Tech9cal difficulties

by DAVID L. PENNER

Tech N9ne is back with his newest release, a Strange Music debut, Absolute Power. Although, not as masterful as his previous record Angehellic, Tech’s latest album is entertaining, to say the least.
Tech N9ne has obviously developed his sound since Angehellic, which only featured local KC talent like the 57th Street Rouge Dog Villains. This time around nationally known shock rappers D12 (minus Eminem) appear on the album. KC is represented, though, with the aforementioned 57 RDVs, Yung Gunz and Big Krizz Kalico.
The strong points of Angehellic though are the tracks where Tech spits by himself without help from any additional MCs. “Slacker,” the first single off the album, is clearly the stand-out track but it doesn’t compare to other songs on the record. Five tracks, however, make it a must have for hip-hop fans or anyone down with the local music scene.
“Imma Tell” and the title track “Absolute Power” are the anthems for album. In “Absolute Power” he rips JCOR Records, accusing them of not pushing his previous album. He pushes his point when he delivers an extremely well composed rhyme, directed at JCOR bigwig Jay Ferris and the rest of the company, telling them where they can stick it, in so many words.
“Slither” and “Trapped in a Psycho’s Body” can be described in one word: haunting. “Slither” takes Tech on a journey to local strip club, Diamond Joe’s, where he meets a stripper and goes back to her place. The song is so weird because it’s basically a darker, less corny version of Quintin Tarrintino’sFrom Dusk Till Dawn. “Trapped in a Psycho’s Body” brings Tech back to his roots as an underground god by rhyming about what makes him unique, the macabre.
The last standout track, which is also the last track on the album, “I’m a Playa,” is by far the most fun song on the album. It samples the old “Rock Me Amadeus” song from the ’80s.
Tech has put together a great CD. It just lacks his underground sound from previous releases and performances. The sound, now, is almost too polished for Tech, which might not sit well with his core audience but will probably get him more play on radios around the country.
In the end, Tech N9ne made a great album but for either marketing reasons or reasons of his own, he decided to go with a more mainstream sound and not with what made him a KC underground king, a wickedly dark aspect of real life.