I guess I should go ahead and make this official. I’m doin’ a Tech N9ne marathon. For those of you who don’t know what that means, I’ll be reviewing every album Tech N9ne has released. For future marathons I’ll be reviewing them in order of release. I’m doin’ this one backwards tho. I didn’t expect to be doin’ this, but I decided that I would after reviewing Special Effects. This is the first review that I’ve ever done for an album that I’ve already heard. It was the first full Tech N9ne album I ever listened to. I don’t really remember exactly what I thought of it, but I do know that Tech N9ne became one of my favorite rappers after I heard this album, so I’m expecting this to be pretty dope.

Track 1: News With Mark Alford 1

This is weird ass skit… Mark Alford is just talkin’ about how a meteorite landed in Kansas City… It’s kinda creepy. The background music makes it sound really suspenseful. For some reason I really really like this skit. I have no idea why. I feel like I’m listening to a scene from weird movie. Towards the end it changes to a fire alarm at a school going off, then a class starts and the teacher’s like, “rise for the morning pledge.” This is weird as hell. Why are his skits always so weird? I like this one, but seriously. Wtf?

Track 2: Straight Out The Gate Feat. Serj Tankian (Prod. Seven)

I probably won’t like this song. I used to like System Of A Down when I was going through this really weird phase, but I really don’t like the crossover songs that Tech does with Rock music. I don’t know how Serj is gonna sound on this. He has a weird voice. This beat is dope. Tech is goin’ the fuck in right now. Oh God. Serj. No. His voice is so… No. I do not like the way he sounds on this at all. His voice just sounds so… bad and the way he’s singing is just so… bad. This hook is just fucking horrible to me. Not feelin’ the hook at all. I mean, it’s not… well, actually it is really bad. Yeah, this hook is horrible. Not feelin’ that shit at all. God. Tech fuckin’ killed that third verse. The beat kinda switched up too. This would honestly be dope af without the hook. It’s just so bad tho. That intro with the kids doin’ the pledge was kinda corny to me too. This is okay I guess. The hook is really just fucking horrible. No thank you, Serj. Please don’t come back. 3/5

Track 3: B.I.T.C.H. (Breaking In To Colored Houses) Feat. T-Pain [Prod. Seven]

This little intro where Tech is singing is actually dope af. He just sounds… BADASS! This beat is dope af and his flow is great. He’s basically talkin’ about how black people are finally starting to accept his music and style. I guess I’m part of that whole group… “OG Muggs said I’m gonna be the first rapper to cross over to black folk.” His first verse was dope. T-Pain’s hook is actually dope af too. I really like this song. “Man, it must suck to be you niggas / Cause it don’t suck to be this rich / If you not fuckin’ with me, brethren / You can suck upon this dick.” That’s how you sound angry without bein’ bitter. He just sounds badass. This whole song is bad ace. Wow. He almost got Future on the hook. T-Pain is a really under appreciated artist. I don’t think I realized how much he did until Future blew up. Future is just so fucking bad. I’m serious he’s so bad. T-Pain is really like a fucking genius compared to Future. Future can come up with great melodies. That’s it. I will always take T-Pain over Future. Future can go fuck himself for all I care. What the fuck is wrong with his voice? Have y’all ever heard this guy speak in interviews? His voice cracks like every other word. His voice is so fucked up. It sounds like a rock covered in cough syrup. That makes no sense, but when he sings it makes me think of an amalgam of dirt, rocks & cough syrup. This song is dope af tho. T-Pain & Tech both did a great ass job. 5/5

Track 4: With The BS Feat. Big Scoob, Red Café & Trae The Truth (Prod. Seven)

