Pure Hip Hop

Cloud 9, Nine
First of all, if you even know who Bronx born rapper, real name Derrick Keyes, Nine is I tip my cap to you. In my humble opinion a every underrated hip hop artist who flexed his lyrical muscle in hip hops golden age of the 90s. And if you are familiar with his work, I can confirm you are an official #Oshh certified old-school hip-hop head.

CLOUD 9 is the rapper named Nine's second official album release after his 1995 debut NINE LIVEZ. Released 1996 on PROFILE, CLOUD 9 is a twelve-track album that falls in the authentic hardcore hip hop category.

Dropping during a period when hip hop was at a peak never seen, at time when a long list of hall of fame artists where at the peak of their powers in my opinion saw Cloud 9 go unnoticed by the majority. I also think the fact Nine never had an obvious affiliation with none of the major crew’s kind of went against him. But despite these factors Nine delivered an album that remains special in my collection.

The opening track of the album the uncompromising harder than hardcore 'No Introduction' featuring the one and only KING JUST, sets the tone for Nine to deliver a dope album that manages to tick all boxes. I must add this track is defiantly in my top five starts to an album.

Equipped with a voice rougher then sand paper and deep like a base drum, Nine had a tool to deliver hardcore hip hop like only a few can. Whiles lyrically, Nine is on point tearing up what can only be described has a selection of hard hitting underground bangers, this album shows him has a well rounded hardcore artist.Cloud 9 has definitely got a very street feel to it, but songs like 'Lion King' give the project a bit more diversity. In a time when most rappers where putting R&B artist on their records looking for that commercial success, Nine moved in another direction with features like BOUNTY KILLER and SMOOTHE HUSTLER cementing Cloud 9 an all-out hardcore album.

Amongst my favorite tracks on Cloud 9 ironically is track nine 'Jon Doe'. A hard-hitting hardcore hip hop track on which Nine talks about that route of all evil, money. Another on the list is track eight, 'Richman, Poorman'. A dope combo track featuring 3RD EYE with the pair going back to back talking about a bank heist. 'We play 4 keeps' is another of the standout tracks on the album.

In a nutshell CLOUD NINE is a gem of a hip-hop album which for me should have received more acclaim. A hardcore hip hop album by a very underrated artist which is more than worth revisiting or introducing to your hip hop life.