Kansas City rapper Aaron Yates, otherwise known as Tech N9ne, emerges with an ambitious debut full of conceptual structure, vivid depiction of harsh urban realities, and innovative vocal delivery. Nominally, the album is structured in three sections, depicting heaven, purgatory, and hell. But most of the manifestations of these states are earthly in the extreme. Tech details scenes of crime, deceit, abortion, suicide, and more, with a clear-eyed sociological slant that Eminem would envy. At the same time, he employs numerous distinctive rapping techniques; rapid-fire repetition, shifting back and forth between tongue-twisters and short, declarative bursts, and continual flurries of unusual phrasing. In this manner, Tech adds a fresh sonic dimension to his sordid tales, perking up our ears as he blows our minds.