''Nine Livez'' is the debut studio album by American rapper
Nine
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit
Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
. It was released on March 7, 1995, through
Profile Records
Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records.
History
In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label ...
. The recording sessions took place at
D&D Studios
D&D Studios was a recording studio at 320 West 37th Street in the Garment District and Hudson Yards neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. Artists who recorded there included Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, The Notorious B.I.G., Fat Joe, Nas, Gang Sta ...
, Rob's Crib and Platinum Island Studios in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
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Places United Kingdom
* ...
in 1994. The album was produced by Rob Lewis and Tony Stoute, with Chris Landry serving as executive producer. It features a lone
guest appearances
The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting.
The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...
from A.R.L. Da X'Rsis. The album debuted at number 90 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 16 on the
Top R&B Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart in the United States.
Its
lead single
A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
A similar term, "debut ...
Hot R&B Singles
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...
chart. March 28, 1995 saw the release of the album's second single, " Any Emcee", which peaked at No. 15 on the
Bubbling Under Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
and No. 82 on the R&B Singles charts. " Ova Confident", the third and final single off of the album did not made it to the ''Billboard'' charts. All three singles had promotional music videos shot and released.
Critical reception
''Nine Livez'' was met with generally favourable reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
. Nicholas Polunoff of ''
The Source The Source may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford
* ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation
* ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
'' gave the album 4 out of 5 mics, resuming: "...overall, ''Nine Livez'' is a strong debut by an MC with an original style whose beats are 90% on point". Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews gave the album 8 out of a possible 10, stating: "one of the best albums of 1995, if not the entire decade".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's M.F. DiBella gave the album a solid 3 out of a possible 5 stars calling the album "far from a classic, ''Nine Livez'' is an under-appreciated album from an underrated artist".
Track listing
;Sample credits
*Track 10 contains material performed by
MC Shan
Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American rapper, singer and record producer from New York City. He is best known for his guest appearance and production on Canadian singer Snow's 1992 single " ...
Nine
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit
Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...