Nine (rapper)
Nine is the stage name of Derrick Keyes (born September 19, 1969), an American rapper from The Bronx, New York City, New York. He is also known as 9MM or Nine Double M. Known for his harsh, gravelly flow and distinctive voice, Keyes got his break in early 1993 as a featured guest on Funkmaster Flex and the Ghetto Celebs' "Six Million Ways to Die".
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Background information | |
Birth name | Derrick Keyes |
Also known as | Ricochet, Nine (Double M), 9 Double M, 9MM |
Born | September 19, 1969 |
Origin | Bronx, New York City, United States |
Genres | Hardcore Hip Hop |
Years active | 1985—Present |
Labels | Danya Records (1985) Turngold Records(1986-1987) Profile Records/Arista/BMG Records (1993-1998) Smoke On Records (2009-2018) Goon MuSick (2018) |
Keyes originally recorded under the moniker 9MM (or Nine Double M) before changing his name to simply Nine. He stated, "I didn't want to be just be named after the gun (9mm)."[1] His stage name refers to his date of birth (9/19/1969), his shoe size, and his lucky number.[2]
Career
Derrick first heard hip-hop when he was 11, in 1980. A few years later, in 1985 he became a rapper under the name Ricochet, together with his friend Tito Navedo, also known as Centipede, founded the duo "Ricochet And Centipede", which released the one single "Charlie Brown"/"Bogus Beat" in 1985. In 1986, the duo was joined by Aston Taylor and changed the name of the group to Dueces Wild. In total, the group released 3 singles: "Hard Is Hard" (1986), "He Writes His, I Write Mine" / "Kangol" (1987) and "Five Times The Rhymer" / "Duces Is Def" (1988) produced by DJ Chuck Chillout. Tito Navedo left the group in 1988, while Derrick and Aston Taylor remained. In 1991, Aston Taylor (under the stage name Funkmaster Flex) and Derrick (Nine Double M) released a joint EP "F.A.L.L.I.N. (And You Can not Get Up)". After releasing their most famous single "Six Million Ways To Die" in 1993, they separated and Derrick began a solo career, changing his stage name to Nine.
Nine's debut album, Nine Livez, was released by the now-defunct record label Profile Records. Produced by Rob Lewis and Tony Stoute, the album produced the singles "Whutcha Want?" and "Any Emcee" (which samples Eric B. & Rakim).
Portions of Nine's "Whutcha Want?" were featured in advertisements by US automobile manufacturer Jeep. The ads used the song "Steady Bounce" by KRS-One from his album Strickly For Da Breakdancers & Emceez, which also used a sample from Nine's "Whutcha Want?". According to an interview conducted with HalftimeOnline.net, Jeep never sought permission to use the sample, and Nine pursued legal action.[1]
After Nine joined the Snowgoons on their album Goon Bap in 2016, they have been talking about new music and finally decided to move forward on a collaboration album. In February 2018, Nine and Snowgoons announced a new studio album for summer 2018. The first single/visual "The Revenant" from the forthcoming album was released on February 7, 2018.[3] On July 6, 2018, Nine and Snowgoons announced the release date for their album, King, as September 9, 2018. 4 days later, the second single/visual "Pull Up" was released.[4][5]
Nine acted in an episode of the police drama television series New York Undercover (1997).[6]
Recognition
Nas referred to 9 Double M on the track "Where are They Now?" from his album Hip Hop Is Dead. He is also referred to on the track "Twinz (Deep Cover ’98)" from Big Pun's debut album Capital Punishment, where Fat Joe says "Boogie Down major like Nine" referring to Nine's lyric in his song "Whutcha Want?" where Nine describes himself as a "Boogie Down Bronx major".
Discography
Albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US | US R&B | ||
Nine Livez |
|
90 | 18 |
Cloud 9 |
|
— | 45 |
Quinine |
|
— | — |
King |
|
— | — |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. Rap | |||
1995 | "Whutcha Want?" | 50 | 32 | 3 | Nine Livez |
"Any Emcee" | – | 90 | 35 | ||
1996 | "Lyin' King" | – | 82 | 21 | Cloud 9 |
References
- "Nine (9MM)". HalftimeOnline.net. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
- Maple, Tina. "Tina's tip sheet". Milwaukee Journal. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2020 – via findarticles.com.
- Teckman (February 7, 2018). "Snowgoons Bring Back Nine (Double M) for 'The Reventant' (Music)". weeklyrapgods.com. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
- "Snowgoons 'Pull Up' with the Legendary Nine for His New Single". weeklyrapgods.com. July 11, 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
- "Nine — "Pull Up" (prod. by Snowgoons)". hiphop4real.com. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
- Nine > Overview at allmusic.com