Released on the majestic Profile Records in 1995, Nine Livez is Nine’s debut album and undoubtly my dearest record ever since. I bought it some 16 years ago at Downtown Record shop in Gießen, a small German town close to Frankfurt where I grew up.
The album was very rare even back in the day, which catapulted its lucky owner to the comfortable position of making his friends beg. You wanna impress your girl with “Fo’ Eva Blunted”? On your knees and beg! You wanna put “Whutcha Want?” on your next mixtape? On your cheap knees you go. Wanna record “Everybody Won Heaven” on tape and blast it out of your Fiat Panda while cruising like a gangster through the German countryside? Yes, down you go!
But honestly… There may be more influential and better produced albums, stronger in substance or with a greater lyrical range, but the 26 year old Nine had a raw and unique style, thick with every beat and swift with every rhyme. Each song is a jewel in itself. You can distinguish his smoky voice for miles, hinting rather at a man in his forties than a young man from the Bronx. The amount of great songs makes it hard to pin down any favorites, “Ta Rasss” has been always my favorite, along with “Whutcha Want”.
Nine – “Ta Rasss”
John Dunn
Dezember 13, 2011
Print media listing from side to side, while iCrates stays on course.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/dec/13/best-albums-2011-beyonce-4?CMP=twt_gu
iCrates 1 – 0 Guardian.