Tech N9ne
More than 30 years in the game, Tech N9ne reflects on his new album, 5816 Forest, and his illustrious career.
Interview: Peter A. Berry
Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website.
The album is called 5816 Forest. 5816 Forest is the address where I lived where my mom married a Muslim named Abul Hassan Khalifah. He moved us to 5816 Forest when I was 12. On the album, I’m talking about all the stories that occurred while living in that place. I call this album my audio series with 17 episodes about my life on 5816 Forest from age 12 to 17, the age I ran away from home on a quest to become Tech N9ne.
I had no plan to do this type of album at all. It was an old friend of mine. He just got released from jail a few years ago. He’s the one that gave me my name in 1988. His name is Black Walt, and sometime last year, he told me, “Hey, man, real Tech N9ne fans don’t want to hear all those collaborations that you be doing, man. We want to hear an album of all you rapping.” I’m like, “That’s boring as f**k.” The next day, I told my partner, Travis O’Guin, what Black Walt said, and Travis said, “Tech, he’s right.”
So, when I came up with the title 5816 Forest, I said, I’m going to tell these stories that happened in this house. You can hear my children having conversations with me throughout the album. Just natural conversations. On the third verse of “J6’s,” I talk about when I won the rap contest. The first thing I ever won was that rap contest in ’91, man. And I only had on my lucky [Jordan 6’s], and that’s all I had to my name. It was a drought. And at that time, I was selling dope for my relative, and the story came forth. It’s a special album.
5816 Forest is special to me. It’s like I feel energized to tap into one of the main elements of hip-hop: storytelling. I do it so well. It’s a special album this late in my career. I’ve done it all. If you ask LeBron [James] what keeps him playing, he is going to say he loves the game. We got the money already. I’m a multimillionaire. I’ve been that way for a while. I still get excited for a dope beat. When I hear 2 Chainz and Larry June with Alchemist. I still am a lover of hip-hop.
I was a dancer. I was a pop-lock breakdancer before I started writing in ’85. I wrote my first rhyme in seventh grade. So, it’s like, I’ve been a student ever since. I’m still learning. I still got my thumb on the pulse of hip-hop. I’m older than hip-hop. I’ll be 54 this year. By the end of my career, I want people to remember that I gave it all and I did it all.
I’ve done music with people in all genres, from Blues with Gary Clark Jr., R&B with Marsha Ambrosius, or R&B with Boyz II Men. On the metal side, I’ve worked with Slipknot and System of a Down. I’ve worked with The Doors and Deftones. With hip-hop, don’t even start. Me and Tupac. Me and Ice Cube. Me and MC Ren and Spice 1. Me and C-Bo. Me and Yukmouth. Me and E-40. Me and Wiz Khalifa. Me and Eminem. Me and Kendrick Lamar. It just goes on forever.
I’m so decorated and I’m so happy about what I’ve done over the years. And what I’m still doing. I want to be known as the person that didn’t give a f**k about what people thought about how many genres I’ve been in. That I just loved music and offered my life and my heart to the world. So, I expect the world back. And I’m going to get it.
Listen to Tech N9ne’s 5816 Forest Album
The summer 2025 issue of XXL magazine featuring Tech N9ne’s interview is available to purchase here. The issue also includes interviews with all 12 members of the 2025 Freshman Class and producer Cardo Got Wings, as well as conversations with Key Glock, Larry June, Aminé, Monaleo, Fredo Bang, Nardo Wick, Molly Santana, X-Games snowboarding champion Zeb Powell and more, plus a look back at what the 2024 XXL Freshman Class has been doing and a deep dive into who’s the biggest and best XXL Freshman ever.