“Anything turn up: we wit it.” I don’t know if that’s lame as hell or just really dope. I think it might be lame, but that’s why I like it. This beat is cool. It’s really energetic. Tech N9ne’s verse was dope. Trae The Truth is a really under appreciated artist too. He can actually rap and he killed this verse. The first time I heard him rap I thought he was whispering. I’m not exaggerating or anything. I actually thought that he whispered on every song and that was just his style. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Trae The Truth’s voice is so fucking low that he sounds like he’s whispering all the time. It’s weird. He can rap tho, so I like him. His verse was dope. Big Scoob’s on the hook. It’s ok. Nothin’ special. Red Café’s verse kinda sucked. It wasn’t horrible. It didn’t ruin the track. I coulda did without it tho. Big Scoob’s verse was cool. This song is dope. I coulda did without the hook and the Red Café verse and the beat coulda been a little better, but it ain’t a bad song. I fuck with it. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 5: Love 2 Dislike Me Feat. Liz Suwandi & Tyler Lyon (Prod. Seven)

I don’t know if I’m gonna like this one… Tyler Lyon was on my least favorite Strangeulation song. He sounds like the guy from Linkin Park. Liz Suwandi is singin’ about bein’ a fool and lovin’ me or some shit like that. Idk. Oh God. I’m not gonna like this. This beat. Nah. It has the same problems as Make Waves. Too loud. I don’t really like the guitar. It’s annoying. I think Tech does Hip Hop & Rock crossovers better than anyone else, but I still don’t really like it. Tech’s doin’ his thing I guess. The beat is just not very good and it just feels a little corny. I’m not feelin’ this hook at all. This is basically a Nu Metal song. That isn’t a good thing. I don’t like this topic either. He just sounds bitter because his ex don’t fuck with him no more. Liz Suwandi’s presence is pretty unnecessary too. She just sang a little bit on the intro and the bridge. I really don’t fuck with this shit at all. This is wack af. 1/5

Track 6: Fortune Force Field (Prod. Seven)

Tech’s singin’ on the intro. It’s not good singin’, but it doesn’t sound that bad for some reason. He’s singin’ the hook and it kinda sounds like rock music, but I actually really like this. I like the hook even tho he’s yellin’ and singing. It sounds good to me. His flow is on point as usual. The beat is dope too. This is actually really dope. There isn’t anything that I don’t like about this song. I deleted this the first time I listened to the album. I don’t know why tho. I must not have liked the hook. It’s dope af tho. I fuck with this. 5/5

Track 7: I’m Not A Saint (Prod. Seven)

This beat is dope af. It has people chanting. It sounds like he sampled people from medieval ages. He’s singin’ on the intro, but I like it. It sounds dark. He’s not rapping fast on the first verse, but his flow is still nice. It’s dope. Fuck. He’s talkin’ about some deep shit. On Psycho Bitch III he mentioned that his best friend Brian Dennis was killed. On the second verse of this song he says that he was fuckin’ around with Brian’s girl before he died. That’s so fuckin’ messed up. Can you imagine how shitty you would feel if you was smashin’ your best friend’s chick and then he died? Fuck. “I learned my vices, they divide niggas / Had a chance to say I’m sorry and then he died.” The hook is nothing special, but it works. It does it’s job. Goddamn. He was apparently molested by his 7th grade teacher. Damn. Tech N9ne really gives a lot of information about himself to his fans. I’m finna try and see if I can remember all the sad and fucked up shit about him. He’s struggling with his faith towards God because his mother was very religious, but she was sick all her life with like 5 different diseases and she had an abusive boyfriend and her death really fucked Tech up. He used to be a Blood. His best friend Brian Dennis was killed by a salty ass bitter ass guy who was trippin’ over a chick. Brian Dennis’ girl was cheatin’ on him with Tech, but he died before Tech could apologize. Tech was molested by his 7th grade teacher. That’s all I can remember right now, but I may be forgetting something. That’s a pretty fucked up sequence of events. Glad my life ain’t that hard. At least he’s got Strange tho. If Strange Music all of a sudden just went bankrupt and Tech’s kids died he would probably just kill himself. It really seems like Strange Music and family is all Tech has left. What was I talkin’ about? Oh yeah. This song is dope af. 5/5

Track 8: Fragile Feat. Kendrick Lamar, ¡MayDay! & Kendall Morgan (Prod. ¡MayDay!, Daniel “Keys” Perez & Ralfy “FAFA” Valencia)

