I’ve got rhythm in my bones. I’ve got rhyme in my bones, you know what I’m sayin’? In my blood so when I hear a dope beat I just have to go.
My imagery is a lot darker and less, you know, it’s not easy to swallow to some people, you know what I mean? But I won’t change it for the world.
I’m actually doing music ’cause I love to do it. You know I don’t have to do it but I want to do it because that’s all I know.
Because I always had something special I just been waitin’ on ‘erybody to fucking get it.
“I’m actually doing music ’cause I love to do it. You know I don’t have to do it but I want to do it because that’s all I know.” – Tech N9ne
Evan: He’s a rapper, song writer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur.
He’s sold over two million albums and have had his songs featured in film, TV and video games.
He’s one of the biggest selling independent rappers in the United States.
He’s Tech N9ne and here’s my take on his top ten rules for success.
Rule number three is my personal favorite and make sure to stick around all way to the end for some special bonus clips. Also as Tech N9ne is talking if he says something that’s really meaningful to you, please leave it in the comments below and put quotes around it so other people can be inspired as well. Enjoy.
Rule #1: Be Driven
I got rhythm in my bones. I got rhyme in my bones, you know what I’m sayin’? And in my blood, so when I hear a dope beat I just have to go, you know what I’m sayin’? Even if I’m tired and life is —- up, because of the divorce ain’t let up yet, you know what I’m sayin’?
My young one is sick, you know what I’m sayin’? Family is turnin’ on you ’cause of money and —- like that? Still when that dope beat hit you’re compelled to write on it, you know what I’m sayin’? and bust on it, you know what I’m sayin’? As long as I stay that way, man, I just turned 45 November 8th.
“I just turned 45 and I feel 22, ….. I don’t feel like I’m going to slow down no time soon brother.” – Tech N9ne
Male Host: My man.
Female Host: Oh wow.
You know what I’m sayin’? I just turned 45 and I feel 22, you know what I’m sayin’? I don’t feel like I’m going to slow down no time soon brother.
Rule #2: Hustle
Well a lot of artists don’t know that they got to get on the goddamn road and tour, you know what I’m saying’? You got to get the people knowin’ about you, man. You know, not just your hot single, man.
You got to get out there and politic. How do you politic? Through touring, man. You know what I’m saying’? Merchandise. You got a shirt with your name on it? You got a hat with your name on it? You know, these people are walkin’ billboards, you know what I’m saying’?
Female Host: Exactly.
You know you got to get out there and politic, man. And that’s how we did it. Man we just stayed on the road and even if there were like seven people in the audience when we went, we didn’t say “Okay, we ain’t goin’ back to San Diego, “’cause only seven people there” or “We ain’t goin’ back to New York ’cause we “only had ten people there.” We kept comin’ back and hammerin’ them over the head and the seven turned to a 100.
The 100 turned 500, you know what I’m saying’? To sellin’ out every time that we had to change venues. You know what I’m saying’? You got to get out there and politic, man. You got to get out there and tour. You got to get out there and sell your merchandise, man. And a lot of people, you know, they ain’t gon’ tell you this but it take a little money to start your own label. You feelin’ me? It take a little money to start it, you know what I mean? So all you niggas selling that shit in the hood put it into something good.
Rule #3: #Believe
” If you believe in it you will achieve in it. Just got to keep pushin” – Tech N9ne
If it’s in your heart, you have to push for it. If it’s in your heart. Because, I’m from Kansas City, Missouri, who would have ever thought that you can build an empire, but if you put your mind to it, and push for it, and push for it, no matter if your family tell you it’s a hobby, you need to do something else to get money, or whatever man it’s like, if you believe in it, you got to follow that dream in your heart man because, if I didn’t, there wouldn’t be any strange music to come do any interviewin’. Because I followed my dream. After everybody knocked me down. You have to push for it, if you believe in it you will achieve in it. Just got to keep pushin’. That’s what I have to say.
Rule #4: Find Your Path
Morris asked me, “Why don’t you write somethin’ and rap, “instead of spittin’ on everybody.” And I wrote it, and everybody liked it, and I started doin’ it more, and then I finally won a contest, first thing I ever won in my life.
The thing I won fell on my graduation day, so I chose to open up for EPMD, and Kwamé, all those people, at Kemper arena, in Kansas City, Missouri, rather than walk across the stage, right up the street where all my partners were graduating, and that’s when I knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life, you know.
Your graduation day, you get your diploma, and you choose something else, and then you end up doin’ what you do, what you planned on doin’. And you’re young, and it’s not written in blood that you’re going to make it, and you move from house to house, because you ran away from home at 17, you move from place to place, with family members and friends and everything, trying to do music and then you end up doin’ it, then you end up on the Forbes list, and working with all the people that inspired you, like Ice Cube, and The Doors, and Roger Troutman, you know, it’s wonderful, you know what I’m sayin’. So that was the most monumental to me.
