| Tech N9ne | |
|---|---|
Tech N9ne at release signing for Everready (The Religion) on November 6, 2006 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Aaron Dontez Yates |
| Born | November 8, 1971 |
| Origin | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper, Actor, Label vice president |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Associated acts | Krizz Kaliko, Brotha Lynch Hung, Psychopathic Records, Hopsin, Kutt Calhoun, Jay Rock, Big Scoob , Busta Rhymes , Yelawolf , Twista, DJ Whoo Kid, Lil' Wayne, E-40, Insane Clown Posse, B.o.B, Swollen Members, Potluck, Prozak |
| Website | TheRealTechN9ne.com |
Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971),[1] better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "Tech Nine"), is an American rapper from Kansas City, Missouri. In 1999, Yates and Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. Throughout his career, Yates has sold over one million albums and has had his music featured in film, television, and video games.[2] In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie award at the mtvU Woodie Awards.[3]
His stage name originated from the TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, given to him by rapper Black Walt due to his fast rhyming style.[4] Yates later applied a deeper meaning to the name, claiming that it stands for the complete technique of rhyme, with 'tech' meaning technique and 'nine' representing the numbers 3,6, and 0 meaning perfecting all the way around.[4][5]
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Aaron Dontez Yates born on November 8, 1971 in Lee's Summit, Missouri. He began rapping at a very early age, and would rap the letters of his name in order to remember how to spell it.[6] Interaction with his father was infrequent, and his mother suffered from epilepsy and lupus when he was a child, which emotionally affected him and inspired him to "search for God."[6] He would wander around abandoned buildings with his best friend, Brian Dennis, hoping to catch a ghost on film.[6] In 2002, Dennis was shot and killed by his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, which further inspired Yates' search for a higher power, as well as giving him the drive to vent his frustrations in his music.
Early in his life, Yates was a member of a group formed in 1991 called Black Mafia.[7] He saw glimpses of success in the group 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians with their single "Let's Get Screwed Up." As a member of the group Nnutthowze, Aaron Yates signed with Perspective Records in 1993.[8] However, the group disbanded soon after being released from the label. Yates signed with Qwest Records briefly before moving to JCOR Records.[8] In 1997, Yates joined the group The Regime formed by rapper Yukmouth.[9] The following year, he was featured on the soundtrack for the film Gang Related.[10] Yates appeared on the song "The Anthem" by Sway & King Tech in 1999, which also featured artists RZA, Eminem, Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, Jayo Felony, Chino XL, KRS-One, and Kool G. Rap.
In 2001, Yates released the studio album Anghellic on JCOR Records, just a few months before the label went bankrupt. Later that year, he and Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music.[11] Lacking major label promotion, Tech N9ne struggled in trying to gain exposure to new fans.[8] The next year, he released Absolute Power, under a 50–50 joint venture between Strange Music and M.S.C. Music & Entertainment (which was founded by former Priority Records head Mark Cerami). Absolute Power debuted number 79 on the Billboard 200. Absolute Power sales increased 3 times after Tech N9ne started the FTI Campaign. During this Campaign Tech N9ne not only told people to Download his music but provided a website to Download his new Album. This campaign was a response to the infamous Metallica-Napster downloading scandal .[8] In 2006, after going almost 4 years without releasing any new music, Yates released the album Everready (The Religion).[12] The following year, he released Misery Loves Kompany.[13] Yates announced that the album was the first in a series of "Tech N9ne Collabos" albums that feature a wide range of guest appearances.[13]
The following year, Yates released the album Killer, which was a double album consisting of over 32 tracks.[14] That September, he exceeded one million album sales.[2] Yates remarked of the accomplishment that, "It just reminded me of all the work we'd done in the past, up until now [...] I don't think it's sunken in yet. I've been celebrating for the last two days because that's a hell of an accomplishment. I've been planning success all my life. I'm not even a bit surprised, I'm happy about it. That just means I was right."[2] Yates released his second Collabos album, Sickology 101, in April 2009.[15] Yates later performed at the Rock The Bells 2009 Festival and the tenth annual Gathering of the Juggalos.[16][17] That October, he released K.O.D., short for King of Darkness. The album featured a dark overtone, as Yates was dealing with the illness of his mother.[18] An EP of cut songs and afterthoughts from the album was released in 2010 as The Lost Scripts of K.O.D. Later that year, Yates released his third Collabos album, The Gates Mixed Plate.[18] In October, he released his second EP Seepage. On December 23, he released his first mixtape Bad Season which was later released inretail CD form with a modified track list and without DJ Scream. On June 7, 2011 Yates released his most recent album All 6's And 7's. The album features a myriad of prominent hip-hop artist including B.o.B, E-40, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Mint Condition, Hopsin, Busta Rhymes, Twista, Lil Wayne, Yelawolf, Ceza, and Deftones.
