7 Questions with Nine

Oct 2

Today we have OG emcee Nine in the house for the next installment in our 7 Questions series, along with a few bonuses at the end. Hailing from The Bronx, New York City, New York, the artist previously known as Nine Double M or just 9MM first got his break in '93 as a featured guest on Funkmaster Flex and the Ghetto Celebs' "Six Million Ways to Die."Since then it's been on and cracking, with Nine dropping his debut album 'Nine Livez' on Profile Records (remember them?), appearing in 90s police drama New York Undercover and being referenced by by Hip Hop heavyweights like Nas and Fat Joe. Most notably 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".These days, Nine can be found collabing with powerhouse European production team, the Snowgoons. After Nine joined the Snowgoons on their 'Goon Bap' album in 2016, they had been talking about new music and finally decided to move forward on a collaboration album, 'King,' which dropped this past September 9th.The 13 track album finds Nine in his element, with hard knocking beats complimenting his trademark raspy voice and harsh, gravelly flow. When speaking on the collab, Nine had great things to say, such as “It’s great working with people who are as hungry as you are and have a love for the culture first and foremost. Snowgoons beats got something out of me that I did not know was still there."If you're still wondering in the back of your head why Nine decided to drop the MM from his moniker, he stated, "I didn't want to be just be named after the gun (9mm)." His stage name refers to his date of birth (9/19/1969), his shoe size, and his lucky number. Which makes all the sense.Now that you've gotten the 411 on Nine, peep the full interview below for his thoughts on acting for TV versus music videos, advice to new rappers and how he knew Hip Hop is in his DNA. Once you're done with that, stick around for Nine's last two visuals, "Killmongor" and "Belafonte," featuring Conway The Machine. And then, don't forget to stream 'King' under those. A lot, I know. But we just want to make sure you get a complete picture of just how dope of an artist Nine is. Take heed.

When did you know Hip Hop was something you wanted to be a part of?

I’d say around 1980, the first time I saw Cold Crush do a performance.

Who has got the most play in your tape deck over the years?

It depends on the years I would say it has to be between. Wait that’s a hard one...Good Lord. There’s no particular one, there has got be at least 10, because of the time period we are talking at least 35 years of music. I would say Rakim, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, NAS, Jay-Z, Biggie, Big Pun, 50 Cent, Kool G Rap, and me LOL.

What was it like acting in an episode of one of our 90s favs, New York Undercover?

It was different, it was fun, but is more tedious then making a video. You have to do the shot over and over and make people believe it. It made me respect the craft a lot more.