In Brief

Undertaking nothing less than an unflinchingly warped journey through hell, purgatory and heaven, this immensely talented Kansas City rapper delivers one of hip-hop’s most revolutionary major-label debut albums. The heavy, gothic feel permeating the collection smacks of a horror movie, but it’s not just shock value: Tech N9ne’s lyrics are among the most engaging in the business. Abortion, fidelity and suicide are some of the topics he covers with an authoritative, ingenious hand.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.