Nine is the stage name of Derrick Keyes, an Americanrapper 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". Keyes originally recorded under the moniker 9MM before changing his name to simply Nine. He stated, "I didn't want to be just be named after the gun." His stage name refers to his date of birth, his shoe size, and his lucky number.
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", "He Writes His, I Write Mine" / "Kangol" and "Five Times The Rhymer" / "Duces Is Def" produced by DJ Chuck Chillout. Tito Navedo left the group in 1988, while Derrick and Aston Taylor remained. In 1991, Aston Taylor and Derrick released a joint EP "F.A.L.L.I.N. ". 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". 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. 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. 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. Nine acted in an episode of the police dramatelevision seriesNew York Undercover.
Recognition
referred to 9 Double Mon the track "Where are They Now?" from his album Hip Hop Is Dead. He is also referred to on the track "Twinz " 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".
