​Still strange after all this time: Tech N9ne’s ‘Strange Wid It’ tour

By John Showalter

As hip-hop started to make its way into the national spotlight in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was largely split into two camps, “East Coast” and “West Coast”. Not content to be left out of a burgeoning new musical genre, the other parts of the country began to join in. It is against this backdrop that Aaron Dontez Yates, better known by his stage name Tech N9ne, made a name for himself.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Tech N9ne has established himself among the royalty of Midwestern hip-hop over the course of more than three decades. In 1999, he established his own record, Strange Music. He has sold over 2 million albums. His music has been featured in film, television and interactive media. He has worked with scores of other hip-hop artists like Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne. Not only that, but he is not afraid to cross genre lines and collaborate with rock and metal musicians like Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Chino Moreno of Deftones, Ronnie Radke of Falling in Reverse and Alex Terrible of Slaughter to Prevail. In 2021, he even brought world-famous pro wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on his track “Face Off” to spit some bars.

Occasionally Tech N9ne will step outside of the musical arena and take the occasional film or television role. He will even engage in the odd business venture on the side, such as developing a beer with Kansas City-based Boulevard Brewing Company called Bou Lou, a call out to his hit 2006 track “Caribou Lou.” Bou Lou is a wheat beer with coconut and pineapple flavors, and while it is only a seasonal offering, it sells out every time it goes on sale.

While the tour’s stop at the Fargo Civic Center marks one of the first handful of concerts at the venue after a long hiatus, it is hardly Tech N9ne’s first time in Fargo. “I’m pretty much a lifer,” he said. “The fandom keeps me coming through. For decades they’ve always come out. We always go where the fans will show.”

It is that sort of mindset that led Tech N9ne to carve out a niche in the hip-hop world. “We knew we were born and raised in Kansas City and wanted the whole world to know,” he said. He had to start from square one and perform on the coasts that dominated the scene of the time to establish a name for Midwestern hip-hop.

“It’s hella on your ego,” he said. “You start performing for a crowd of 20 people. But next time, it’s 30. Then it's 40.” And eventually, it becomes hundreds and thousands. “We went to all of those places and dominated.”

That sort of pioneering mindset is also what led Tech N9ne to do his cross-genre musical projects. “It’s been in my DNA,” he said. “I’ve had electric guitar and live drums in my music.”

That is not to say there was never pushback. He recalls that when he performed at Rockfest in Kansas City, he heard some grumbling about how it was “Rockfest” and not “Rapfest”.

“They’re in the minority,” he said, pointing out how the lines between rap and rock have always blurred together, from as far back as Aerosmith’s and Run-DMC’s collaboration on “Walk This Way” in the nineties to now. “Zack de la Rocha (of Rage Against the Machine) raps, Corey raps, Ronnie raps.”

Joining him on the “Strange Wid It” Tour is King Iso, who has been signed to his label Strange Music since 2019, and E-40, with whom he has collaborated before. “We’re both giants in the game.” Grand Forks-based rapper Jantzonia will also be performing at the Fargo date.

IF YOU GO:

Tech N9ne “Strange Wid It” Tour

Sunday, April 26, 8 p.m.

Fargo Civic Memorial Auditorium,

207 4th St. N., Fargo

jadepresents.com/event/2026-tech-n9ne-fargo/

Reach music writer John Showalter at john.d.showalter@gmail.com.