Tech N9ne worships the Internet. And he's certainly not an opponent of illegal downloading.
"I want people to keep doing it," he says. "Keep downloading my music."
"I met a guy called Ceza (on MySpace)," he adds. "I did a song with him - and he's from Turkey! If it wasn't for the Internet, I would not be in Denmark at the Roskilde Festival with Guns N' Roses, Tool, Kanye West ... a year and a half ago."
Flash forward to now. The Kansas City rapper is touring with labelmates of Strange Music, which he co-owns.
He checked in before a gig in South Dakota.
The cover of your latest album, Killer, satirizes Michael Jackson's Thriller cover. You're wearing a straitjacket instead of a white suit.
Totally. I had to do it that way. Michael Jackson's album was the highest-selling pop album of all time, and I'm trying to say this is going to be my highest-selling hip-hop album.
I'm sitting here with 32 tracks - I have a lot to say, a lot of living to tell people about, a lot of happiness, a lot of sadness, a lot of confusion. It's a roller-coaster ride. It has Ice Cube, it has X-Clan, it has Scarface, it has Shawna from DTP, it has Hed P.E., Kottonmouth Kings ... it just keeps going.
You have a song called "Wheaties," featuring Shawna. Why do you think it's the breakfast of champions?
That's what they told us all of our lives. Wheaties was good for you and gave you that energy. In the ghetto, we always used it when it came to sex: "You better eat your Wheaties when you mess with me because you're going to need all the energy in the world."
What better person to flip on it than Shawna? Nobody can deal with her. She knew exactly how to speak on it. I told her the hook: "Baby, I hope you eat your Wheaties. When you see me, it won't be easy." That's all I had to tell her and she was on it.
Killer is a double-disc set. Which track among the 32 defines Tech N9ne?
I would have to say "Can't Shake It." It says, "And I can't get up when I'm in love. Well, I guess I'm a mess and I just can't shake it. I just can't change what I am."
I won't change and I can't change what I am. The first verse is about me writing my music and people leaving me alone. My wife used to say even when I'm home I'm away, because I'm in the bathroom writing. Nobody understands that. They don't get that this is my craft ... don't bother me with your trivial mess while I'm in this. The second verse, I talk about my personal life and about something I can't change, even though it might be negative.
You brought in a lot of collaborators and producers, such as YoungFyre and Kottonmouth Kings. How do you think the album would have turned out if you didn't call on their talents?
I think YoungFyre had the sound I was looking for, as well as Wyshmaster. YoungFyre and Wyshmaster set the stage for Killer. The first beat I chose was from YoungFyre and it was "Wheaties." And when I heard the beat from "Wheaties," I said, "That's the sound I need! That big, huge sound."
You're on the Strictly Strange Tour with your labelmates. Who among them is hot at the moment?
We're on Kutt Calhoun time right now. Krizz Kaliko is still doing big numbers. We just did a video for (Calhoun's) "Bunk Rock Bitch." It was the first video where I got to play around. I got so drunk ... I got to be the boss. At Strange Music, we give the music the attention that it needs, and we don't get off of it.
You entered the Midwest hip-hop scene more than 10 years ago. How do you think it has evolved since?
The Midwest allowed me to be this clusterf---. It allowed me to have everything ... getting (influences) from the north, the south, the east and the west. This is called musical overload. Midwest rappers are like, "deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh" (he speaks quickly and rhythmically). ... There are so many things we have to say and so little time to say it.
