UTG LIST: The 8 Most Out-Of-This-World Tech N9ne Collaborations

tech n9ne 2015 collaborations eminem

Tech N9ne dropped his prolific and genre-pushing new LP, Special Effects, yesterday — proving this tenured rapper’s best work is still ahead of him. The record is frantic and transparent on tracks like “Aw Yeah? (Intervention),” belligerent and obscure on songs like “Hood Go Crazy,” and downright strange on songs like “Roadkill.”

One thing the record does not fall short on are guest spots. Tech, the entrepreneur and co-founder of Strange Music, enlisted the likes of Eminem, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Lil Wayne, E-40, T.I., B.o.B., Hopsin, and many others on Special Effects. So, that leads to the question: what are Tech’s best collaborations of all-time? He’s a rapper who’s never been afraid to cross genres (see working with The Deftones, Excesion or Serj Tankian) or to simply get the best in hip-hop all on one track (see 2011’s “Worldwide Choppers” with Yelawolf, Twista, Busta Rhymes and more).

As a lifelong Technician, I decided to break down, in no particular order, the 8 best collaborations of this acclaimed emcee’s utterly impressive career.

“Speedom (WWC2)” (feat. Eminem & Krizz Kaliko) off Special Effects

Being as this is arguably the most talked-about and highest-anticipated collaboration of Tech N9ne’s career, it’s best to get it out of the way first. Finally, Eminem and Tech teamed up to spit fire on a record. It’s fast, it’s powerful, and every second lived up to the years of anticipation. It’s five minutes of the three fastest rappers in the world — talk about a mind twist.


“Fragile” (feat. Kendrick Lamar, ¡MAYDAY! & Kendall Morgan) off Something Else

My favorite Tech N9ne song of the last decade comes in the form of pure transparency in “Fragile.” Tech kills it, Kendrick kills it. If there’s one song you need to use to introduce a friend to Tech N9ne, “Fragile” is the perfect bet.


“Straight Out The Gate” (feat. Serj Tankian) off Something Else

A perfect example of Tech’s ability to cross genres — this collaboration provides a bombastic chorus from the System of a Down frontman. It’s equally political and personal and undeniably eerie.


“Twisted” (produced by Roger Troutman) off Anghellic

The legendary Roger Troutman (you know, the guy who wrote the hook on 2Pac’s “California Love”) teamed up with Tech N9ne for a weird and wicked track, “Twisted.” Although the song never caught the traction of “California Love,” it sure did go down as a special track for Tech’s occult following. Now well over a decade old, the song has sunk into Tech’s lore as a tenured artist.


“Wither” (feat. Corey Taylor) off Special Effects

Slipknot and Tech N9ne collide with a hybrid track of high-emotion and powerful delivery. It’s best described as both worlds simply colliding — like a Slipknot song with high-speed lyricism or a Tech N9ne song with a raspy, alternative metal hook. Either way, it’s the best collaboration off of Tech’s newest record.


“If I Could” (featt. Chino Moreno & Stephen Carpenter of Deftones) off All 6’s and 7’s

This passive track comes off less in-your-face than some would expect from Tech, who enlisted members of Deftones for the number. It’s more of a building ballad, one of the best slower numbers of his career. A stand-out track on the second half of All 6’s and 7’s.


“Hiccup” (produced by Wes Borland) off Therapy EP

“Hiccup” isn’t amongst Tech’s most popular songs (let’s face it, delivering a track about things like Pussy Riot’s political impact probably doesn’t have as much market value as a song like “I’ma Playa” or “Hood Go Crazy”) but it’s one worth noting. The song, performed with a full band, comes off as something like a Beastie Boys song, if the Beastie Boys would’ve been produced by Wes Borland. It’s slick, it’s catchy, but it’s still heavy and weirdly dark.


“Dysfunctional” (feat. Big Scoob & Krizz Kaliko) off Sickology 101

“Dysfunctional” makes the cut out of pure respect for the growth of Tech’s career. Before 2011’s All 6’s and 7’s, there weren’t a slew of A-list collaborations like Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, T.I and others to highlight. It was just Tech and his Kansas City crew dropping crazy rap records. “Dysfunction” is the cream of the crop off of all the fantastic records that came before All 6’s and 7’s, like Absolute Power, Everready, K.O.D (my personal favorite Tech record), and others.


Did your favorite collaboration not make the list? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Written by Matthew Leimkuehler (he talks about Tech N9ne a lot. Follow him on Twitter).

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4 Responses to “UTG LIST: The 8 Most Out-Of-This-World Tech N9ne Collaborations”

  1. Britt Hicks says:

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    http://followthebush.com/GifMaker

  2. ChinoX813 says:

    “Shroud” off the new album is produced by the film composer who did the scores for Insidious, The Conjuring & Repo……… That one is pretty off the wall.

    Tech has the most diverse collaboration list in the history of rap. He’ll work with just about anybody, from some guy he met rapping at 7/11 to the worlds biggest stars like Eminem & Lil Wayne.

  3. Matthew Leimkuehler says:

    So true! And I did not know he worked with a score composer on this last record. So awesome. Another one to add to the list of immecable collaborations.

  4. Matthew Leimkuehler says:

    I also wanted to add “Psycho Bitch III” to the list because Hopsin’s verse is OUTRAGEOUS — but I couldn’t find a YT for it at the time of the post; therefore felt it was cool to pay homage to pre-2011 Tech with the last entry.