Dominion

Recording information: Disc Ltd, Fastpointe, MI; Imperfect Studios, Teddington, ENG; Strange Land Studios; Studio 1 Zero, Los Angeles, CA; The Cuban American Social Club, Miami, FL; Tree Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA.
On the tenth anniversary of the release of his first Collabos collection, Kansas City rapper and Strange Music label head Tech N9ne issued the seventh set in the series, Dominion. Not as scary and horror-centric as earlier installments, Dominion once again finds the Strange gang in fine form, still hungry but providing enough breathing room to bask in their indie success. The family is all here -- Krizz Kaliko, Ces Cru, Darrein Safron, Stevie Stone, JL, Rittz, Brotha Lynch Hung, Mackenzie Nicole, Murs, and more -- and they trade off vocal duties over 24 tracks of ominous, hard-hitting, and aggressive Strange music. While Dominion does run a bit long, it's nonetheless great value-for-money for the Strange faithful, playing like a well-curated playlist of dense lyrics, tight rhymes, and atmospheric production. Tech headlines a trio of tracks, but the best ones belong to Ces Cru ("Casket Music," "Bacon," "The Answer") and Murs ("Salute" and "Mo' Ammo"), whose voices stand out from the pack and add some levity and life to the mix. Pop singer Mackenzie Nicole, daughter of Strange co-head Travis O'Guin, also imparts a much needed balance to this boys club, bringing tracks like "Nevermind Me," "Shoe Game," and "Take You Down" to the fore. Amidst the power and bravado of the big bangers on Dominion, there's also a nice old-school West Coast '90s vibe that billows through on tracks like "Some Good" and "Morning Till the Nightfall." There's even a foray into rap-rock -- something Tech has never shied away from -- on Prozak's Disturbed-esque "Jesus and a Pill." There's enough here to attract some new Strange fans into Tech's world, while at the same time providing yet another solid entry into the bountiful harvest that is Tech N9ne's Strange Music universe. ~ Neil Z. Yeung