9 (Lil' Kim album)

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9
Studio album by
Lil' Kim
ReleasedOctober 11, 2019
Recorded2012–2019
Genre
Length30:59
Label
Producer
Lil' Kim chronology
Lil Kim Season
(2016) 		9
(2019)
Singles from 9
  1. "Go Awff"
    Released: February 15, 2019
  2. "Found You"
    Released: September 27, 2019
  3. "Pray for Me"
    Released: October 3, 2019

9 is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released on October 11, 2019, through Queen Bee Entertainment and eOne.[1] The single "Go Awff" was released on February 15, 2019. During the taping of VH1's Girls Cruise reunion episode, Kim confirmed her intention to release the second volume of 9 in 2020.[2]

Background[edit]

On March 23, 2019, Lil' Kim announced that the album would be released on May 17, 2019.[3] The rapper described the meaning behind her fifth album in an interview with BET on the red carpet at the 2019 BET Awards: "It's a spiritual awakening number for me. Also, when I started out in Junior M.A.F.I.A. it was 9 members, my daughter was born June 9th, Biggie died March 9th, it is 2019. It's a powerful number for me. (...) I'm very spiritual and one day God was talking to me and I was like '7 is my favorite number' and He was like 'yes but 9 is your favored number' and I said thank you Jesus, I love you. I'm going with 9."[4] In April, she announced that the label eOne had decided to push back the release of the album[5] which was then expected to premiere in July 2019 to coincide with Kim's reality show Girls Cruise.[6]

Promotion[edit]

The 2018 song "Nasty One", previously slated as the album's first single, eventually was not included in the track list. "Go Awff", released in February 2019,[7] instead became the lead single, with a music video released in March.[8] In April, the rapper released a promotional single "No Auto Blanco" exclusively for streaming on SoundCloud.[9] It was followed by the second official single "Found You" featuring O.T. Genasis, City Girls and Watts Up Mickey in September 2019. On October 3, Lil' Kim released the third single, "Pray for Me", featuring Rick Ross and Musiq Soulchild, and confirmed October 11 as the final release date of the album.[10] Although originally reported as consisting of 13 tracks,[9] the album eventually featured only nine songs. The previously confirmed song "Missing" was left off the album.[11]

Lil' Kim confirmed that the second part of 9 will be released at a later date and that it will feature a song with Missy Elliott and Paris Hilton[12] as well as collaborations with Remy Ma, Fabolous, both of whom she has collaborated with in the past, on "Wake Me Up" and "Spicy", respectively and comedian Pretty Vee who featured on Girls Cruise.[13] The first part of 9 was released as a deluxe edition to CD which featured “Nasty One (Remix)” as a bonus track. “Spicy” was released as a bonus track on the vinyl release of the album.[14]

The promotional images were photographed by celebrity photographer Michael Antonio Hunter and styled by Misa Hylton.

Critical reception[edit]

The album was on NPR's "best new albums of the week" at the time of its release,[15] and was met with mixed to positive reviews from critics.[16][17][18] Jordan Bassett of NME rated the album 3 out of 5 stars and described it as "lewd, contrarian and confrontational – all the qualities that make Kim an icon".[19]

Commercial performance[edit]

9 did not chart on the US Billboard 200 but did reach number 47 on the Top Album Sales, number 5 on Billboard's Rap Album Sales, number 7 on R&B/Hip Hop Album Sales, number 13 on Digital Albums, and number 16 on the Independent Albums chart. 9 also managed to reach number 22 on the French Digital Albums, along with number 70 on the UK Album Downloads, and number 22 on the UK R&B Albums chart.

As of December 2023 9 has more than 10 million streams combined and has sold over 20 thousand physical copies

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Pray for Me" (feat. Rick Ross and Musiq Soulchild)
Xtassy4:51
2."Bag"JonesMark Henry3:47
3."Catch My Wave" (feat. Rich the Kid)JonesSmash Davis3:49
4."Go Awff"JonesSoundwave3:12
5."Too Bad"JonesOrlando The Great3:39
6."You Are Not Alone"
  • Jones
Grandz Muzik, Buda, Rondon2:45
7."Found You" (feat. O.T. Genasis, City Girls)
  • Jonny Cash
  • Jones
Jonny Cash3:32
8."Auto Blanco"JonesJungle Boy Beats, DJ Mil-Ticket2:10
9."Jet Fuel"Jones808 Mafia, AB on the Beat, Will Major3:14
Total length:30:59
CD Deluxe Edition[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
10."Nasty One (Remix)" (feat. Stefflon Don, Kranium and HoodCelebrityy)
  • Jones
  • Stephanie Allen
  • Kemar Donaldson
  • Tina Pinnock
Bkorn4:01
Total length:34:59
Vinyl Version
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Spicy" (feat. Fabolous)
  • Jones
  • John Jackson
3:26

Sample credits

Charts[edit]

Chart (2019) Peak
position
French Digital Albums (SNEP)[21] 22
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[22] 70
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[23] 22
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[24] 47
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] 16
US R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales (Billboard)[26] 7
US Rap Album Sales (Billboard)[27] 5

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lil' Kim announces new album 9 out in May". The Fader. March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "Lil Kim's "9" Has a Sequel Album That Will Be Released "Really Soon"". HotNewHipHop. October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "Lil' Kim Reveals Release Date for New Album 'Nine'". The Source. March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  4. ^ "Lil Kim says new album '9' is a spiritual awakening: 'That number is very powerful for me'". The Grio. July 16, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Daryl Nelson (April 23, 2019). "Lil' Kim Blasts Label For Holding Back Album, Also Has Words For Spotify: 'I Am Beyond Upset'". atlantablackstar.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Tai Gooden (July 15, 2019). "Lil Kim's New Album '9' Will Be Released In July Alongside Her New Reality TV Show". Bustle. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "Go Awff - Single by Lil' Kim on iTunes". iTunes Store. February 15, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "Lil' Kim - Go Awff (Official Video) - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Lil' Kim Delays '9' Album Release". Rap-Up. April 23, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  10. ^ Mitch Findlay (October 3, 2019). "Lil Kim Links With Rick Ross On "Pray For Me"". www.hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Kathy Iandoli (July 11, 2018). "Lil' Kim Debuts New Track, 'Nasty One,' Talks Early Censorship & Everlasting Legacy". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "Lil' Kim Talks Her New, Highly-Anticipated Album, "9"". www.youtube.com. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  13. ^ "Lil' Kim - talks Beyoncé, Drake, New Album, City Girls and more". www.youtube.com. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  14. ^ "Lil' Kim - 9 (Deluxe Edition)". Amazon. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  15. ^ "New Music Friday: Our Top 6 Albums Out Oct. 11". NPR.org. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  16. ^ Edward Bowser (October 11, 2019). "Album Review: Lil Kim, 9". www.soulinstereo.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  17. ^ Kyle Denis (October 11, 2019). "Album Review: Lil' Kim, '9'". blackboybulletin.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  18. ^ Tonie Chase (October 21, 2019). "Lil' Kim Explores New Sound on Long-Awaited '9'". bcheights.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  19. ^ Jordan Bassett (October 16, 2019). "Lil Kim – '9' review". www.nme.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "9 (Deluxe) by Lil' Kim on Discogs". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  21. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Téléchargés (Semaine du 18 Octobre)" (in French). www.snepmusique.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  22. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 (18 October 2019 - 24 October 2019)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  23. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40 (18 October 2019 - 24 October 2019)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  24. ^ "Lil' Kim Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  25. ^ "Lil' Kim Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  26. ^ "Lil' Kim Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  27. ^ "Lil' Kim Chart History: Rap Album Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
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