Recap

No, Yelawolf was not crucified in front of the audience.

“Me and Marshall Mathers both have an album coming out later this year,” Yelawolf said in the middle of the show Saturday night. “We’re like y’all; we don’t quit.”

After initially hearing this I thought, “Yela and Shady are going to do an album together?!” But upon further reflection, I’m pretty sure he meant separate. Although, Yelawolf and Big K.R.I.T. are supposedly still working on the joint album, Country Cousins, so I’m hoping that’ll still drop. I trust K.R.I.T. (I also understand the locking-oneself-in work ethic described below. That’s exactly how I’m writing this).

Show reviews are often chided in the industry as being damn near useless (it’s over, who gives a shit?), but it’s a revelation like this one that, to me at least, make them worth it.

It got me all excited, musically of course.

Watch Yelawolf’s live performance of “Trunk Muzik” at The Blue Note below:

The evening got off to a somewhat slow start. I still have absolutely no idea who the first opening rap group was. But I do remember that they were loud, although I couldn’t make out a single word they said.

The second group, Red Shirt Freshmen, rapped about being “red shirt famous,” although I’d never actually heard of them before. They also evidently wanted to fuck my girlfriend. To paraphrase: “Your girl say she got a boyfriend/I say that shit don’t matter.” This was news to me, and admittedly had me somewhat on the defensive since, ignorant of this core knowledge, I had unwittingly brought her with me. “If I’d had only known!” I thought to myself. But they did have a giant red Tellytubby dance on stage. So all is well that ends with a giant, red tellytubby dancing on stage. (Edit: I just learned what a red shirt freshman is, so to their credit, perhaps I’m not their target demographic).

Po, in the flesh. Tinky-Winky, Dipsy and Laa-Laa were not in attendance.

When Yelawolf finally hit the stage, rapping out from under a cowboy hat and glasses, his level of talent was rather obvious. He spit out lines rapid fire in his characteristic, Alabama machine-gun-syncopated flow. And some of the songs had concepts beyond getting money, getting famous, and fucking my girlfriend.

“Catfish Billy,” off his 2013 mixtape, Trunk Muzik Returns, was an early, energetic number. A nailed live version of “Trunk Muzik” is embedded above. And he dedicated “Daddy’s Lambo” to the fans that have been following him for the past three or four years.

“I do this for you all,” he said. “I know every artist says that, but I never have until this tour. Y’all have been following me for the past few, maybe three or four years, and you get and support what I’m about. You’re what I do this for.”

He also rocked “Growin’ Up in the Gutter,” another one of my personal favorites with apocalyptic levels of bass-heaviness, as well as the aptly titled club banger with Lil Jon, “Up in the Club.”

Another point worth noting: Midway through the show, Yela pulled out a confederate flag and told the crowd: “Look around you, we got all types of people in here. Don’t you ever think that I wave this flag because I’m some fucking racist. I’m just reppin’ Alabama. And I love everybody.”

So why did he say this? Well, in the lieu of Lord Jamar‘s recent comments about white rappers being “guests in the house of hip-hop” (and Jamar violently threatening Yelawolf in particular on Twitter), Yelawolf being one of the most revered of these “guests” I can think of (along with the go-to argument, Yela’s boss, Marshall), and the fact that Yela publicly invited Jamar to all of his shows after Jamar’s recent comments.

No encore though, Yela was off to the next show post-haste. Although I did get to watch a larger, gauged-ear punk drunkenly throw a swing at a dude a few inches in front of my face on the way out. This solidified the redneck, hip-hop lane Yelawolf has made for himself. I walked away feeling a little more like the slum of an American that I am because of this—exactly what I wanted from a Bud-gulping, Jack Daniels’ swilling Yela show. And I got just that. Lookin’ forward to those two Shady records releases this year, boys.

This post was written by Tyler McConnell, contributing writer for The Blue Note.