Is Daniel “Keys” Perez the same guy as Danny Keys? He probably is… Anyway, this beat is dope af. Wrekonize & Bernz are singin’ the first verse. It sounds great. Wrekonize can actually sing. Bernz is doin’ the low octave and you can barely hear him, but he’s there. When the hook starts and Kendall Morgan comes in it sounds fucking great. The three of them singin’ together over this beat is excellent. Tech N9ne’s rappin’ on the second verse now. His flow is fucking insane. This song is basically about how musicians are sensitive to criticism. “You don’t really get why I’m so pissed? Understand this: I’m an artist, and I’m sensitive about my shit.” This hook is dope af and Tech’s verse was great. Kendrick’s goin’ in right now. He killed his verse. This is great. This song is dope af. Holy fuck. Yelawolf was originally supposed to have a verse on this song, but he didn’t send his verse in time. Fuck. God damnit. This song is already amazing, but it would’ve been so fucking dope if Yelawolf had a verse. I wish he would at least release his verse now so we could hear what it would’ve been like. Fuck. This is still dope af tho. I fuck with this. 5/5

Track 9: Priorities Feat. Game & Angel Davenport (Prod. Seven)

Game is one of my favorite rappers, so this should be great. HAHAHAHAHA! “NIGGA FUCK YOU!” I love it when there’s a skit where Tech says fuck you, whips out a chopper & blasts everyone away. It’s fuckin’ hilarious. This beat is fucking incredible. It just sounds like foot steps and heavy breathing. That’s pretty much what it is. Game went the fuck in on the first verse. Tech’s goin’ in now. The beat keeps buildin’ up and gettin more intense. This is absolutely insane. It sounds really cinematic. This chick Angel Davenport is goin’ in too. I love how intense and experimental this beat is. It’s so fuckin’ dope. Game is goin’ in again. Angel fuckin’ killed her second verse. THIS IS CRAZY! THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON. IT’S SO FAST AND INTENSE! It’s real short and everyone goes the fuck in. It’s only one minute and 43 seconds long, but there are like 8 verses. Y’all need to hear this song. It’s fucking crazy. I fuck with this. This is fuckin’ dope af. 5/5

Track 10: News With Mark Alford 2

I forget to say that at the end of the first skit there was a voice that said “FIRE.” The voice says “WATER” at the end of this one. I don’t know if that’s important to anyone… The background music sounds really suspenseful. Mark’s talkin’ about how the letters “E.B.A.H.” were burned into the side of a school. I think he said school. It might’ve been some other building. This is kinda hard to take seriously just because it’s so dramatic, but then towards the end he’s like, “police say the only lead they really have right now points to some sort of connection with Kansas City based rap artist Tech N9ne.” It’s just hard to take seriously because he’s a rapper. If any weird shit like this actually happened, I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be any rappers involved. That’s just what I think tho… E.B.A.H. stands for Evil Brain, Angel Heart. Tech N9ne is always talkin’ about how he’s good and bad and devilish and angelic and anghellic and yin and yang and shit like that. The cover art for this album is based on the idea of Evil Brain, Angel Heart. He’s got the burning head and the heart with wings. I actually really like that cover. It’s COOL.

Track 11: Dwamn (Prod. Seven)

Man, Priorities is such a dope ass song. This beat is weird. I think it might be dope af. Yeah, this beat is fuckin’ crazy. This beat is crazy & his verse wasn’t bad. The shit he was sayin’ might seem kinda stupid to a lot of people (such as me tbh), but his flow was fuckin’ great. Oh God. What the fuck? The hook… Why? WHY? HOOKS! I FUCKING HATE HOOKS! WHY DO RAPPERS ALWAYS FUCK UP THE FUCKING HOOKS? This is the most ignorant, ghetto, stereotypical rap shit I have ever heard from Tech N9ne. I guess this song is the equivalent of Hood Go Crazy for this album. God damnit. It’s just this ghetto soundin’ chick with an annoyin’ ass voice sayin’ some dumb ass shit. This song is fucking stupid. Dwamn? That’s fucking stupid. Who the fuck says that shit? “Now what’s ‘damn’ with a ‘wham’ on it?” Does he really say that? For real? Does anyone actually say that? Do Tech N9ne dickriders say that shit? Everything about this song is just fucking stupid to me. This song is wack, but there are some things that I like about it. I like the beat & his flow was on point. I just can’t do it tho. This is wack. I’m not feelin’ it. 2/5

