Nick Augustine
English 2
Mrs.I
September 9, 2012
The album Anghellic by Tech N9ne paints an elaborate story of living life through poverty and also expresses a great amount of self-depression. The cd was initially released as a joint venture between Strange Music and JCOR Entertainment. The record is very intricately put together and goes through different stages, which are symbolic for the salvation of mankind. The beginning of the cd has a very dark overtone and includes songs like “Tormented” and “Hell”. As the songs continue to progress the mood of the songs begins to lighten up more and more until you reach the middle of the album and get to a song called “Purgatory”. This is the turning point for the album and the ideas expressed become more hopeful and also optimistic. At the end of the cd Tech finally reaches heaven and the songs begin to sound much more uplifting, this symbolizes Tech finding his salvation through God which inevitably releases him from his torment.
The album has received a great amount of conspiracy especially from conservative religious people. At first glance the work appears to be very demonic and satanic. The cover shows the rapper Tech N9ne screaming into the air with his braids flailing wildly in the air. He also has some sort of symbol painted onto his forehead that appears to be an upside down cross, as he tends to often have even to this day. The rest of the album art is even more dark and demonic including a portrait of Tech dressed up as the Devil himself with horns and a pitch fork. On the opposite side of the cd however there is the opposing art which portrays the rapper dressed as an angel resembling Gabriel. It is not uncommon at all for Tech to claim multiple personalities, some which are good and some evil. This phenomenon continues even into his most recent EP which will soon be released entitled E.B.A.H, which stands for evil brain angel heart. The evil side of himself he often refers to as the clown, this is because when he was a child he was very scared of clowns and for him to relate himself to one is symbolic for embracing his fears and desires and making them a part of his identity.
Even though the album has received its great deal of criticism and controversy is still remains today Tech N9ne’s greatest success selling over 200,000 copies as of date. The first week it grossed over 35,000, but the album sales tripled after a very smart marketing strategy was employed. There was a 30 second commercial put on networks which showed Tech standing in an all white room and offering to let people download the compact disk for free over the internet through his official website therealtechn9ne.com. He also had the letters F.T.I written on his forehead in paint which stands for fuck the industry. The success that came after airing this commercial came at a huge gamble, but it became clear it was an ingenious move that was most likely so successful because it occurred around the same time that Madonna was campaigning to stop downloading music off the internet.
My favorite song from the whole project is called “This Ring”. It basically paints the picture of how Tech gave up his wife in exchange for his life of super stardom and sexual encounters with different women. He basically makes official his marriage to the music and promises to stay with it through sickness and health. The lyrics of the song are strung together very quickly with excellent rhythm, and mostly deals with the temptation that he has faced trying to keep his family together while constantly having groupie bitches throwing themselves at him. The lyrics that stand out to me the most from the track is, “With all the fame and fortune shit ought to be fine but what happens when the divorce papers just gotta be signed? And you lose half and your children cause you gotta be N9ne.” To me Tech stands out as such a great musician for his ability to so accurately portray his feelings and his emotions to his fans through his music. The hook for this song announces “This ring brings demeaning demons in G-strings songs we sing make em fiend semen and green things. Clinging dreaming thinking of being Mrs. Thing with this ring, but if I wasn’t Tech N9ne bitches wouldn’t even want to be with Tech N9ne. If I did no music then would you respect mine? This wedding band and music draws the line between life and Tech N9ne.”
I regard Tech as one of the greatest rappers to ever step foot into the industry because of the fact that he did it all while remaining underground for the most part. While bringing Strange Music into the public eye, which is now a growing record label, makes him that much more interesting. Many people have failed at what Aaron Yates has excelled at and his career appears to still be in an incline because he is now performing more shows in more places than ever before. Tech is an inspiration and a legend that can trace almost all of his success back to one outstanding album, Anghellic.
Baker, Soren. "Tech N9ne - T9X The Tech 9 Experience [Full Documentary]." YouTube. MSC Music and Entertainment, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExXaDF-xuQ8>.
"Tech N9ne - Anghellic CD Album." CD Universe - Your Online Music Store. Muze Inc, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=5530017>
"Tech N9ne Biography." Letssingit.com. Tone Media, 12 July 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://artists.letssingit.com/tech-n9ne-4cw92/biography>.
"Tech N9ne - Hip Hop Underground." Hip Hop Underground - Home. Hip Hop Underground, Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hiphopug.com/tech-n9ne.html>.
