''Killer'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by American rapper

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two ...

. It was released on July 1, 2008. ''Killers album cover pays homage to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

’s iconic "''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

''" album cover. With ''Killer'', Tech N9ne has SoundScanned his 1 millionth album independently.

Background

This album was the first album Tech N9ne recorded as a double disc release, containing 32 tracks. (

Everready (The Religion) ''Everready (The Religion)'' is the fifth studio album by rapper Tech N9ne. The album was released in 2006 as a "Collector's Edition" CD that contains a second CD featuring 14 songs from Tech N9ne as well as other Strange Music artists. "Jellysic ...

contained two discs, however the second disc was marketed as a bonus disc and not a part of the album itself.) Guests who were featured on the album include

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

, Scarface,

Shawnna Rashawnna Guy (born January 3, 1978), better known by her stage name Shawnna, is an American rapper. She was the first female artist signed to Def Jam South through Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace Records. She is a former member of the female Chi ...

, Brother J of

X-Clan X Clan (formerly stylized as XCLAN and often incorrectly spelled X-Clan) is a hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York, originally consisting of Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson Brother J, Professor X the Overseer, Paradise the Architect, and ...

Mistah F.A.B. Stanley Petey Cox (born January 23, 1982), better known by his stage name Mistah F.A.B. (backronym for Money Is Something To Always Have–Forever After Bread), is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, community organizer and activist. ...

Kottonmouth Kings The Kottonmouth Kings is an American hip hop group formed in Placentia, California in 1996 by D-Loc and Saint Dog. The group advocates for legalizing cannabis, and their lyrics frequently refer to smoking marijuana. The group plays hip hop, ...

Hed PE Hed PE (also known as (hed) Planet Earth and stylized as (həd) p.e. or as (Hed)pe or (Hed)PE) or (həd) Planetary Evolution, is an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1994, the band is known for its eclectic genre-c ...

Krizz Kaliko Samuel William Christopher Watson IV (born March 7, 1974), better known by his stage name Krizz Kaliko, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and voice actor. He is a longtime collaborator with fellow hometown native Tech N9ne and was signe ...

Kutt Calhoun Melvin Lewis Calhoun Jr. (born January 1, 1977), better known by his stage name Kutt Calhoun, is an American rapper and business executive from Kansas City, Missouri. After getting his start in the late 1990s underground rap scene of Kansas Ci ...

Skatterman & Snug Brim Skatterman & Snug Brim is a rap duo from Kansas City, Missouri, United States, best known for their song "Block Party". After releasing projects separately, Skatterman (born Stacy Dewayne Landis) and Snug Brim (born Aaron R. Henderson) combine ...

, BG Bulletwound, Liquid Assassin of Grave Plott, and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

. While

Brotha Lynch Hung Kevin Danell Mann (born January 10, 1970), better known by his stage name Brotha Lynch Hung, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Sacramento, California who has been described as "the creator of horrorcore rap." He is al ...

was confirmed to be a guest on the album early on, he would be absent from the album in the end. It was later revealed that Brotha Lynch Hung was supposed to be on Psycho Bitch II, but he would have been unable to get his verse back to Tech in time, thus he did not appear. He was instead replaced by Grave Plott's Liquid Assassin. It features production by producers that have previously collaborated with Tech like Michael "Seven" Summers and David Sanders II, as well as new collaborations such as with Tramaine "YoungFyre" Winfrey, Jonah "Matic Lee" Appleby and Adam " Wyshmaster" Cherrington. On October 3rd, 2008, the music video for ''"Like Yeah"'' premiered on MTVU.com. The video was directed by Estevan Oriol and featured several cameos such as the songs producer

Young Fyre Tramaine Winfrey (born March 9, 1986), professionally known as Young Fyre, or Fyre, is a multi-platinum American record producer, composer, lyricist, and creative director. He was previously signed to T-Pain's record label, Nappy Boy Entertainmen ...

, fellow label mates

and

, actor Danny Trejo, as well as artists

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is an American hip hop band from Carson, California, consisting of the American Samoa Devoux brothers Paul (died 2020), Ted (died 2018), Donald, Roscoe, Danny (died 2022), David and Vincent. It is noted for its use of a liv ...

C-Bo Shawn Thomas, also known by his stage name C-Bo, is an American rapper. C-Bo, notoriously known for his relationship with law enforcement, was one of the first rappers to be jailed due to his lyrical content, a scathing critique of political off ...

Glasses Malone Glasses Malone is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Early life Glasses Malone grew up in the Watts and Compton neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. Malone was a Crip gang member as a teenager, and got into street racing after brea ...

Krondon Marvin Jones III (born July 9, 1976), also known as Krondon, is an American rapper and actor from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of the group Strong Arm Steady, along with rappers Phil Da Agony and Mitchy Slick. As an actor Jones portra ...

, and

Skinhead Rob Robert Aston (born October 29, 1978), better known by his stage name Skinhead Rob, is an American rapper best known as a founding member of the rap rock group the Transplants. He is also the lead vocalist in a D-beat punk band named Death Marc ...

. The album debuted at #12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 36,199 copies sold in its first week.

Track listing

Disc one

Disc two

Bonus tracks

Samples

Psycho Bitch II *"Psycho Bitch" by Tech N9ne *"

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

" composed by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

Last Words *"Don't You Want To Stay" composed by

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

Paint a Dark Picture *"Tales From the Darkside opening" Hope For a Higher Power *Jim Jones's last speech at

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

(November 18, 1978). The audio was sampled from the cassette taped recovered by FBI agents in Jonestown, Guyana after the mass suicide. It is nicknamed the 'Jonestown Deathtape' (FBI No. Q 042). Killer *" Thriller" by

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Tech N9ne albums Albums produced by Seven (record producer) Horrorcore albums Strange Music albums