Track 12: So Dope (They Wanna) Feat. Wrekonize, Twisted Insane & Snow Tha Product [Prod. Shane Eli & Jon Pakfar]

Holy fuck. I know this is a poetry term and it’s gonna sound kinda weird since I’m talkin’ about Hip Hop, but the fucking alliteration in the first four bars of this song is crazy lol. “Wanna sit beside a sick and seductive sinner, see / Something so sinister seeking sookie somethin like a centipede / Slitherin’, she’s searchin’ for synergy / Suckin’ my seed, chakra tease stickin sippin’ Hennessy, shittin’.” Uh. The fucking internet at my house sucks ASS. This is basically a song about fuckin’. He’s saying that his flow is so dope that when bitches hear him rap they immediately take they clothes off and try to put his penis in they mouth. The topic doesn’t really interest me that much, but this might be the best flow he’s had on the whole album so far. The production isn’t bad, but I feel like Seven could’ve made a better beat. The hook works. It does it’s job. Wrekonize is goin’ in now. His flow is not nearly as dope as Tech’s. That’s the case with most rappers tho. “We skeet, now wipe yourself off with a Sham Wow.” HAHAHAHA. That’s incredibly disgusting and funny at the same time. Holy fucking fuck. This guy Twisted Insane’s flow is fucking unbelievable. He’s rappin’ even faster than Tech. It’s so fast that you can barely understand what he’s saying. I think his verse was dope… I think. All I know is that a bitch told him that she likes to “play wit the pussy when she get lonely,” and that his flow was fucking incredible. I liked his verse tho. It was very entertaining. Snow’s goin’ in right now. Wow. She completely flipped this shit. Tech, Wrek and Twisted Insane were all talkin’ about how bitches be hoppin’ on they dick all the time, but Snow kinda makes it seem like they was lyin’ the whole time. She basically talks about being a normal girl who has to avoid creepy men that are constantly tryin’ to fuck. “He feeling me, he want to bang I want to wait, so he get at me, he want to say shit that make me think that he gone rape me If I don’t stay.” She easily had the best verse. Her flow wasn’t as fast as Tech’s or Twisted Insane’s, but it was still dope af. She was actually sayin’ some real shit too. The men were just sayin’ typical rap shit. The beat isn’t bad. The hook is cool I guess. I don’t really fuck with the topic, but Snow’s verse was so fucking awesome and they all had great flows, so this is dope. I fuck with this song. This is dope af. Mostly because of Snow tho. I always thought she was signed to Strange Music, but she’s apparently just signed to Atlantic Records. If you want to hear some fucking weird shit, watch the music video with 2x speed. I started gettin’ dizzy when Twisted Insane’s verse came on. Those titties in the music video are so fucking fake tho. It just looks ridiculous. I mean, I’m not gonna act like I wouldn’t smash, but seriously that’s just ridiculous. I guess if you aren’t smart and you’re a girl, doin’ shit to your body like that is the only way to be successful, but damn. Imagine what your mother would say if you’re a guy and you married a chick with fake titties like that. This uh… This song is dope tho… 4/5

Track 13: See Me Feat. B.o.B & Wiz Khalifa (Prod. Drumma Boy)

Drumma Boy is a good ass producer. He mostly does Trap music tho, so this might be kinda weird. Tech is singin’ on the intro, but I actually like it. It sounds pretty good. Once his verse actually starts it just sounds awesome. This beat is dope. Tech isn’t using his really fast flow. When he does use his more subdued flow it still sounds great because he has so much energy behind his voice. Why is the word “monkey” slang for “pussy?” That doesn’t make sense at all. He said something about ladies poppin’ they monkeys. Why is it called a monkey tho? How do monkeys resemble vaginas? I’d hate to meet the bitch whose shit be lookin’ like that…

