The Something Else LP is a clear departure from what’s come to be expected from Tech, namely because of all the mainstream guest appearances from T-Pain to Kendrick Lamar. Even his most dedicated fans raised an eyebrow at the tracklisting but somehow the rapper kept things cohesive without compromising himself. He did exactly what he wanted to do with the people he wanted to include and it actually worked. “I ain’t never apprehensive about anybody I f— with,” he states simply. “Some of the gangbanging n—–s that listen to me don’t understand that shit like The Doors or System of A Down, but I don’t give a f—,” he says, shrugging.
”I’m a cluster f—, just everywhere…,” he adds. “It’s music for everybody. Yeah, you might not like everything on that, everything on there might not be for you. But there’ll be some s— on there for you though. Muhf—–s just want you to do one thing but I’m three-dimensional, I can’t just do one thing.”’
One standout track from Something Else has eyebrows raised for another reason though. The song “I’m Not A Saint” reveals a secret that Tech had held onto since childhood. On the song, he admits to having had a sexual relationship with his seventh grade teacher. Encouraging a hesitant question about the incident, Tech explains the going-ons — as thoroughly as the law allows. “Nobody’s ever asked me [anything specifically]…,” he nudges this writer.
“I was in love with my teacher,” he says slowly, reflecting. “She was a 21-year-old woman and I was young. I don’t wanna say much about it because I don’t wanna blow the whistle on anyone but I was in love so it wasn’t hard for me to say it [in “I’m Not A Saint”].”
“I just knew I had to say something different on this album that I‘ve never said to people,” he adds. “Something they didn’t know about me. I don’t have any bad memories about that. The only bad memory that I have is that we got caught and she quit talking to me. It broke my heart.”
It’s a touchy subject but who’d be a better candidate to tackle the topic than Tech? An artist who’s frequently misunderstood and mislabelled but still manages to find common ground with the people. For example, the term “horrorcore” is one that the rapper has never embraced — although it’s often used to describe his music. “I’ve never been horrorcore,” he says with a sigh. “But people tend to think that. You can call my life ‘horror’ because that’s what it is. When I say ‘The King of Darkness’ I mean my life.”
“My mom was dying of pancreatitis when the second album came,” he continues. “The face paint came from one of my homies that passed. I’d been painting my face since ‘94 so in honor of them I wear it. I don’t wear it to scare people. I don’t make my music to scare people. I rep my life. I give my life. But people like to connect me with ‘horrorcore’ because I’ve toured with [Insane Clown Posse] but my music is nothing like any of theirs.”
Seems like after all these years, all the albums and all these millions made independently, folks are still trying to figure Tech N9ne out. But how can you definitively label someone that’s ever-progressing? Even with the upcoming release of his first rock EP, long-awaited by his most loyal fans. The project, titled Therapy, is slated for release on November 5 and will feature reputable rock producer Ross Robinson and apparently, quite a bit of soul searching on Tech’s part. “There are a couple things on there that I probably shouldn’t have said as well as the molestation thing.” Then with a quick reflection on the passed moment, he chuckles, saying, “I always wanted to know how I would answer that question.”
Overall though, Tech N9ne is looking forward.
“I feel like Dracula,” he enthuses. “I feel like something divine is preserving me. I’m still here for something. Maybe it’s what I’m already doing, yeah. But I still need to push, to see what’s at the end of the tunnel.”
