Awhile back we got a chance to talk to Tech N9ne before he headed out for his 2012 Canada tour. We asked about CES Cru’s EP 13 and what he thought about it. Tech N9ne had nothing but praise for CES Cru and their debut Strange Music project.

But along the way we also caught a bit of juicy information in the form of a potential act on Strange Music (one who made a devastating lyrical impression on Tech N9ne’s E.B.A.H. EP).

Who?

You have to read to find out…

I know you’re definitely a fan of all the guys on the roster, and that’s usually how you pick them, but it’s like you get into diehard fanatic mode when you listen to and talk about their shit, why did you want them on this label so bad?

Because they are extreme lyricists and they have content. They have shit to speak on. They have lived life and can talk to these motherfuckers, these youngsters, these old motherfuckers. They can talk to anybody just like me. They have the ability to get it across live also. All the things that we need at Strange Music they have, why not be with us? Same thing with JL. JL, he has content. JL is a motherfucker I’ve had my eye on for a long time. JL of B.Hood. I’m like “Yeah” and he can get it across live. You’ve got DJ Kittie on the 1s and 2s behind them. I saw them at the CES Cru signing party. I saw JL live for the first time and I’ve been knowing him since he was on the block when we were writing “Let’s Get Fucked Up” and doing Rogue Dog shit, when he was a little boy, a little kid playing basketball in the street. They’d come over to the house to hear the music and he just turned into this extreme fucking lyricist. That’s how I felt about CES Cru and that’s how I feel about JL. I don’t want to fucking sign nobody else for real, nowhere else if it ain’t JL first. Those people that you gotta have. Those lyricists that you gotta have that can actually speak on something and get it across live and have it be entertaining. Just game-changing shit, that’s what I want. CES Cru got that shit.

How important is it for you to snatch up dope acts from the hometown?

It’s very important because this is a homegrown thing. You can imagine how the homies feel when I signed Jay Rock, like “Damn…for real?” But Jay Rock is a talented motherfucker and he can get it across live and he’s a lyricist and he’s got fucking content. He’s not just talking about regular everyday bullshit. If you listen to his album Follow Me Home, he’s so young but he’s got so much fucking wisdom. I’m like “Damn, listen to the message in this muthafucka!” You know what I’m saying? “Just Like You, just like me” listen to that shit! It’s beautiful man! It’s important for us to find people in our town that are talented because there’s so much talent here. You’ve got The Popper here, you’ve got Nesto here, Craig Smith, thePhantom, Irv Da Phenom…I could keep going for days. It’s like “Wowww”. It’s very important to have people from the soil come with us all over the world to bring Kansas City everywhere, so you can imagine how I’m going to feel when I get to take CES Cru on a whole tour. You can imagine how they felt when they came to Colorado to do those shows with us on Hostile Takeover. Oh my goodness!

For sure, and what if someone else snatched them up and they blew up? That’d be like “Damn…” JL has this thing where he could be a good crossover act and he’s got bars for days.

He created this thing DIBKIS. He created a wristband that says DIBKIS and it stands for Doing It Big, Keeping It Strange. He did that on his own. That’s dope.

Back to the EP real quick. What are you hearing on this EP? How does it compare with their old shit?

I can tell that they’re stepping it up even more with the production and everything. The production is different, it’s bigger – and it’s supposed to get bigger, you know what I’m saying? The Playground shit is dope as fuck! It got my attention, but this EP, you could tell that they’re stepping it up even more. The sound is bigger and the lyrics are more intricate. It’s fucking insane. I can’t quite describe it but you’d have to hear it to understand some of the beats are weird as fuck but they are effective as a motherfucker. I’m listening to them loud on my big system downstairs on my house. I just stunted on you real quick. You need to ring the stunner bell like on the Sway show. (laughs)

I called them and said “Wowwww” just like I did when I listened to ¡MAYDAY!’s EP, Thrift Store Halos. I had to call them and say “God damn brothers!” And I’m fans of these motherfuckers so when I hear new things it’s like, when they give it to me at Strange, I might not say nothing but I’m like a kid in a candy store. I can’t wait to get home and throw it in my system. I don’t want to listen to nobody else – my shit bang.

Do you think this EP is going to surprise some people?

Yeah I think it’s going to surprise everybody. Well I don’t know because everybody already knows that they’re supreme lyricists. C’mon man. They did “Unfair”. Did you hear that shit? I still listen to “Unfair” all the time.

What do you think the response is going to be like?

I think they’re going to embrace it with open arms. These are Strange artists for real. It ain’t just like I found niggas to rap and they fit in with us kinda…no. These motherfuckers are Strange all day and they have been all their life. I just have the vehicle to get it to more people that they are Strange and unusual. Like Winona Ryder on Beetlejuice: Strange and unusual.

Who’s your favorite emcee in the group?

The favorite emcee out of the two on CES Cru? Oh my God! Who would ask that?

I’m sorry…bad joke.

They’re both my favorite! And I’m supposed to say this as the boss but think about it: Godemis and Ubiquitous have totally different flows, different sounds to their voice and everything, and that’s what makes them complete. They can both flip, they can both get serious, they can both talk about a bitch. They can both talk about religion. They’re one. Like UGK. You can’t say whether Bun B or Pimp C are the best, because they’re both equal! You just can’t say that. They’re together as one. When you hear both of their verses you love them equally. That’s how I feel about CES.

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• Would you like to see JL on Strange Music?
• What do you think he would bring to the label?

Leave your thoughts below!