English 2
Mrs.I
September 9, 2012
The album Anghellic by Tech N9ne paints an elaborate story of living life through poverty and also expresses a great amount of self-depression. The cd was initially released as a joint venture between Strange Music and JCOR Entertainment. The record is very intricately put together and goes through different stages, which are symbolic for the salvation of mankind. The beginning of the cd has a very dark overtone and includes songs like “Tormented” and “Hell”. As the songs continue to progress the mood of the songs begins to lighten up more and more until you reach the middle of the album and get to a song called “Purgatory”. This is the turning point for the album and the ideas expressed become more hopeful and also optimistic. At the end of the cd Tech finally reaches heaven and the songs begin to sound much more uplifting, this symbolizes Tech finding his salvation through God which inevitably releases him from his torment.
The album has received a great amount of conspiracy especially from conservative religious people. At first glance the work appears to be very demonic and satanic. The cover shows the rapper Tech N9ne screaming into the air with his braids flailing wildly in the air. He also has some sort of symbol painted onto his forehead that appears to be an upside down cross, as he tends to often have even to this day. The rest of the album art is even more dark and demonic including a portrait of Tech dressed up as the Devil himself with horns and a pitch fork. On the opposite side of the cd however there is the opposing art which portrays the rapper dressed as an angel resembling Gabriel. It is not uncommon at all for Tech to claim multiple personalities, some which are good and some evil. This phenomenon continues even into his most recent EP which will soon be released entitled E.B.A.H, which stands for evil brain angel heart. The evil side of himself he often refers to as the clown, this is because when he was a child he was very scared of clowns and for him to relate himself to one is symbolic for embracing his fears and desires and making them a part of his identity.
Even though the album has received its great deal of criticism and controversy is still remains today Tech N9ne’s greatest success selling over 200,000 copies as of date. The first week it grossed over 35,000, but the album sales tripled after a very smart marketing strategy was employed. There was a 30 second commercial put on networks which showed Tech standing in an all white room and offering to let people download the compact disk for free over the internet through his official website therealtechn9ne.com. He also had the letters F.T.I written on his forehead in paint which stands for fuck the industry. The success that came after airing this commercial came at a huge gamble, but it became clear it was an ingenious move that was most likely so successful because it occurred around the same time that Madonna was campaigning to stop downloading music off the internet.
My favorite song from the whole project is called “This Ring”. It basically paints the picture of how Tech gave up his wife in exchange for his life of super stardom and sexual encounters with different women. He basically makes official his marriage to the music and promises to stay with it through sickness and health. The lyrics of the song are strung together very quickly with excellent rhythm, and mostly deals with the temptation that he has faced trying to keep his family together while constantly having groupie bitches throwing themselves at him. The lyrics that stand out to me the most from the track is, “With all the fame and fortune shit ought to be fine but what happens when the divorce papers just gotta be signed? And you lose half and your children cause you gotta be N9ne.” To me Tech stands out as such a great musician for his ability to so accurately portray his feelings and his emotions to his fans through his music. The hook for this song announces “This ring brings demeaning demons in G-strings songs we sing make em fiend semen and green things. Clinging dreaming thinking of being Mrs. Thing with this ring, but if I wasn’t Tech N9ne bitches wouldn’t even want to be with Tech N9ne. If I did no music then would you respect mine? This wedding band and music draws the line between life and Tech N9ne.”
I regard Tech as one of the greatest rappers to ever step foot into the industry because of the fact that he did it all while remaining underground for the most part. While bringing Strange Music into the public eye, which is now a growing record label, makes him that much more interesting. Many people have failed at what Aaron Yates has excelled at and his career appears to still be in an incline because he is now performing more shows in more places than ever before. Tech is an inspiration and a legend that can trace almost all of his success back to one outstanding album, Anghellic.
Baker, Soren. "Tech N9ne - T9X The Tech 9 Experience [Full Documentary]." YouTube. MSC Music and Entertainment, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExXaDF-xuQ8>.
"Tech N9ne - Anghellic CD Album." CD Universe - Your Online Music Store. Muze Inc, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=5530017>
"Tech N9ne Biography." Letssingit.com. Tone Media, 12 July 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://artists.letssingit.com/tech-n9ne-4cw92/biography>.
"Tech N9ne - Hip Hop Underground." Hip Hop Underground - Home. Hip Hop Underground, Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hiphopug.com/tech-n9ne.html>.
