In 2013, Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne made an appearance on Ohio radio station Power 107.5 to speak about his latest project, Something Else, and about his influences. Moreover, he even revealed his favourite rappers.
Revealing some of his favourite artists, the artist (real name Aaron Yates) unveiled, “Eminem is in there, Tech N9ne is in there. Tupac is in there. The Notorious B.I.G. is in there.”
He then continued to name some New York legends, stating, “Big L is in there. Nas is in there. Jay Z is in there. Kendrick Lamar is in there. And one more. Let’s see. It’s gotta be somebody good, man.” He even named some golden age artists, disclosing, “It’s between KRS-One and Rakim. Aw, man. I wish it was 10, man. Then I’d be perfect, but 9. I’ma say KRS-One. He did things that made me want to rap. I’ve been in the crowd when he did ‘The Bridge is Over.’”
He then continued, “I’ve been in the crowd when Prince used to have Glam Slam down in downtown L.A. back in the day, back in like ’93, I was in the crowd. I’ve been right there with BDP. Rest in peace, Scott La Rock. I’m a humungous fan. Not taking nothing away from Rakim because I’m a humungous fan as well, but I’ll say KRS-One for my 9.”7
Kendrick Lamar was the only contemporary rapper Yates included on his list, and the two MCs have been collaborators for a long time. Lamar was featured on Tech N9ne’s 2013 project Something Else, with a guest verse on the track ‘Fragile.’ Tech N9ne also praised Kendrick Lamar for his verse on Big Sean’s ‘Control.’
Tech N9ne has since released six full-length studio albums, including, Special Effects, The Storm, Planet, N9na, Enterfear and Asin9ne. You can see Tech 9ne’s favourite rappers in the video below.
Tech N9ne’s favourite rappers of all time:
- Eminem
- Tech N9ne
- 2pac
- Biggie Smalls
- Big L
- Nas
- Jay-Z
- Kendrick Lamar
- KRS-One