Someone please explain that to me because I really don’t get it. Tech did his thing on the first verse. B.o.B is singin’ the hook. He actually does a really good job. It sounds great. This song is basically about how successful Tech N9ne is and how a lot of people still don’t even know who he is. I think. Wiz’s verse was kind of underwhelming. I didn’t really expect much from him tho. Wiz Khalifa is… Why is he famous? He is really not that great of a rapper. I feel like he would be nowhere without the production behind his music. His hooks can be catchy sometimes too, but that’s pretty much it. He isn’t the first rapper to talk about weed and he sure as fuck isn’t the best. Tech’s second verse was great. That was easily the best verse on the song. B.o.B didn’t spit a verse. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. He can definitely rap, but sometimes he fucks up. I feel like I like this song a lot more than I should. Wiz’s verse was probably the only thing that I didn’t like about this song tho. I really, really like it tho. I honestly think this song is dope af. The hook is really catchy and the beat is great and Tech’s last verse was dope af. I fuck with this. This is dope af. Somebody said “EARTH” at the end and there was a weird ass pitch shifted outro. 5/5

Track 14: My Haiku / Burn The World Feat. Krizz Kaliko (Prod. Young Fyre)

Wow I just realized that this is Krizz Kaliko’s first appearance on the album. That’s weird af. WOW. I’m lookin’ at the track list right now and it looks like this is his ONLY appearance on the album… That’s probably why it’s going so well tbh. I know that sounds kind of harsh, but the biggest problem that I have with Tech N9ne albums is usually the terrible hooks from Krizz Kaliko. His hooks on Nobody Cares & Dysfunctional weren’t bad, but other than that I could do without them. They always sound overdramatic or just off. He can sing, but it just never sounds right for some reason. I really prefer him as a rapper. Hopefully he doesn’t do a hook on this song, but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t. Oh yeah… I forgot about the haiku… It was just him rapping the haiku very quickly over a loud drum pattern. “The sick pedophile / Touching beautiful kiddies / Really gonna die.” Okay, that’s weird af… but I’m interested. It look as if this song is gonna be about pedophiles, or “diddlers.” That’s just… awesome. Who the fuck does that? I’ve never heard of… not just rappers, but anyone making songs about that. This beat is fucking great. I think it’s led by a guitar. I really don’t like the guitar, but this sounds great. OOHHH. Wow. I just realized that he’s making this song because he got diddled when he was in the seventh grade. I don’t know why it took me so long to put that together. He’s basically saying that people need to raise diddler awareness. Krizz Kaliko is singing the hook and it sounds kind of overdramatic, but it isn’t really that bad. It works. “If there was a lighter in everybody’s hand…” I’ve said before that I think people holdin’ up lighters at concerts and shit like that is corny af. I still believe this, but the message behind what he’s saying is enough to override the corn. The hook is nice. He just mentioned Adam Lanza, the Boston Marathon terrorist attacks & Ariel Castro (the guy that kidnapped those three girls and kept them in his house for ten years) all within like 8 bars. Ah shit. Krizz is goin’ in now. I didn’t expect that. His verse was short, but it was still dope. This song is fucking great. The topic is really interesting and refreshing mostly because nobody ever talks about this. The beat was great and the hook wasn’t that bad. It was great to hear a verse from Krizz Kaliko too. I fuck with this. This is dope af. Ok, I just watched an interview that was posted on the RapGenius page. Apparently this song is about a specific girl from Kansas City (Tech’s hometown) who got molested by a 28 year old guy. She was a fan of Tech N9ne and I guess Tech could relate since he got diddled when he was in seventh grade. Also, Tech N9ne wanted NAS to be on this song, but Nas was like, “Damn, man… That’s kinda personal… Send me some other shit.” Man… if Nas was on this motherfucker that would be fucking insane. Eminem, Nas & Jay Z were all supposed to be on this project, but Tech ran out of time and they had to put the album out before they could get all the features. That sucks, but it’s going pretty well so far. It would’ve been dope if they were on it tho. Fuck. I fuck with this song tho. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 15: That’s My Kid Feat. Cee-Lo Green, Big K.R.I.T. & Kutt Calhoun (Prod. Seven)

