He began rapping at a very early age, and would rap the letters of his name in order to remember how to spell it. Yates was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Despite minimal mainstream success himself, he has featured many mainstream artists on his albums including E-40, Ice Cube, Three 6 Mafia, B.o.B., Twista, Busta Rhymes, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Wiz Khalifa, CeeLo Green, T.I., 2 Chainz, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Eminem, Logic, and Boyz II Men.

Yates later applied a deeper meaning to the name, stating that it stands for the complete technique of rhyme, with 'tech' meaning technique and 'nine' representing the number of completion. His stage name originated from the TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, a name given to him by rapper Black Walt due to his fast-rhyming chopper style. In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie award at the mtvU Woodie Awards.

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

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