Rule #5: Deliver Your Message
You know, I write my life, I’m not like a lot of rappers, you know what I’m sayin’, that write what they think is hot, or now. I’ll write what’s happening in my life, whether it’s partyin’, whether it’s sorrowful, whether it’s confused, you know what I mean, I’ll write that.
And, with that bein’ said, what inspires me is either reading something, or having something happen to me, that’s why I don’t believe in writers block. You know what I mean? Only thing I believe in is style block, how am I going to say this to people to make them listen.
♫ Narcissistic ♫ Hard to grip it ♫ Dark and wicked ♫ Arts prolific ♫ Mars with the stars, this is far lifted ♫ Lyrics, quit the bawitibaw scriptures are terrific, ♫ Get a spitter with a bit of bitter marketed, ♫ With scrilla then a fifth of Henny liquor ♫
Start to twist it It’s like, style block is the thing, but writers block, no, never.
“I write my life, I’m not like a lot of rappers, …. that write what they think is hot, or now.” – Tech N9ne
Rule #6: Be Yourself
My very first album in ’96 was The Calm Before The Storm. So I knew, 20 years later, If I named this album The Storm, it was going to push me to do the best music I could possibly do, and I did it. And I know I ain’t supposed to say that, but it’s real.
“I won’t change it for the world, because they going to have to accept all of me, not just one dimension of me” – Tech N9ne
Interviewer: What makes you say that though.
Beause I’m always feelin’ like I have a chip on my shoulder and I have to prove myself because I’m the weird kid, you know what I’m sayin’, I look different, I paint my face, this, that and the other.
You know what I’m sayin’, my imagery is a lot darker, and less, it’s not easy to swallow to some people, you know what I mean, but I won’t change it for the world, because they going to have to accept all of me, not just one dimension of me, you know what I mean, but when you got that other dimension going up, you know what I mean, like he’ll go crazy and fragile, you know what I’m sayin’. People tend to try to say, “You should just do that one thing”, but I’m three. You know what I’m sayin’, I’m not one. So they got to accept all of me.
Rule #7: Do What You Love
I always knew that I had something special, and that’s just validation after all these years for Eminem to come through, for Slipknot to come through and do that for me, and I’ve been a maggot since ’99, for those who don’t know what a maggot is, it’s a Slipknot fan, you know, it’s a metal band, you know, for those people to come through for me that I’ve been wanting to work with for over a decade, and you have to take the beat to these people, and the thought like, you have to give them something that they really like. I had to play that for Corey Taylor backstage at an arena, you know what I’m saying.
Interviewer: What’s going through your head while you’re playing it? Are you like watching their facial expressions to see if they’re with it.
No.
Interviewer: Are you looking down, like what’s going on.
Well, I’m at a point in my life, where I know this shit is dope, you know what I’m sayin’. So, I’m playin’ it for him, like smilin’, you know, and they listenin’ to me, and they hear some of my lyrics, and they start smilin’, and then I start smilin’ some more, and then Corey Taylor was like, “Okay, what if I said, da-da-da-da-da-la”, you know, like woah, yeah, yes, yes. You know what I’m sayin’, so it’s just, it feels wonderful to work with people that you’ve been listening to for over a decade, and being right there with them, and they with you, all the way man, you know what I mean. I have no words. Even though I just said a lot of words, I have no words.
Interviewer: It’s just dope to see you so excited about it, I mean you know some people been in the industry, and then they’re just like, “Yeah the albums coming out.”
No.
Interviewer: You’re hype bro, and it’s like a whole new life and energy bro.
Oh it is a whole new life, every time an album comes out man, but this one is by far my best work, in my opinion. I’m actually doing music because I love to do it. You know, I don’t have to do it, but I want to do it, because that’s all I know.
Rule #8: Expect Success
Fragile was good, a really good song, but it’s political man, you know what I’m sayin’, they don’t know what to do with this guy, you know what I’m sayin’. So now that Everybody But Me is just me and with Bizzy on the hook, and Krizz Kaliko, it’s going to be harder, because they just got to sell me. Like, okay, you ain’t got no features on it? Not Kevin Gates? Which I love Kevin Gates, but not Kevin Gates? You don’t have Future on it?
You don’t have Young Thug on it? Wait, it’s just Tech N9ne? okay, we’ll see, let us listen. It’s a good song. So it’s workin’, but we going to see. You know what I’m sayin’, it’s harder, so people, your question was, you know, is it weird that everybody’s on the jock right now, I expected it, because I always had something special. I just been waiting on everybody to fuckin’ get it.
Rule #9: Express Creatively
This is how I built it though, I wanted it to be, I wanted Tech N9ne to be my favorite MC times ten, you know what I’m sayin’. So I painted him that way, you know, I actually painted him too. In regular form, I’m really respectful. But when that face paint goes on, I’m —.
Interviewer: Is that why you do it, to sort of transform into another character, the face paint.
I think it’s not transforming into another character, I think it’s like shielding me, and what’s inside of me, actually, what’s in there will come out, you know what I’m sayin’, but I wouldn’t regularly say to people in regular form, you know what I’m sayin’, because I’m a pretty shy dude, so.
