Eleven years ago, Fat Joe starred alongside Mack 10 in Thicker Than Water. The Hoo Bangin’ Films release had a companion soundtrack that featured east and west coast stars, rhyming together including Memphis Bleek, Westside Connection and MC Eiht. A newer rapper at the time, Tech N9ne, would appear on the solo track “Planet Rock.”
Over a decade later, Fat Joe recently praised Tech N9ne for his ability to pack venues and remain commercially successful without mainstream support.”I’m going to tell you who the biggest artist in America is that nobody really knows about: Tech 9ne. He tours all year round and I go to his shows and there’s always 5,000 dudes mashing it up and everything,” Joe recently told Global Grind. “He could be one of the richest rappers on earth because his following is incredible but you don’t hear him on the radio.” Joe called Tech N9ne a true “genius of marketing.”
Earlier this year, Tech N9ne’s The Gates Mixed Plate outsold Fat Joe’s The Darkside, Volume 1, as both debuted on the same week. The emcees have not worked on a released track together.