This beat is dope. He’s basically just sayin’, “Man, my kids are fuckin’ awesome. I love my kids.” This topic is kinda hard to relate to since I uh… I’m 16, so I don’t really… I ain’t got kids yet… Oh. Oh my God. This hook… Cee-Lo Green. Cee-Lo Green, YA DONE FUCKED IT UP. THIS HOOK IS SOO FUCKING BAD. THIS IS SOME OF THE WORST SHIT I EVER HEARD. TAKE IT OFF. TURN IT OFF. THIS HOOK IS SO FUCKING BAD. YO, I SAID SOME FUCKED UP SHIT ABOUT THE HOOK TO THAT SONG BY MURS, BUT THIS HOOK IS SO MUCH WORSE. THIS HOOK IS ON THE LEVEL OF H.O.M.E. I’M DEAD ASS SERIOUS THIS IS SOME OF THE WORST FUCKIN’ FUCKED UP SHIT I’VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. WHY IS CEE-LO GREEN EVEN FAMOUS? IS HE STILL FAMOUS? WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HIM? DIDN’T HE SAY SOME FUCKED UP SHIT ABOUT RAPE AND THEN PEOPLE WENT CRAZY? WHATEVER HAPPENED WITH THAT? This hook is so bad. It’s hard to listen to. It’s really hard to get through. It’s so fucking bad. It’s playing right now. It’s so bad. This song comes across as kinda corny. Big K.R.I.T. & Tech N9ne are two of my favorite rappers, but this topic is corny and the hook is so fucking terrible. “I proudly proclaim my love / The future’s born from my own flesh and blood.” It’s nice of him to dedicate a song to his children, but nah. This is bad. I can’t even… This… Nah. I’m not feelin’ this shit at all. This is terrible to me. This is wack af. This is the song that Jay Z was supposed to be on. People are gonna call me a hater for this, but thank God he didn’t have a verse on this song. Yeah, I said it. Thank God Jay Z wasn’t on here. Look, I get that Jay Z is a legend and everything, but I just don’t get it. I don’t think he’s terrible (most of the time), but his shit is so fucking average to me. That verse he had on Seen It All is probably the best shit I’ve ever heard from him. I’ll probably go back and review his classics one day, but based on the shit he’s been releasing recently, he ain’t that good of a rapper. He can do his thing on songs like Seen It All. Jay Z would not have worked well with this song. I can see it now. It wouldn’t have made this song better. If anything it probably would’ve made this song even cornier. This is dogshit to me. 0/5

Track 16: Meant To Happen Feat. Scoop DeVille (Prod. Scoop DeVille)

Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard Scoop DeVille’s vocal presence on a song before. Well, obviously I have since I’ve heard this album before, but I really don’t remember this song at all… I hope it isn’t wack. Scoop’s singin’ at the beginning of the song right now. It’s not bad, but he really isn’t very good. He has like the most generic sounding voice ever. It’s not that bad tho. Goddamn. Tech’s talkin’ about his mama again. God. Every time he talks about his mama it’s just so sad. I like sad music, but damn. This is REALLY sad. I probably wouldn’t care that much if I didn’t care about my own mama. Tech’s dad stood his mama up on prom night. She got her first seizure soon after. Damn. She had epilepsy, lupus, pancreatitis, diabetes and psychosis. Fuck. That’s just horrible. Okay, so she got stood up by Tech’s dad and that’s when her epilepsy developed. “Just left her, in her prom dress and that’s the eve / Where all the stress hit aggressively, she had her first epileptic seizure.” Goddamn. This is so fucking sad. He just said that he was 9 years old in his bedroom then he heard somethin’ collapse. When he saw her she was havin’ a seizure. He just ran out the house in his draws and was callin’ for help. One of his neighbors came to help, then he watched the ambulance take her away. Fuck, man. This is like the most depressing shit I’ve heard in a long ass time. Don’t nobody make music this sad. Okay, he’s talkin’ about somethin’ that happened when he was 21 now. His auntie bought him a TEC-9 for his birthday. A TEC-9 is the type of gun that Tech is named after. He’s basically just describin’ his rough life before he started rappin’ and got famous. Somebody broke into his house and was about to shoot him in the head, but just left instead of pullin’ the trigger. Of course the TEC-9 was out of Tech’s reach. He’s speaking directly to his personified darkness. This is a really sad song. The beat is slow and not really that exciting. It’s really simple, but it does it’s job perfectly. The hook doesn’t really sound like a song. I don’t know how to describe it. It sorta just sounds like a really sad lullaby. The actual vocals from Scoop DeVille aren’t that impressive, but I feel like they fit really perfectly with this song. If Krizz did it, it would’ve just sounded a bit too extreme. Scoop did a good job tho. Sonically, this isn’t mind blowing, but if you listen to what he’s actually saying, you’ll probably agree that the sound works really well for this topic. I fuck with this song. This song is dope. 4/5