The face paint is kind of like a shield, like okay I can hide behind this, and say whatever the — I want to, you know what I’m sayin’, I can tell the world that I don’t give a —, you know what I’m sayin’. If it ain’t about love, I’ll — you up, you know. So, yeah I think that face paint does a lot for me. I know it does, I feel like a superhero when that — on.
Rule #10: Give Everything
I want people to know that I bring love through music, man you know, I bring happiness, even if it’s dark man, you know, a lot of the soldiers from Afghanistan come to me and they say, “You got me through when I was over there man, “your music got me through.”
“I just want to be the guy that they know that was 100% inside-out.” – Tech N9ne
Even doctors coming to my shows and say, “Man, that song The Rain, “where you’re talking about being away from your children, “I felt it.” You know, athletes come to me, “Man, that song”, you know what I’m sayin’, “Riot Maker gets me pumped up before the show.” you know what I mean, James Hetfield, of Metallica, said, “We love Einstein”, you know what I’m sayin’, “We listen to Einstein before we go on.”
You know, just crazy stuff man. I want to be remembered for the guy that brought happiness, you what I’m sayin’, the guy that brought that stuff that was so influential, man, you know what I mean, even if I’m talking about me almost dying from drugs, you know, been clean for like four years, I know it didn’t look like it when I was just scratching my neck, but I been clean for four years.
I just want to be the guy that they know that was 100% inside-out. He gave everything. And my reward is great. And my fan base keeps growing and growing and growing man, right before my eyes. It’s crazy.
*******
Thank you guys so much for watching, I made this video because Mad Marlan asked me to, so if there’s a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it in the comments below, and I’ll see what I can do.
I’d also love to know what did Tech N9ne say that had the biggest impact on you, what did you learn from this video that you’re going to immediately apply to your business or life. Please leave it in the comments below, and I’m going to join in the discussion.
Finally wanted to give a quick shout out to Jennifer Price, Jennifer thank you so much for being in the book, helping with the book, but also taking that awesome picture while you’re doing Christmas shopping, and posting it as well, I really really really appreciate it.
So thank you guys again for watching, I believe in you, I hope you continue to believe in yourself and whatever your one word is. Much love, I’ll see you soon.
BONUS
Connect Emotionally
Interviewer: But here’s the thing though, people see you on stage, they see you on tour for years, we know you do well, it’s documented. But I try to get onlookers, fans, listeners, to understand that there’s no difference necessarily in people, so–
“I tapped into emotions, and a lot of my fans know about my life be cause I put it in my records” – Tech N9ne
Nah, we all have the same emotions.
Interviewer: Same emotions, we’re all going through the same issues, and even though you see Tech N9ne on this show, Sway in the Morning, or you might see him on some award show stage, behind closed doors, he’s experiencing the same thing your neighbor might be experiencing.
And that’s how we make fans man, you know what I’m sayin’. That brings us down on a level playing field, you know what I mean, ’cause they look at us elevated, on stage, they automatically lookin’ up. So when you tell them, “I’m havin’ a bad day “because my people are turnin’ on me, “and I thought these people were real,” it brings us on a level playing field, and they’re like, “He feels just like me.” and that’s how we make fans, you know what I’m sayin’.
I tapped into emotions, and a lot of my fans know about my life be cause I put it in my records, you know what I mean, to where the wife used to, when This Ring came out, well she didn’t like that, you know what I’m sayin’, back then but This Ring is like the best song I ever wrote. Pain works, you know what I mean, so when I did the song I Love You But (bleep) You, she said, “Don’t write nothing else about me if it ain’t positive.” and I said, “Okay, I’ll stop it.”
Female Host: No more songs about her.
You know what I’m sayin’, my little girl Rainbow said that she didn’t like me to do the lewd stuff on stage, like how I would do the song Seven Words and lay in between the ladies, you know what I’m sayin’, so I stopped that, you know what I’m sayin’, It’s like, I do what they say, you know what I’m sayin’, these ladies that I take care of, you know what I’m sayin’, and Aaliyah, she’s just, she’s 22 now man, she’s out there in Oakland, just having a wonderful time, doing broadcasting and everything, she don’t have too many problems.
Rainbow, I can’t really talk about what’s going on with my little one ’cause she don’t want it, but she got sick man, and I was just like, “God why me,” you know what I’m sayin’. And she’s probably like “God why me,” you know what I’m sayin’ and my mama was sick all those years, and now my youngster, you know what I’m saying, it’s like damn, but in the midst of all that, we still have time to give ourselves to our fans and our people that want to hear, ’cause it’s a blessing for people to want to hear anything, especially these days being in the game as long as I’ve been, you know what I mean, it’s like, it’s such a blessing, that they still want to listen.
And I’m going to forever have these stories to tell, because I’m writin’ my life, and that’s what I chose to do back in the day when Quincy Jones told me, “Write what you know and people will forever feel you.”
The post Tech N9ne’s Top 10 Rules For Success (@TechN9ne) appeared first on Evan Carmichael.
