KXNG Crooked, Tech N9ne, Rittz & Chino XL Go Berserk On A Killer Collabo (Audio)

Nearly 20 years ago, Sway & King Tech released their major label debut compilation album, This Or That. With DJ Revolution behind the Technics 1200s, the album, which nearly broke the Top 100, was a crucial launch-pad in the careers of Eminem, Tech N9ne, Planet Asia, and a Long Beach lyricist named Crooked I.

Heads may recall video “The Anthem,” which put Em’ and Tech alongside an illustrious cast of spitters including Chino, KRS-One, Kool G Rap, RZA, Pharoahe Monch, Xzibit, and Bullet Loco, aka Jayo Felony.

Tech N9ne Seamlessly Merges Rap With Breaking To Recreate ’80s Electro-Funk (Video)

Forever M.C. is an upcoming RBC Records compilation (Canibus, Pac Div, Krayzie Bone) that assembles a similar, lyrically-forward cast for 2018’s “Terminally Ill.” Some crucial Sway & Tech affiliates including Kxng Crooked (Crooked I’s current moniker), Tech N9ne, and Chino XL are a part of the song. It’s trailblazing bars, also courtesy of Strange Music’s Rittz, and scratching involvement from Statik Selektah, who released Statik KXNG with Crooked back in early 2016.

Clocking in at nearly seven minutes, Chino XL starts off with one of his strongest showings in a career built on shock-and-awe raps. The New Jersey representing MC builds his display, before Kxng Crooked enters with a compound rhyme structure that dazzles in its symmetry. At one point, Crook’ references his gangsta edge and penchant for stogies, only to admit that it makes him the Rap version of former Death Row boss Suge Knight. The punchlines are brutal from the C.O.B. O.G., as he demonstrates clever punchlines that aren’t afraid to switch from politics to sports. Next, Tech N9ne holds a Hip-Hop heist with his machine gun flow. The Kansas City microphone killer gives the collaboration his all, with alliteration and commanding confidence. Rittz plays clean-up, with the kind of rhyme demonstration worthy of wrapping up this arsenal. Yelawolf’s onetime protégé rides the beat with finesse, while rhyming about outhouses, sippin’ on liquor, and putting on for the northern section of Atlanta.

Kxng Crooked’s New Album Artwork Is Provocative & So Is His Latest Lyricism (Audio)

Hip-Hop Heads will also appreciate the way Statik’s cuts on “Terminally Ill” plays with the chorus of Special Ed’s “I’m The Magnificent.”

The tracklist to March 30’s Forever M.C.:

1. ‘Girls Gone Crazy’ feat. Snoop Dogg & Kurupt
2. ‘Back On Our Sh*t’ feat. KXNG Crooked & Horseshoe Gang
3. ‘Assassins Creed’ feat. Tech N9ne, Token & Passionate MC
4. ‘King Kong’ feat. DMX, Royce Da 5’9″, KXNG Crooked & Statik Selektah
5. ‘School’ feat. Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli, Hus Kingpin & Rozewood
6. ‘Terminally Ill’ feat. Tech N9ne, KXNG Crooked, Chino XL, Rittz & Statik Selektah
7. ‘Vendetta’ feat. Ras Kass, Planet Asia, Chuck D & Bronze Nazareth
8. ‘Bring It Back’ feat. E-40, Mod Sun & Chris Webby
9. ‘Piranhas’ feat. Wu-Tang Clan
10. ‘Loyalty’ feat. Kool G Rap, Chris Rivers, Cormega, KXNG Crooked & Whispers
11. ‘Lights Out’ feat. Hopsin, Passionate MC & The Boy Illinois
12. ‘My Way’ feat. The Game & KXNG Crooked

Rittz Opens A Vividly Clear Window To The Drama In His Life (Video)

As an additional note, on March 9, Tech N9ne will release The Planet. The “Don’t Nobody Want None” video appeared on Ambrosia For Heads. The song pays respect to Hashim’s 1983 hit “Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)”).

#BonusBeat: Speaking of King Tech and Kxng Crooked, last month the two debated (with callers) if Hip-Hop holds its G.O.A.T.s to a higher standard:

This is on Shade 45’s The Wake Up Show.