The Rain (Welcome Back, Party Hard) (Ft. Alyia, Reign Yates)

by Tech N9ne
album Everready (The Religion) (Collector's Edition)

Weekend Remix: Remix For A Rainy Day

Song: The Rain
By: Tech N9ne And Polyhedron
Based On:  Rain From Cowboy Bebop
Original Composers: Yoko Kanno And The Seatbelts

Hip hop and nerd culture aren’t exactly strangers. Del The Funky Homosapien was rapping about his love for gaming through Proto Culture well before a certain Gorillaz tune introduced him to the popsphere. Artists like Akira The Don, MC Chris, and Adam Warrock are modern alchemists between hip-hop and geek/otaku subjects. And we’ll be here for a while if we discuss Wu-Tang Clan and their references to comic books and Kung-Fu flicks. Hip hop and nerd culture have often found themselves in front of each other, giving that approving “What’s Up?” head nod.

Tech N9ne’s The Rain has gone past the simple greeting with Cowboy Bebop’s Rain, and now the two are trading manga favorites while Midnight Marauders plays warmly in the background. 

There’s a lot to love from their friendly union. Polyhedron’s sped up sample of the Yoko tune recalls early College Dropout era Kanye. Tech could easily get away with killing this beat with his ammunition of machine gun flow and wordplay. Instead, the artist takes it a step further by actually penning lyrics that detail the consequences of being a constant on-the-road entertainer. It’s here that you realize this isn’t just a dope song, it’s a song worthy of the original source. 

Rain is a melancholy tune. It simply exhales a beautiful type of sadness. Whether it’s that chopped up organ or the conversation between Tech and his daughter on the second verse, the track still maintains the feel of the original. It’s just that there’s a different cause for the sadness.

If you’d like to hear more from Tech the Bad Season mixtape is probably a good place to start. As for Polyhedron, check out some of his production on these albums.

Until next weekend…GO Party!