Track 17: News With Mark Alford 3

This is weird af lol. It’s a lot less creepy than the rest of the skits tho. There’s this really fun, light hearted music in the background. Like the type of shit that would play in a Disney movie when the main character’s adventure is just about to start. Mark Alford sounds very excited. Apparently there was a “burgundy mist” from the meteor strike that was causing positive side effects. There’s zero crime. The police weren’t called at all. Students are getting smarter and attending school more often. Wow. I’m lookin’ at RapGenius right now and there was apparently a whole concept behind this album. The Fire section represents “anger, hostility, darkness,” the Water section represents “partying, chaos, confusion,” and the Earth section represents “heavenly, peaceful.” I don’t know why whoever wrote that decided to switch from nouns to adjectives, but it doesn’t really matter I guess. I didn’t realize it before, but the Fire section did have a much more aggressive tone than the others. The Water section felt pretty generic and like it was meant to be played at parties. The Earth section was much more emotional and deep. The “burgundy mist” represents Tech’s music, which he hopes will have a positive impact on society. That’s a pretty cool idea I guess. I like that he had an actual concept behind the album. It makes it a lot more interesting. I don’t rate skits tho…

Track 18: Believe (Prod. Seven)

Oh God. There’s some chick singin’ at the beginning of the track. This beat actually sounds really monumental and triumphant tho. Holy fuck. This beat is amazing. Tech’s basically rappin’ about how people on earth are all divided by racism, homophobia, prejudice, classism, etc… “All we gotta do is B-E-L-I-E-V-E.” That’s kinda corny, but it’s a good message I guess. The hook is alright I guess. It’s some chick named Kourtney Leveringston. I don’t know why she was uncredited. She actually kinda sounds like Beyoncé. Maybe that’s why he didn’t put her name. He prolly wanted people to think it was her. She really sounds like Beyoncé. Her voice is just a little weaker. I don’t mean she’s a bad singer or anything, but her voice just has slightly less command. She’s still good tho. This song is a little corny, but it has a positive message and the beat is crazy. I fuck with it. 4/5

Track 19: R.I.P. Ray

This is just a quick message from Tech saying R.I.P. to Ray Manzarek Jr., who is apparently a member of a band called The Doors. I’m not really familiar with they music, but Tech apparently named Strange Music after them, so I guess they were really inspiring to him. He’s just tellin’ a quick story about himself hangin’ out with Ray and drinkin’ wine with him and shit. That would be pretty fucked up if I rated this wouldn’t it? I mean, I don’t rate skits/interludes anyway, but that would just be messed up. I would have to if this was a song tho…

Track 20: Strange 2013 Feat. The Doors (Prod. Fredwreck)

Fuck. I’m gonna have to rate this. It’s pretty cool that Tech got to work with his biggest inspiration in music. I’m just assuming that they’re his biggest inspiration since he named his whole label after them. I’m ’bout to start the track now. This hook isn’t bad. It’s just a sample of Jim Morrison singin’ from a song called Strange Days. The way it’s sampled sounds pretty good I guess. This beat is actually not bad. It sounds really different. It sounds like there were a lot of different instruments used. Thankfully, the electric guitar wasn’t the lead instrument. I’m not even sure if it was in there at all. I don’t like the electric guitar. Or the regular guitar. I heard a vibraslap in there tho. I’m actually surprised that I don’t hate this. I’m not in love with the beat (it’s a little annoying), but it’s not terrible. The hook works pretty well and Tech’s flow was dope. It’s cool, I guess. Just not really for me. It’s alright. 3/5

Track 21: SMB

This is just the signature “STRAAAAANNNGE Music,” tag that they put at the end of everything. Tech said bitch at the end. That’s it. That’s the whole track. “STRAAAAANNGE Music, bitch.” That’s all of the “lyrics.” Not a full song. Not gonna rate it.

