Making it in the world of hip-hop takes perseverance and endurance, for the road is filled with speed bumps, false starts and adversity. But once you get to the other side of the road and begin to reap the fruits of your labor, the journey becomes just as meaningful as the destination. And if any artist in rap is aware of this virtue, it's Tech N9ne, who was not only able to build a successful career of his own, but has also went the extra mile by building his own musical empire, Strange Music, which he founded in 1999, with partner Travis O'Guin.

First getting his feet wet during the 1990s and finding label homes at Perspective Records, Qwest Records and JCOR Records, Tech N9ne and O'Guin would gradually build Strange Music into one of the more respect independent brands in rap, with Tech N9ne's cult-like fan base piquing the interest of industry insiders and the label's grassroots methodology and track recording for braking new artists and reintroducing veteran acts attracting talent from all corners of the U.S. and beyond.

After the release of his 10th solo studio album, The Storm, in 2016, Tech N9ne is back with a new long player, Dominion, the latest offering from his long-running series of collaborative albums featuring Strange Music artists. Although Tech N9ne appears on a majority of the songs, the spotlight is reserved for Strange Music acts, with the likes of Krizz Kalico, Murs, Stevie Stone, CES Cru, Wreckonize, Rittz, Darrein Safron, Mackenzie Nicole and others all turning in multiple contributions that display all of the high-quality artistry that the label has to offer.

After taking a listen to Dominion and dissecting the lyrics, XXL highlights 20 of the more memorable lyrics from Tech N9ne and Strange Music's latest body of work that hit the hardest.

  • "Drama"

    Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko

    "K-C-M-O is the place that I'm from/If you live in my city, you grippin' a gun/And we ready for them, who like killin' for fun?/And we get 'em before they get us and they done/I'll be damn if a devil is taking me from/My lil' babies, two ladies, or breakin' the son" - Tech N9ne

  • "Casket Music"

    Ces Cru, Tech N9ne and Wrekonize

    "Ya lie to kick it, you're probably wicked as Hillary/And she who does not feel me is just not real to me/Dick tease, the nicest on the mic, tell the bitch please/Would you be kind enough to shut the fuck up and twist trees?/I'm on a high, I might be flyer than Chris Breez'/And I would never try to strike a chick with my fist, geez" - Wrekonize

  • "Put Em On"

    Tech N9ne, Darrein Safron and Stevie Stone

    Workin'? I've been workin'/I've been locked in, I been workin'/I done clocked in, and the pots in, and when we pop in we jerkin'/I got family dependin' on me/Hatin' niggas bring envy on me/Get the game and I get the homie/Got plenty on me" - Stevie Stone

  • "Wheels Like Hill"

    Tech N9ne

    "Speed racer, believe I'ma erase ya/If you a cheese chaser and not a glee maker/Nigga please is what I feed faker/She take a L to the hell I wouldn't pay ya to be my leave raker" - Tech N9ne

  • "Nevermind Me"

    Stevie Stone, Tech N9ne, Mackenzie Nicole and Krizz Kaliko

    "Bon-jon, every lady want Don-don/We don't want no cheer bitches so you can leave yo pom-poms/With the Necronomicon/Dressed up like I'm going to Comic-Con/And I keep that llama drawn/For the haters that go without like Ramadan" - Tech N9ne

  • "Some Good"

    J.L. and Tech N9ne

    "I was lit up like propane, tripping over this dope strain/Gary say, 'Do you think the Cavi is mixed with cocaine?'/I don't know, I don't know/All I know is that it's super fire when I blow/He said thanks for the dough, I said, 'Have a good show'/I was on one and I hope he didn't know" - Tech N9ne

  • "Bacon"

    Godemis, Murs and Brotha Lynch Hung

    "Nonviolent, I'm nonviolent, my Holy Bible got bombs by it/Penciling, I get it in my friends and then I exit out of my pom pilots/Swear to God, I'm hella odd I got it/Smoking in the Shire like a hobbit/Kamikaze plane became a rocket/Life's a bitch I named Lorena Bobbitt" - Godemis

  • "The Answer"

    Ces Cru, Tech N9ne, Ubiquitous, Godemis and Krizz Kaliko

    "I am what I always been, white kid with the rapping skill/Maintain that I'm self-sustained, still CES came as a package deal/Run shit like in track and field, I'll pass baton in decathlon/Search around and go find a verse where I came soft and I was slackin' on" - Ubiquitous

  • "The Answer"

    Ces Cru, Tech N9ne, Ubiquitous, Godemis and Krizz Kaliko

    "I ain't came up for no air yet/I put dough down on a fare bet/Niggas hood rich, I ain't there yet/But I got holes like a clarinet/And I jug lean and I pop pills/And they hate Dean 'cause I got skills/If these pussies don't shoot me, you can bet that the punk cops will" - Godemis

  • "Salute"

    Murs, Tech N9ne and ¡MAYDAY!

