Juicy J and Tech N9ne

Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, US, Juicy J was deeply influenced by the style of Southern hip hop music, and formed the group Three 6 Mafia with DJ Paul and Lord Infamous. While in Three 6 Mafia, Juicy J was able to convey his abilities as a solo artist with the 1999 track “Slob On My Knob”, which consisted solely of Juicy J rapping.

During time off between projects in Three 6 Mafia, Juicy J recorded and released his debut solo album “Chronicles of the Juice Man” in 2002. The album was released to generally positive reception and reached the No. 4 spot on the Billboard’s US Independent Albums chart. The album also consisted of guest appearances by Three 6 Mafia members as well as Juicy J’s brother, Project Pat.

After releasing his debut album Juicy J would return to work with Three 6 Mafia and would not release another solo album until 2009. During his time back with Three 6 Mafia the group went on to achieve great success with their 2003 album “Da Unbreakables” reaching No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and their 2005 album “Most Known Unknown” reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. The year 2006 saw Three 6 Mafia becoming the first hip hop group to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song with “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp”, which was featured in the movie “Hustle & Flow”. The group also became the first hip-hop group to perform at the Oscars’ ceremony.

Juicy J’s second album “Hustle Till I Die” marked the rappers return to his solo career in 2009. During this time Juicy J began to step away from working with Three 6 Mafia and focused on his solo career full time as well as working with the rapper Wiz Khalifa. In 2011 he joined Wiz Khalifa’s label, Taylor Gang, as a part owner and A&R representative. On 23 August 2013 Juicy J released his third studio album “Stay Trippy”, which showed Juicy J really stepping up his game. The album was met with positive reviews and went to No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 2 on the US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The album contained the singles “Bandz a Make Her Dance”, “Show Out”, and “Bounce It” as well as featured many guest performers such as Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Wale, and The Weekend.

Juicy J has also found himself collaborating with pop diva Katy Perry for her 2013 single “Dark Horse”, which reached the No. 1 spot on the US Mainstream Top 40 chart. Juicy J is also a highly engaging performer live that has been known to play large festivals such as the hip hop festival, Paid Dues, as well as headline his own tours that he has shared the bill with rappers like Travis Scott.

Tech N9ne turned to music at an early age and first began to rap as a young child as a way to remember how to spell his name. After some troubling events occurred in Yates’ life he started to use music and rapping as a way to vent his frustration. He started his professional career in 1991 as a rapper in the group Black Mafia, which experienced some success with the single “Let’s Get Fucked Up”. After Black Mafia disbanded he joined the group Nnutthowze, but soon moved onto the group The Regime in 1997, which was created by the rapper Yukmouth. Later that year Tech N9ne formed his own record label Strange Music.

In 1999 Tech N9ne released his debut solo album “The Calm Before the Storm”. One of the songs on the album “Questions” was included in the soundtrack for the film “Gang Related” and was the first song to be released by Tech N9ne as a solo artist. The soundtrack was a success due to rappers like 2Pac and Ice Cube contributing to the album, and the soundtrack ended up reaching the No. 2 spot on the Billboard’s Top 200 chart. In 2001 Tech N9ne released his third studio album “Anghellic”, which featured the single “It’s Alive”. The album wasn’t necessarily a commercial success, but it received positive reviews and is looked at as an iconic representation of the horrorcore genre.

Tech N9ne’s fourth studio album “Absolute Power” released in 2002 showed him starting to break into the mainstream with it being his first studio album to make it on the Billboard charts. His fifth studio album “Everready (The Religion)” showed Tech N9ne starting to climb the charts making it to No. 50 on the US Billboard 200 chart and No. 2 on the Independent Albums chart. The song “Caribou Lou” was one of the hits from the album and was certified Gold in 2012.

With Tech N9ne’s seventh album “Killer”, he was able to achieve his 1 millionth album sale. The album was a great commercial and critical success, and reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also featured many notable guest appearances such as Scarface, Ice Cube, Kottonmouth Kings, and Shawnna. Tech N9ne increasingly became more popular with each album release and when he released the 2011 album “All 6’s and 7’s” the album gained the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Rap Albums chart.

Tech N9ne has also started a series of albums called Collabos, which features collaborations with unique artists. Some of the artists he has collaborated with in the past include Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Mint Condition, Deftones, Cee Lo Green, Kendrick Lamar, The Doors, and Serj Tankian. His music has also appeared in numerous television shows and films such as “Alpha Dog”, and he has made appearances on late night television shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”.

Tech N9ne is persistent with his touring schedule and has shared the bill with artists like Freddie Gibbs, Krizz Kaliko, and Jarren Benton. He has also played diverse festivals such as the Rock the Bells festival and the Gathering of the Juggalos festival. Tech N9ne has gained the status as a prominent rapper due to his diverse influences of music as well as his rhythmic abilities that display a compelling sense of speed and flow.