For years, Tech N9ne, 43, was preaching the gospel. Rather than put himself in the hands of a record major label, he took control of his own destiny and launched his own label: Strange Music. With a rabid fan-base that clings to him at the hip, he has created an uncontrollable machine that has major labels drooling. In 2014, he made Forbes’ Cash Kings list by racking in $8 million—all from his Strange Music imprint, topping the likes of Rick Ross, J.Cole, and others. 

Since 1999, he has released 14 albums and on May 4. Special Effects will serve as his 15th, which features collaborations and cameos from Eminem, Lil Wayne, Corey Taylor, T.I., 2 Chainz, Excision and more. Instead of insipidly serving vanilla to his fans, Tech N9ne dips into every genre in hopes of making a flavorful sounding project for everyone to enjoy. 

He sat down with Myspace to discuss being the Independent King of Rap, his most surprising feature on Special Effects, his relationship with his late mother, the beauty behind his shows, his hopes of one day working with Jay Z, and his insane work ethic. It’s time to get strange with the head of Strange Land, Tech N9ne. 

How does it feel being dubbed the "Independent King of Rap?" 

TN: Man, that's such a wonderful thing to hear. But after all our blood, sweat, and tears of us fighting to get this Strange Music thing poppin' like we've been doing since '99 or 2001 when we put out Angelic Man, it's so well-deserved, man. We've paved the way for a lot of independent artists to this day. So for them to name me the king, I feel like that it's well-deserved, but we worked hard for it. 

You have a pretty rabid fanbase in your hometown of Kansas City. How would you describe the fanbase and also the music scene from your perspective?

TN: The fanbase is very active there. The music scene is also very active. There's a show always at the Riot Room. There's a show always at the Record Bar. There's a show always at the Sprint Center. There's always something going on in hip-hop, R&B, jazz, and metal. The music scene is so alive. If it wasn't, this wouldn't have happened because it has to start at home, you know what I mean? This buzz started in Kansas City, you know what I mean? If there wasn't a music scene that was crazy, it wouldn't have spread like it did in Kansas City and ventured over to other towns, cities, and states. 

You have a bevy of genres that are exploding in Kansas. Was that a reason for you to implement these different sounds like EDM and Rock to your new album Special Effects?

TN: Well, this happened all the way back from when I was a youngster, when I was a kid, when I was in my single-digits, you know what I mean? My family, my uncles, my aunties—I started my Strange Music label because I'm a Doors fan. That's why I started this label Strange Music, because I'm a crazy fan of the Doors, Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek—rest his soul.

That's why I was able to work with them on the last album—the existing members of the Doors, right before Ray passed. I got to drink wine with them and talk about Jim. I recorded a song called "Strange 2013," which was such a milestone for me because their music inspired me later on in my life to start something that saved my life: Strange Music. That's my record label. So me being into rock and all different types of genres started when I was a kid and if you listen to my music, from my very first album, the rock was already all in there. The jazz was already all in there. Now, throughout the years, we got into EDM. When it came about, we loved it. So that's why Excision is on the album because we love that genre as well. So this isn't something new I'm doing brother. The only thing new is the major features.

Speaking of the major features, outside of Eminem and Lil Wayne, which feature surprised you the most from the album?

TN: Surprised me the most? Slipknot's Corey Taylor.

How so?

TN: Because I'm such a fan of their music from when I found out about them in 1999 and I've always wanted to work with them since then because I felt the raps within the metal. I heard the scratching within the metal. I heard the metal. I heard the pain. I heard everything that I had from within myself. That's why I call myself a maggot to this day because Slipknot fans are called "Maggots." The lowest of the low, but we rise from being the lowest from the low and we touch other people, you know what I mean? It's so wonderful. So for me to finally get that Corey Taylor co-sign and him loving the song that I presented to him backstage at this show with Korn, it just blew me away man. Blew me away. 

Let's segue over to your single, "Hood Go Crazy," featuring 2 Chainz and B.o.B. I remember you explaining on The Breakfast Club how your hardcore fans weren't too pleased with you choosing to go that route in terms of your single. How do you balance appeasing your fans while also doing what you feel is best for yourself musically? 

TN: I don't, I don't. I've always done what I felt. I mean, from the beginning, I've done party music. I've done dark music. I've done sexual music. I've done confused music. I've done gang-bang music. I mean, I'm human. I used to be a dancer, so of course, I'm gonna have party music.

I don't care about what somebody might not like—you know what I'm saying? Because I'm three-dimensional. I used to trip on that like, "How can you say you don't like my party songs? [Is it] because I'm three-dimensional?"

Some people who like the darkness, don't wanna hear about bitches and titties and this, that, and the other, you know what I'm saying? The people that wanna hear bitches and titties don't wanna hear about my religious beliefs. So when you're three-dimensional, you're always gonna have that disagreement with a certain amount of your fans.

That's natural in Strange Land because that's how I created it. They're gonna fight all the time over, "Oh my God! He's working with 2 Chainz. Why would he do that? Why would he do that with Lil Wayne? Why is he doing the mainstream stuff with Kendrick Lamar? Oh my God! Tech is going mainstream."

