Throughout his legendary career, Kansas City Chopper Tech N9ne has assembled one of the game's most versatile repertoires. Though his earlier work certainly featured elements of a more metal-focused sound, later music found him experimenting with the genre head-on. Collaborations would range from Kendrick Lamar and Eminem to Slipknot's Corey Taylor and System Of A Down's Serj Tankian. Few could decimate a mosh-pit like the King Of Darkness, even if some of his base weren't feeling the direction. Still, it's part of what makes Tech such an innovator; his adherence to following his musical instincts and paying homage to what he loves.
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Yesterday, Tech took to Instagram to reply to a narrative pitting Eminem as a "culture vulture," one that has been shared by a few prominent voices in hip-hop media. "I was raised on music," begins Tech. "All types of music. First was gospel. Rap smacked me. Then RnB. Blues. Jazz. Then fucking rock! So I was influenced by music that I was raised on. So when I do songs like "Wither," "Starting To Turn," "Uralya," et cetera, et cetera, I am just doing music that I love and feel. Not only do I do hip-hop shows. I do hard rock shows and festivals and shit too. I can open up for Kanye and 2 Chainz and the next day do Knotfest n***a. I've done it. In that order."
"So when you see me at rock shows, and you know my base is in hip-hop, does that make me a culture vulture? No. So why the fuck ya'll say it about Eminem then? Like he didn't grow up listening to hip-hop. Ya'll know he did. Let's talk about it." Clearly, it's all love between Tech and Em, who have collaborated on several occasions now; "The Wake Up Show Freestyle" being their first, "Speedom" being their second. While they were originally meant to unite on the Everready banger "My World," Em was ultimately unable to contribute.