Speedom (WWC2)

Album: Special Effects (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This Seven-produced track finds Tech N9ne collaborating with Eminem. The hook-up with Slim Shady has been years in the making. "I've been wanting to work with Eminem for a long time," Tech N9ne told HotNewHipHop about their collaboration. "It's funny saying this on the mic 'cause I haven't been able to say this to anybody, [but] Eminem finally came through and blessed me with a 24-bar verse, when I only needed a 16."

    "He felt it that much," Tech added about Em's verse. "It's a track that's paying homage to Richie Havens, rest his soul… It's such a massive and beautiful song. It's really personal to me because of [folk singer] Richie Havens and that long-awaited Tech N9ne/Eminem collaboration everyone always wanted."
  • Back in 2011 Tech was asked during an interview with The Boombox what it would take for him and Em to work together? "The beats say everything. The beats say, "OK, this is Eminem," he replied. "That happens every once in a while, doesn't happen all of the time. They say, "When you gonna get Em on a song?" [and] I say, "I don't know, whenever the beats tell me to."

    "I'm not tryin' to just get people on songs to get their fans, or get recognition or 'Oh, I got a song with Eminem, now I'm there," Tech continued. "No, motherf—er! It's because of rhyme skill. If I feel like I'm right there, I'll say, 'Let's do it, let's collab together.' The fans just wanna hear it to see who do the best."
  • The song also features Krizz Kaliko on the hook and second verse. He is a longtime collaborator with his fellow Kansas City native, Tech N9ne. "Tech gave me the beat and then he said, 'I want it to sound like this for the hook,' and I wrote the hook and I recorded my verse months before he did his, months before Em ever did his," Krizz told HipHopDX.com. "I was trying to set the stage for it, but I tried to. I was like, 'Tech's going to be on it.' and then when I found out Em was going to be on it, I'm like, 'I gotta murder these n—as,' even though Tech is my mentor."

    Krizz had a technical mishap and had to redo part of his verse. "We did a Canadian tour and I actually lost the verse because I write everything in my phone and I got in the hot tub with my phone, fried it, I didn't have it backed up on iCloud or nothing and next thing I know I get back home and I remembered it," he said. "I remembered everything except four bars. So I rewrote four bars."
  • The full song title is "Speedom (Worldwide Choppers 2)" (chopping means rapping incredibly fast). The track is one of a series of Tech N9ne posse cuts that feature a range of MCs rapping at superhuman speeds. They include:

    2007 "Midwest Choppers" featuring Midwest rappers D-Loc, Dalima and Krizz Kaliko.

    2009 "Midwest Choppers 2" featuring Midwest rappers K-Dean and Krayzie Bone.

    2011 "Worldwide Choppers" featuring the Americans Yelawolf, Twista, Busta Rhymes, JL of B. Hood, D-Loc & Twisted Insane plus Turkish rapper Ceza and Danish MC U$O.
  • Tech N9ne and Eminem had appeared on the same song once before. Back in 1999 each supplied a verse for Sway & King Tech's "The Anthem."
  • Eminem didn't charge Tech for his rap. "To have who we call the best rapper in the world do a verse for you and say, 'Never mind, just give me a verse [in return],' that floored me," Tech told Billboard magazine.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Danny Kortchmar

Danny KortchmarSongwriter Interviews

Danny played guitar on Sweet Baby James, Tapestry, and Running On Empty. He also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Dirty Laundry," "Sunset Grill" and "Tender Is The Night."

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"They're Playing My Song

It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.