With a new sense of appreciation and sympathy for our armed forces, Tech N9ne penned the now beloved second verse to “The Noose” from Welcome To Strangeland. The impact of the track can be felt all over as those who serve continue to applaud Tech N9ne for his tribute to the stress and harsh reality of living as a man protecting his country. For Robert Nix, “The Noose” has become a direct connection to his fallen friend and fellow Marine, Lance Corporal Jason Daniel Hill.

As he moves on with the memory of Jason, Robert finds a unique comfort in Tech N9ne’s “The Noose”. Doing his best to keep Jason’s memory alive, he contacted us with his take on “The Noose” and what it means to his experience with losing a close friend:

“My Name is Robert Nix. I wanted to write and thank you for ‘The Noose’. I had an old high school friend pass away recently while deployed to Afghanistan. His rank and name is L CPL (Lance Corporal) Jason Daniel Hill. He went out on a patrol and they were ambushed and he got shot and for the longest time I was struggling with it. As much as I loved the Marine Corps for everything it has done for me, I hated it for taking away a good Marine and an even better friend. I would break down all the time, and just couldn’t seem to cope with it no matter how hard I fought the tears back…until I heard ‘The Noose’. Initially I hated the the song because it made me remember my fallen brother and it made me break down. Over time though it’s grown to be more of a song of healing for me. I realized that with me having heard this song which makes me think of him, that it makes me reminisce on my memories of times with him in high school and in the Marine Corps. I just hope you get a chance to read this and see that you have touched another life. I’ve attached a couple pictures of Jason and one of myself.

The one with no shirt might need some explanation to understand. That day he picked up the rank PFC (Private First Class) and in the Marines, especially in the infantry, when you pick up rank you get your new rank for the collar of your uniforms. Before you can put them on your uniforms someone takes your new rank and sets them into your collar spikes down. He walked around that whole night with those things in his chest, with people hitting them to set them more and more, and he never once complained. It’s just a good picture to show how devoted he was to the Marines, and to protecting his country, friends and family. Thank you SO much Tech and everybody at Strange. I love all your music. It;s phenomenal, and this song is one more way for me to pay homage to my friend in my own Strange way.”

Once we spoke with Robert, he elaborated on what “The Noose” meant to him and how exactly it helped in coping with the loss of Jason:

“When I hear the song, yeah I get a little down because it’s a very somber song and topic. I have lost three good friends this year alone who were also in the Marines, but Jason was the first that I had known prior to the Corps, so it hits me hard because I think of him, and there is always that thought of ‘What if I deployed with him? Could I have saved him? Would i have died with him?’ But when I hear this song those thoughts all take a back seat to just thinking about him, period. Bottom line is that he died defending this country and all his loved ones. I don’t think he would have had it any other way. So the song makes me proud of him and since I know he’s never going to leave my heart and mind he isn’t really gone to me, he is just…taking a long vacation. I know I will see him again one day. ‘The Noose’ helped me realize this.”

Robert is not the only one to find a deep connection to the meaning behind “The Noose”. Soldiers and Marines everywhere are finding their own solace within Tech N9ne’s somber tribute. When things seem to be overwhelming, Tech N9ne’s words have the ability to put things into perspective. Taking note of this, Robert shared his opinion on why the song is more important than some may think:

“Music is a lot bigger to those of us in the armed forces than some may realize, especially when you’re deployed. It may be ALL you have. Music can take you out of whatever shit hole place you are for three to five minutes and make you feel like everything is back to normal–like you aren’t worried about getting shot at by insurgents or you aren’t completely miserable sweating your ass off in Afghanistan. Music play a HUGE influence on us, especially songs like ‘The Noose’ that touch on topics that others are afraid to talk about. Why? I believe it’s because people don’t want to face the cold truth that, yeah, we are proud to serve, but it doesn’t change the fact that our plates are full and maybe too much for us to cope with sometimes. It brings to light a topic that either a lot of people ignore, or honestly have no clue about. Yeah we’re ‘Soldiers’, ‘Sea Men’, and ‘Marines’, but we’re still susceptible to life happenings, getting over burdened with everything and being pushed to the limit.”

Dealing with the loss of a close friend is hard enough in everyday life, but when these young men form a bond during their time serving this country, it can be even more difficult. Tech N9ne did not seek to offend anyone, instead he intended to give these men something they could feel and relate to. As a loyal individual, it was important to Robert to keep Jason on everyone’s mind. He left us with some parting words dedicated to his friend:

“Jason was an amazing person. He was such a positive person. He was that guy that you could walk up to and tell that you had a problem and he would actually listen and care for your situation, or he would just shoot the shit with you. He just gave off this aura that anyone could see. He was good people and one of the best friends anybody could ever have.”

Strange Music continues to support all individuals serving this country. We wish them a safe return and encourage our fans to show their support as well. Leave some comments for Robert below!

-Victor Sandoval, Assistant Editor Strange Music

Follow Victor on Twitter: @VicMSandoval

In Loving Memory of Jason Daniel Hill