+Tracks:

This motherfuckin’ album is so fuckin’ long. I just reviewed all the standard edition tracks up there, and I haven’t been doing the deluxe editions of these albums, but I just wanted to give a more general statement about the bonus tracks. Colorado is a posse track featuring B.o.B, Stevie Stone, Ces Cru, Info Gates, Wrekonize, Bernz, Rittz & Krizz Kaliko, and it’s produced by Drumma Boy. They all did they thing, and the beat was fuckin’ crazy. It was a pretty lighthearted track so it probably would’ve been in the Water section of the album if it were on the standard edition. The hook was probably the worst thing about, but it wasn’t even really bad. It just didn’t really stand out. B.o.B was only on the hook & I kinda wanted to hear a verse from him. It was dope af tho. Drowning was probably the most different song out of the bonus tracks. It starts out with Liz Suwandi singin’ about how she’s slippin’ underwater or somethin’. The beat (produced by Seven) was dope af and she sounded great. She was also on the hook and it was dope. Tech obviously did his thing too. It probably would’ve fit into the Earth section if it was on the standard edition of the album. It’s a dark song. It’s dope af. Thizzles also would’ve been in the Water section and it’s definitely the worst bonus track. It’s featuring Danny Brown which is nice, but it’s about molly. It just felt like it was kind of a corny and trendy topic for Tech to be rappin’ about. He doesn’t even do drugs, so it was kinda weird. The song starts out with this skit where Tech’s tryna order some thizzles (slang for molly I guess) from a guy. I can’t really explain the way he orders it (you’re gonna have to look it up), but it’s ridiculous. It’s produced by Young Fyre and as soon as the beat dropped, I busted out laughing so fucking hard. This might just be one of the dumbest songs I’ve heard all year lmao. The conversation where Tech was ordering some “thizzles” is sampled into the beat and it just sounds so fucking stupid. Listen to this song and tell me with a straight face that it isn’t some of the douchiest shit you’ve ever heard in you life lmao. I shouldn’t like this song, but it was so fucking stupid and hilarious to me. I like it for all the wrong reasons. It was alright I guess. If you’re into molly and you’re a douchebag then you’ll like it. Colorado: 5/5 Drowning: 5/5 Thizzles: 3/5

Final Thoughts:

Holy fuck that was so fucking long. Jesus. The length didn’t really get to me until I got to the third Mark Alford skit. Fuck. It wasn’t bad or anything, but if you listen to any single project that has this many songs, it will really feel like work to get through. Fuck. Is this the longest Tech N9ne album that I’ve reviewed so far? It feels like it. It was dope, but damn. That shit was long. Okay, the best section for me was Fire. I’m pretty sure there were more songs in that section anyway, but they were a lot more consistent and varied in terms of sound. The Water section was definitely the worst. The topics all seemed pretty generic. I shouldn’t use the word “uninspired” because Tech sounded just as passionate on those songs as he does on any other song, but they just felt… typical. I don’t mind him rappin’ about shallower topics, but he tends to be a little bit corny when he does it. That song Dwamn is just so fucking stupid. Most of the problems that I had with this project really came from the features. Even on Dwamn, that uncredited, stereotypical sounding chick was annoying as hell. Straight Out The Gate was great until Serj Tankian’s weird ass showed up. Tech did his thing on all these songs. It’s always either the features or the actual topic that don’t always work for me, but Tech as a rapper is in a league of his own. When it comes to just pure ability as a rapper, there aren’t many that could go up against him. The Earth section was great, but some of the topics (That’s My Kid) were a little weird and the features (…That’s My Kid) didn’t always work for me. As an overall project, there are a ton of great songs on here. It is daunting with so much content, but you’d definitely be gettin’ your money’s worth if you bought this. This is dope. I fuck with this album.

Favorite Song: Priorities

Least Favorite Song: That’s My Kid

Verdict:

76%

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