    "So good morning, get it in like it's 30 below/Another ¡MURSDAY! is here to come and dirty your soul/You see the haters get the genitals, back up off the minerals/Rolling with the general and high off that medical/Rolling all around the world and still rocking a flip phone/Hip hop to the death, two-stepping in every zip code" - ¡MAYDAY!

  • "Salute"

    Murs, Tech N9ne and ¡MAYDAY!

    "Second batter up, I never had a fuck/To give, if I did, shit, you was out of luck/I'm laser focused with mine like Scott Summers is/The Cyclops, X-Men, for you dumber kids
    I read them funny books, they got the pictures in them/Still pull the thickest chick in the sickest denim" - Murs

  • "Fish in a Pita"

    Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko

    "Hopped in the backseat/Movin' toward her with that heat/Between her legs, the wings are spread/I'm yearnin' for that cat meat/I'm wishin' to beat her/But I got sniffin' her skeeter/Through her clothes, I quit because she had the fish in the pita" - Tech N9ne

  • "Mo' Ammo"

    Murs, Tech N9ne and Rittz

    "Look, if you ain't gave me my props yet, you late as fuck/I like to think that I'm top five like Jada does/Speeding past these rappers like they traffic cops with radar guns/And counting so much money that my fingertips got papercuts" - Rittz

  • "Lowdown"

    Darrein Safron, Tech N9ne and Ubiquitous

    "They wanna see me falling like the rain drops/It's not that I won't, that I can't stop/Keep my brain locked on the game/Put the pad away when the paint stop/Cause they don't care if you slang rocks/All on the same block/Even if you're in Adelaide or in Bangkok" - Ubiquitous

  • "Lowdown"

    Darrein Safron, Tech N9ne and Ubiquitous

    "Found nobody to put on the news/Flame scatter brain splatter look like Jamba Juice/And we all intelligent but this shit is irrelevant/When they rob a real one for the hell of it
    Yeah we gonna shoot/'Cause we coming from the ghetto" - Tech N9ne

  • "Morning Till the Nightfall"

    Rittz, Tech N9ne, Wrekonize and Krizz Kaliko

    "These chicks think I'm rich, they be screamin' Rittz when I'm on stage, let me get a Chip and Dale show/Got real dough, 18 karats on my deed, I see my future clear/Been all around the world here's a souvenir/I'm in Aruba with the coolest scuba gear" - Rittz

  • "Morning Till the Nightfall"

    Rittz, Tech N9ne, Wrekonize and Krizz Kaliko

    "Back then it was carnival, with a couple bars you could top it all/Spit shine on the track call me Armor All/And walk off with a life size Barbie doll/I'm like damn, my degree in high school came a couple clicks late/But I never took a break and I never changed pace/Lookin' back I never thought I would be livin' this great" - Wrekonize

  • "Jesus and a Pill"

    Prozak, Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko

    "Taking a journey through the depths of my psychosis/Multiple personalities adamantly ferocious/At first in agony, anger to cope a closed fist/And run a sign of caution if you try to approach bitch/A mental breakdown, suffocating with hate now/No escape for heavensake, there ain't nobody safe now" - Prozak

  • "Angels in the Playground"

    Stevie Stone, Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko

    "Energy never dies, it transfers/Can you tell him extra I got mine and I am hers/No longer a damper with God it's no slanders/But I wish I could see her again/Try to peek in heaven for a gander/And tell her thank you" - Tech N9ne

  • "Cold Piece of Work (Preview)"

    J.L., Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko

    "Nigga I'm Mr. Molly, when Nina shit hits her body/It takes her and gets her naughty/Fella mixed it with liquor prolly/She'll love you and lick your lolly/Taking me is her hobby/She flipping through my discography, nigga/Then she swallow me, nigga" - Tech N9ne

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