Written by Bryce Davis | Photos by Cameron Castaldi
Being a fan of Tecca Nina for a decade and some change now, I was ecstatic to hear that he and his label Strange Music were coming to Lawrence. I didn’t really have much money as a kid back then, so the only way that I could hear Tech was through the underground scene. Y’know burning CD’s and doing whatever we used to do on Limewire. In the midst of other artists, I always made sure Tech N9ne was going to be on one of these CD’s.
I got into Tech when he first dropped Sickology 101 in 2009. “Red Nose” and “Nothin” were the songs that everyone was talking about off the album, but his single Blown Away was the one that got me hooked. Everything from the chorus being catchy as all hell to the lyrics talking about the complications of him not getting the recognition and respect he deserved from everybody going to see him for sold out shows that he wasn’t even headlining for other artists. Some of these artists include Keyshia Cole and Rakim. I remember I used to annoy the hell out of my mom because I was singing Worldwide Choppers and Planet Rock 2K.
At the beginning of the concert, Tech first brought out some artists from the Lawrence local area that he was fans of. The first one being Silent Ave. I’m usually excited when huge artists bring out local ones to be their opener, because it usually means they’re good enough to fit with their theme, and Silent did not disappoint. One thing that sets him apart from a lot of other musicians, is his ability to infuse his multi-genre schtick into one song. Usually when people say “oh yeah I’m a multi-genre musician” it’s usually yes they can make a rap song AND a country song. But it’s never in one, Silent Ave goes all in and throws in rap, rock, and country without it sounding disorganized. An amazing way to start off the concert.
The next artist to go out was Seuss Mase. And you can definitely tell he was influenced by Tech N9ne. A lot of problems with fast rappers is that they try to fit in a little bit of mumble within their words to make it seem like their syllables are just cold like that–Seuss is not one of them. He makes sure you hear every single letter and puts emphasis on things he wants you to remember. Despite sharing the name with the Doctor, Mase can be seen more as a horrorcore rapper, but frankly so is the majority of Strange Music. Side note: whoever produces his stuff is incredible, because Seuss has such a unique style to where you can’t just throw him on some ordinary beat.
The next up right before Tech N9ne is a frequent collaborator with him, X-Raided. I got into X-Raided a little bit after I got into Tech N9ne. That’s when I was really about old hip-hop, and X had started rapping all the way back in 1989. He was pretty much on his own until 2022 when he finally signed to Strange Music. X and Tech have a very similar style of rapping. I was shocked to see ¾ of the crowd rap his stuff. The only difference being that Tech N9ne flows faster, and X-Raided is more powerful. And being in front of the stage that’s exactly what I felt from X. His stage presence and the lyrics from the beginning to the end, it was nothing but sheer power. Just an insane performer.
And finally, Tech N9ne. He didn’t even step foot on stage and everyone was already going insane. To have the crowd jumping for 15 minutes to literally nothing is another type of hype. There were so many hits that were played, I truly mean SO many hits. Some people don’t even realize that Tech made the Kansas City Chiefs’s anthem Red Kingdom. I couldn’t help myself from reciting just about every song that was played. Amongst these songs he performed were actually Worldwide Choppers, Planet Rock 2K, and Fragile. Fragile is one of those songs that you literally cannot hate. Having the talents of !MAYDAY!, Kendall Morgan, and Kendrick Lamar on one song. How could you go wrong? And he had all these alter egos? It was just too much. At the end, Tech N9ne had a really heartfelt speech about the love he gets from these shows, being born in Kansas City, and he was just so grateful for every single second he could have with us.
Truly, one of the greatest artists and performers of all time.