In 2011, Yates told 411mania.com that after All 6's And 7's he plans on releasing his fourth album in the Collabos series titled Welcome to Strangeland, featuring guest appearances from everyone on Strange Music, followed by the long awaited K.A.B.O.S.H. and 816 Boyz albums.[19] Then, in July 2011, Yates said in a blog post that Rick Ross has agreed to do a song with him for the K.A.B.O.S.H. album and that he is also hoping to have a collaboration with Jay-Z on that album. In the same blog post, he said that the K.A.B.O.S.H. album will be a rock album.[20] In another blog post several weeks later, he confirmed that he will begin work on the album after completing Welcome to Strangeland.[21] Following his tour, he announced that he was about to begin work on Welcome to Strangeland and KLUSTERFUK, confirming producers for both projects. He said he will then begin work on the K.A.B.O.S.H. album.[22] Tech N9ne is featured on Lil Wayne's ninth studio album Tha Carter IV on the song Interlude. The track features a verse from Tech and Andre 3000. During a radio interview with Funkmaster Flex in August 2010, Wayne stated that he and Tech N9ne formed a "brotherhood" when Yates visited him in jail. In a later interview, Tech N9ne claimed that he thinks the song will "awaken a lot of other people that wouldn't usually look [his] way" and "teach all the new fans how to become technicians."
Yates is known for his dynamic rhyme schemes and speed rap abilities. Soren Baker of VH1 states that Yates' techniques "showcase his wide-ranging, mind-blowing flows."[8] Baker characterizes Yates' earlier work as "apocalyptic music, which discussed abortion and infidelity as much as his rapping prowess."[8] Allmusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier calls his style "bizarre hardcore rap."[1]
Yates says that he is influenced by Old school hip hop, and specifically cites Slick Rick, N.W.A, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Schoolly D, Wu Tang, and Just-Ice.[18] He is also interested in other genres of music, and lists The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, AC/DC, Metallica, Floetry, Outkast, Slipknot and Gnarls Barkley as influences.[23][24][25] Yates was originally set to score the entire film Alpha Dog, but the studio decided to replace some of his music with more commercially known songs.[26] In 2009, his song "Let's Go" was used in an online promotional short film for AXE body spray.[27] Yates also appears as an actor in the films Vengeance and Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D.[28][29][30][31] Tech's song "Let's Go" was also used during the 2010 movie "Brotherhood".
Several of Yates' songs are featured in the video games Madden NFL 2006, Midnight Club: Los Angeles,EA Sports MMA,Def Jam: Fight for NY, and 25 To Life, the latter of which Yates is also an unlockable character.[32] In 2009, Yates and label mate Krizz Kaliko appeared in a promotional video for the Fight Night Round 4 video game.[33]
Yates' music has appeared on the television shows Dark Angel, I'm From Rolling Stone, My Super Sweet 16, The Hills, Spike Guys' Choice Awards, and Warren The Ape.[34][35] In 2008, his song "Earthquake" was featured on an episode of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew in which the crew had to visually convey the title of the song in their performance.[36] On the August 15, 2009 Strikeforce event, Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, MMA fighter Gilbert Melendez entered the arena to Tech N9ne's 2006 song "The Beast" for his bout with Mitsuhiro Ishida.[37] His song "Riot Maker" was used as the official theme song for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's 2010 Hardcore Justice pay-per-view. Yates also appeared on the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in the BET Cypher with B.O.B, Machine Gun Kelly, Kendrick Lamar, and Big K.R.I.T..
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Tech N9ne | Left Field Woodie | Won[3] |
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