Regardless, “Everready (The Religion)” should be a welcome addition to any hip-hop enthusiast’s collection, as long as they don’t expect sugar-coated songs about flashy cars. It seems like Tech N9ne is pretty happy with his spot in the rap world, viciously stating on “No Can Do” that “ You industry punks I hope you fakes die, cause most of these rappers have a queer eye for the straight guy”…it appears that Tech N9ne is one to tell it how he sees it. Tech N9ne’s “Everready (The Religion)” captivates when focusing on its aggressive nature, and while it tapers off in a few places due to filler and slower tracks, it still stands as a thrilling hip-hop album. The same can really be said for “Running Out of Time”, which has a slightly irritating sang chorus that seems to distract from Tech himself (though his speed verses are certainly a highlight of talent). “Come Gangsta”, while presenting tight lines, feels like it never takes off and just stays on the same plane the whole time. The second CD is largely forgettable, since nearly 75 percent of it does not feature Tech N9ne (on song and on credits). However, as with the case of most double-disc collection, the presence of filler is nearly unavoidable. One of Tech N9ne’s bigger hits, “Caribou Lou”, thrusts Tech N9ne’s lyrical ability into the spotlight, using the trippy beat and back-up voice synths as supports to push the party song even further (not to mention the drink he refers to repeatedly sounds incredible). When we through rockin the shows, man we chase kittens”. And it was a cute date too, 9/9, Tech N9ne 9/9 but I missed it because it took me longer to do all these songs and if I would have made that date I wouldn’t have had the song with Marsha. We ain't come for bustin heads, yea we hate trippin.
The classic iron drum beat on “Bout ta Bubble” is only infections due to Tech N9ne’s witty tongue and rolling lines, not to mention a bit of odd humor: “ Yo, get ya ID, passport, state skippin, All around the world, busy with the bass hittin. Tech N9ne’s rhyme and lyrical delivery is more than just effective it’s what often what moves the song along. But it’s in Tech’s natural hostility that “Everready” excels, with “No Can Do” and “The Beast” being jackhammer tracks with harsh beats and sharp tongues.
The whole “Everready” album is a trip down rap’s paths of insanity, occasionally throwing a reassuring, smooth rhymed piece such as “The Rain” and “The Flash”, which focus more on Tech N9ne’s ability to create various beats (with “The Rain” utilizing what sounds similar to keyboard tuned to sound like an organ). The furious opener “Riot Maker” is venom-laced tale of Tech’s issue with Honolulu’s agents who refused to allow him to perform, calling his music “riot music” in retrospect, this couldn’t be any truer. “Everready (The Religion)” finds Tech N9ne utilizing drums, distorted guitars, popping basses, and gang chants to get his frustration out in center. Unlike most hip-hoppers and rappers of today’s music industry, Tech N9ne recalls back to the old days of aggression and hostility found in Wu-Tang Clan and Public Enemy (albeit sounding drastically different in a beat and rhyme delivery sense, mind you). For what it’s worth, the 2nd disc is essentially a collection of Strange Music label artists and a few songs written by Tech N9ne the real meat of the album comes through on the first disc.
In the wake of creating ambitiously large albums, “Everready (The Religion)” is a double-disc collection of original songs by Tech N9ne and other artists on his label, Strange Music. The game hasn’t always been kind to Tech, who in interviews has recalled hitting rock bottom with hardly any money to spare, but he persevered, and recently hit the million album sales mark.īut when you’ve got red spiked hair, you’re bound to get a few buyers for shock value alone. Originating as a top MC out of Kansas City, Tech N9ne has possessed a steadily growing reputation as one of the premiere underground rap artists. Tech is placing himself on both sides of the gun both literally and metaphorically, trying to find some unity in all of the confusion to combat a nation divided.Review Summary: We gonna start this shit off right.įor someone as seemingly underground as Aaron “Tech N9ne” Yates, he sure does have an extraordinarily large fan base. The complexities of the video are representative of those the song is trying to address. As the song and video reach a crescendo, Tech is approached by a pair of police officers (played by, you guessed it, Tech N9ne and his right-hand man Krizz Kaliko) while attempting to sell CD’s outside of a convenience store, a clear nod to the tragic events surrounding Louisiana native Alton Sterling’s murder by police this summer.Īfter the scenario plays out just as tragically as it did for Alton Sterling, Tech takes things a step further by rewinding the incident and showing things from the officer’s perspective, showing what may have happened had they given Tech’s character the chance to reach into his pocket.