The Kansas City, Missouri Rapper Returns This Year to the Gathering of the Juggalos
With a career spanning more than two-and-a-half decades,
Kansas City, Missouri rapper Tech N9ne has become one of the most influential names in underground hiphop. Tech N9ne music is unique from that of other underground hiphop artists in that it straddles multiple subgenres.
Known for his collaborations and lyrical flexibility, Tech N9ne music has been embraced by everyone from more traditional underground hiphop heads to horrorcore fans at large and juggalos, or Insane Clown Posse fans, specifically.
From the beginning, Tech N9ne music distinguished itself through the MC's spitfire rapping (not unlike the shots from a TEC-9 semiautomatic gun from which he originally took his name). He also set himself apart lyrically.
Tech N9ne music was hardcore, but it wasn't just bragging and recounting violence. Rather, there was a clear search for meaning and an exploration of larger existential questions. Still, Tech N9ne boasted enough swagger that from an early point in his career, he began recording with other influential underground hiphop artists like Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, and Chino XL.
In 1999, Tech N9ne and friend Travis O-Guin started their own independent underground hiphop label, Strange Music, to release Tech N9ne music and that of other selected artists. Over the past few years, the roster has expanded to include upcoming underground hiphop acts like Big Scoob, Jay Rock, and the live hip-hop band Mayday.
Tech N9ne music has also expanded stylistically, and his recent collaborators have included a wide spectrum of artists like B.o.B., E-40, Twista, and Yelawolf.
While Tech N9ne has recorded many different styles of underground hiphop, juggalos have always embraced Tech N9ne music, and he's embraced that segment of his fans right back.
So it's no surprise that this year marks his return to the annual Gathering of the Juggalos, a four-day underground rock, underground hiphop, wrestling, and comedy festival in Cave in Rock, Ill.
He'll share the stage with juggalo favorites like the Insane Clown Posse, of course, Twiztid, and Dark Lotus, along with other rappers that enjoy a crossover fan base, like Ice Cube and Busta Rhymes.
The August performance comes right after a much-lauded recent Tech N9ne tour throughout the United States. He'll likely perform new Tech N9ne music from albums like 2011's full-length All 6's and 7's, the EP Kluster Fuck, as well as unreleased material and old fan favorites.
