The Singles Jukebox

Tech-sicity.

[Video][Website]
[5.00]

Alfred Soto: Meaningful, and the strain shows, as if the writers called 1-900-PAIN. 
[4]

Josh Langhoff: It’s gratifying to see Strange Music’s material success — placing eight titles on the Rap Albums chart this year, more than any other label, and luring a host of famous people to appear on Tech’s Something Else. The label offers hope for economic recovery; I hope they’re not being jerks about employee health insurance. “Straight Out the Gate” is a model of quality product on a budget. Seven’s beat is sample-free (yes?) and the video’s chief expense seems to have been a really big video screen. Serj does his Serj thing but Tech sells the song with a couple different flows per verse, memorable lines about the grave digger and double jointedness, charming “r” sounds, and obvious pleasure in doing his job well.
[7]

Anthony Easton: Ominous in the worst ways, like a teenage Billy Corgan, from the children talking to the abstracted production of the vocals, but charming in its pretensions.
[5]

Edward Okulicz: Tech’s great on this, roaring and raging terrifically and sounding at ease over the crunch of the beats and the brief rip of guitars. Lots of great rhymes and sections that don’t look much on paper but work fantastically too: “now they crawlin’ back ’cause I’m tall as Shaq” and the “anointed/double-jointed” pair in particular. The organ and the kids’ chorus would be a better fit for a campy medieval musical though, which coupled with Tankian’s ultra-earnest delivery on his hook comes across as being funny in a less than flattering way. Those bits are mercifully brief though.
[7]

Brad Shoup: Tech’s daubed pretty much every color on the Dark Palette by now. He’s done the existential horrorcore, the demonology, the serial killer thing — I think he was even in the Four Doinks at one point. As Juggalo-courting camp, it’s pretty good, though the inclusion of Serj Tankian feints towards something outward-looking. He’s sounding particularly wheedly — and remarkably sanctimonious for saying nothing. As for Tech N9ne, he leans on the chopper style sparingly. Mostly he’s all growl and snap, a grown man/independent contractor pulling up the tights and stepping into the ring for the fun of it. It sure as hell isn’t for the healthcare.
[6]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Serj Tankian is an incredible vocalist, as anybody who owns the System of a Down discography will attest, as nimble or nasal or nasty as he wants to be. But oh lord, nobody should be letting him on stompathon hip-hop tracks to off-key bleat about “holding guns while reading biiii-blllesss“. Especially when Tech — a technical beast who appears to be the ultimate hip-hop cult artist — can outsing him without even trying. Tech bustles on regardless, but Tankian did him pretty foul on this one, yikes.
[3]

Crystal Leww: This sounds like what happens when conscious rap combines with System of a Down politics and sonics. Oh wait…
[3]