On June 27th, Billboard Magazine lended truth to the old Hip Hop saying “real recognize real”.

Tech’s 20+ years of experience in Hip Hop and relentless independent grind have earned him a spot on Billboard’s 2012 “Urban Power List”, which lists all the biggest movers and shakers in the urban music business today.

Now to Technicians, this isn’t exactly breaking news. We’ve known all along that Tech N9ne has given more to the art of Hip Hop than he has necessarily been given credit for and that his independent business model is the envy of head-scratching executives and PR agencies across the globe. Tech’s fan-first mentality has been the saving grace in letting the world hear his otherwise mainstream-shunning music, and his FTI attitude has only added fuel to the fire that is his recent success.

The fact that he can spend years saying “fuck the industry” and then turn around and sell 56,000 copies without a radio single or any major label backing is just God damn inspiring. Where as many artists end up changing their content and losing who they really are (along with a shitload of fans) as a direct result of marketing campaigns and poor PR moves, Tech N9ne has remained the same weird, face-painting, genre-hopping emcee that made all of us Technicians love him in the first place–and it’s worked!

Moreover, it’s becoming apparent that Tech’s fan-friendly approach was right all along, and we are starting to see little inklings of this becoming the norm not just in the music industry, but throughout entertainment. As HipHopDX’s Editor In Chief Jake Paine recently pointed out, there is a trend emerging in music and entertainment in general in which the product is being put out for free as well as for sale, as major and independent labels alike realize that if the product is dope, real fans will pay for it.

Nothing shows the success of this trend more than Tech’s Klusterfuk EP, which has sold over 20,000 copies in just a few months with ZERO PHYSICAL ADVERTISING. Tech relied solely on Strange Music’s unparalleled social media reach and the love of Technicians everywhere to make Klusterfuk a real success, something that very few people could replicate.

I truly believe this is the future of the entertainment industry , and I can’t think of anyone we have to thank for this more (at least in the musical realm) than Tech N9ne, Travis O’Guinn, and the rest of the Strange Music camp.

This development may not be a huge surprise to us long time fans, but damn is it dope to see our dude Tech mentioned among the likes of Jay-Z and Dr. Dre and finally receiving the respect he’s so long deserved.

– Written by Brent Bradley, Senior Editor, TheDharmaOfDope.com

Click here to see Billboard Magazine’s 2012 Urban Power List

• What do you think of Tech N9ne making the list?
• What does this say for his position in the music business?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!