Tech N9ne - The Storm

Tech N9ne
The Storm
2016
Spotify

Last year's Special Effects was a triumph of underground rap. It was Tech dropping bar after bar of absolute fire only to be bolstered by feature after feature trying to get up to his level. Well, the same things can be said about this new record The Storm. It has it's dark elements, it's weird elements all the things that you would expect from a Tech N9ne record yet it still manages to feel modern. With a lot of underground rap the goal is often throwing it back to an older era. This can lead to dated beats, silly rhymes and the clutching on to a culture that may or may not be relevant anymore. Not Tech N9ne. He takes the throne as a King Clown ready to take on any single person in Hip Hop and beyond. Each track is filled with cutting references and vocal tricks to deep and varied to really dive in to, but when you hear them they light up that really special part of your Brain that wants to say "OOOOoooooo". "Hold On" which features singer Kate Rose seems destined to be another average rapper and singer ballad, but when Tech N9ne comes in He flips the script and does something totally out of left field. "Need Jesus" which we later learn is just the opposite of what Tech N9ne thinks is perhaps the best track on the record with assists from Steve Stone and JL but the next track "Siracha" is nipping right at it's heels.

Where people find the most fault with Tech N9ne is his weirdness. "Starting to Turn" features Jonathan Davis of Korn and for all intense and purposes is a rap/rock song straight from the early 2000s. The rhymes are great, but the rest around it is really awful. This is something He always does though, include some tracks that He really doesn't give a shit if people like. Tech N9ne wants to make music as weird as what is going on in his Head and on The Storm He succeeds for better or worse. What else could be better to follow a rap/rock track than a strange slide guitar electronic song "Poisoning The Well". His choices are just so fascinating on this record but sometimes they just don't fully pan out. The track with Boyz II men "Buddha" should be a highlight but it feels more kitschy then great. There are a few tracks on this very long record that seem a bit forgettable. However as you listen there is bound to be a line, or a beat which will pull you right back in. Tech N9ne just has something that is really special and really unique. Some people get it others don't, for those that don't: Figure your shit out.

8.8 out of 10