No, mainstream is going Tech. Beautiful music will always be here. If you take it back to the beginning where I started, there have always been these three elements: The King, The Clown, and The G. So with that being said, there's always going to be these different levels of music. 

At the end of the day, you can't please everybody. You just gotta do what you feel. 

TN: Yeah, you gotta do what you feel because if you start doing stuff to appease other people... just think if I went towards the dark fans and they say, "Oh, I wanna hear more dark music. I want another dark album." I would say I'll never do another dark album like KOD, King of Darkness, because it took me down in a hole.

I thought my mom was dying back then in '09. I'd never do it again, but the darkness shall still be there because my mom just passed from lupus. So there's still gonna be that element, and those other elements are gonna be there because I am human and I've been that way since I've started and I will never just go to one side and say, "Oh this is what's gonna make me the most money. 'Hood Go Crazy' is gonna make me the most money, so I'm just gonna do a whole album of that." Nooo! I'm gonna keep doing what I do, but that element will be there for those people.

I hear you. I want to extend my condolences to your mother passing away. Can you tell me about the relationship that you shared with her and how she impacted your music, especially making Special Effects?

TN: Thank you. She always wanted me to do it for Christ. You know, she's a servant of Lord Jesus Christ. I went to church every day when I was little. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you know, always in church. And she always wished that I would do it for Christ. So you hear those religious undertones in my music, you know what I mean? You hear me talking to God. That's for my mom.

That godliness, that angel heart that I speak of when I say, "Evil Brain, Angel Heart," that angel heart came from her and she's right there with me all the time. So she's been a focal point of my career since I started with Angelic. She's been sick my whole life. So that's been my torment. That's my darkness, my mom's sickness. Now, she's free and now I feel like she's been cheated all her life. So there's still darkness.

I feel you. For someone that has never been to your shows in person, how would you describe the atmosphere, because I've always heard that it's pure mayhem? 

TN: Yeah, it's mayhem, man. It's rock, hip-hop, R&B, classical, athletic, and ambidextrous. It's left, right, up, and down. It's a roller-coaster ride, man. If I had to use one word to describe the show, it would be energy—you know what I'm saying? It's so much energy and we do it for real. We don't use the backtrack or anything. We do it for real. 

You've mentioned in the past the importance of performing in terms of establishing longevity in rap. Do you feel the essence of performing has gotten better over time, or worse?

TN: I don't think nobody does it like us in industry, period. I think there are people that go hard like Busta Rhymes and Spliff, Redman and Method Man, but there's nobody on radio or television that scares us because we're one of a kind. I would probably say with the youngsters, it's probably decreased. The old school taught me, you know what I'm saying?

So I know how important a good show and energy is and what they mean a lot to the fans. It shows that you took time to give them a show and they'll come back and say, "You have to see this." They'll take their friends back and then the capacity of the show gets bigger. With things like that, you grow because you do a wonderful show. You do a subpar show, nobody wants to come back. "I've seen him once; I don't need to see him again." That's not a Tech N9Ne show. It's gonna change every time. Now I've added a fan because I want to take it to a higher height. After all these years, this the second tour that I've ever done it with a live band. Wonderful. 

I know you weren't able to get the Jay Z feature that you wanted for this album. Is that something you're still looking out for the next time around?

TN: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna keep knocking at Hov's door because I want to rap with all the best, you know what I'm saying? Eminem is the best. Hov is the best. Drake is the best. I want to work with OutKast, who's the best. I want to work with Lana Del Rey, who's the best. Marsha Ambrosius is the best. I just work with the best.

On this album, I had Slipknot. On the last album, I worked with the best in System of the Down. The album before that, I worked with the Doors. So I just want to work with the best artists [like] Collie Buddz. I wanna work with the best. Umm, Trent Reznor, Metallica, I wanna keep going, man. I wanna keep doing music with the best that I think are the best. 

I still can't fathom how you're able to do over 200-250 shows a year. It's like a never-ending marathon. How do you prepare yourself physically and mentally to perform year out with that same intense energy?

TN: Thank you. I never look at all the dates that I have to do. I just get on the bus, take my underwear, my socks, a few pair of jeans, a few pair of shoes, and my show clothes are already on the bus. My uniform is already on the bus. I just don't look. I just go, man. This is my habitat.

I feel like the Lord is preserving me for some greater purpose. I don't know. I hope it's rap. I hope it's music bringing countries together or stopping what's going on in Nigeria or stopping what's going on in Al-Qaeda, or all these crazy ass groups. Hopefully, it's something greater.

But right now, I'm getting closer to world domination. That's what we been trying to get, man. The music moves me and it keeps getting better. If it keeps getting better, I have to keep getting better with it, you know I mean?

What I mean is like my health. You know, I'm trying to slow down on the drinking. I'm fucking trying to lose my belly that I gained over the holidays, so I can finally get this Strange Music tat on my belly, big as hell, with the last words that my mom said to me before she died in the middle: "L.A.J.F.A." She only wanted Liberty and Justice For All before she died. That's what she kept saying. That's my goal. 

Tech N9ne is currently on tour—see live dates here. Special Effects will be out May 4 on Strange Music.