| 9 | ||||
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| Released | October 11, 2019 | |||
| Recorded | 2012–2019 | |||
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| Length | 30:59 | |||
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| Producer |
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| Lil' Kim chronology | ||||
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| Singles from 9 | ||||
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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]
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]
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.
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]
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.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pray for Me" (feat. Rick Ross and Musiq Soulchild) |
| Xtassy | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Bag" | Jones | Mark Henry | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Catch My Wave" (feat. Rich the Kid) | Jones | Smash Davis | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Go Awff" | Jones | Soundwave | 3:12 |
| 5. | "Too Bad" | Jones | Orlando The Great | 3:39 |
| 6. | "You Are Not Alone" |
| Grandz Muzik, Buda, Rondon | 2:45 |
| 7. | "Found You" (feat. O.T. Genasis, City Girls) |
| Jonny Cash | 3:32 |
| 8. | "Auto Blanco" | Jones | Jungle Boy Beats, DJ Mil-Ticket | 2:10 |
| 9. | "Jet Fuel" | Jones | 808 Mafia, AB on the Beat, Will Major | 3:14 |
| Total length: | 30:59 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Nasty One (Remix)" (feat. Stefflon Don, Kranium and HoodCelebrityy) |
| Bkorn | 4:01 |
| Total length: | 34:59 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Spicy" (feat. Fabolous) |
| 3:26 |
Sample credits
| 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 |
Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. A double album, it was released sixteen days after his murder. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort, Angela Winbush, D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C., R. Kelly, the Lox, and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits the Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. The album is a sequel to his first album, Ready to Die, and picks up where the last song, "Suicidal Thoughts", ends.
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996, by Undeas Recordings, Big Beat Records, and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995), Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers, such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Stevie J., David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri, among others. Other rappers, including Jay-Z, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
The Notorious K.I.M. is the second studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Atlantic Records and was her first album on her new label Queen Bee Entertainment. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 235,000 copies in its first week, achieving Lil' Kim's highest peak and biggest first-week sales, and reached the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A commercial success, The Notorious K.I.M. was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 2, 2000. It was the best-selling female rap album in 2000 with sales of over 1.4 million copies in the United States. To date, The Notorious K.I.M. has sold 4 million copies worldwide.
The Naked Truth is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on September 27, 2005. The album was released the same week she started her year-long prison sentence for perjury and it was her last studio album released by Atlantic Records before deciding to part ways in 2008. Two official singles were released from the album: "Lighters Up" as the lead single, released in September 2005, and "Whoa", as the second and final single, in February 2006. The Naked Truth remains the only album by a female rapper to be rated five mics by The Source. The album has sold nearly 500,000 copies in the United States.
La Bella Mafia is the third studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on March 4, 2003, by Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies in the United States.
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"No Matter What They Say" is a song by Lil' Kim from her second album The Notorious K.I.M. (2000). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 30, 2000 by Atlantic Records and Queen Bee Entertainment.
"Not Tonight" is a song performed by the American rapper Lil' Kim featuring Jermaine Dupri for her debut studio album Hard Core (1996). A remix was released the following year featuring female rappers Da Brat, Missy "Misdeameanor" Elliott, Angie Martinez, and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes for the Nothing to Lose soundtrack. It was released on June 24, 1997, by Atlantic Records.
"Let It Go" is a song by American R&B singer Keyshia Cole featuring American rappers Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim. It was written by Cole, Jack Knight, Cainon Lamb, Lil' Kim, and Missy Elliott for her second album Just Like You (2007) and samples "Juicy Fruit" by Mtume, and "Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples, while also interpolating "Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G., who also sampled "Juicy Fruit." An uptempo song written by all three artists with Jack Knight, Cainon Lamb and James Mtume and produced by Lamb and Elliott, it marked the first collaboration between any of the three artists with one another.
"No Time" is the debut single by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring Puff Daddy. It was released as the lead single for her debut album Hard Core in October 1996. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached the top ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and peaked the US Rap Songs for nine weeks—becoming Kim's first number one hit on the chart. Additionally, the song charted at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. "No Time" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and contains a sample of Vicki Anderson's "Message from the Soul Sisters" and Lyn Collins's "Take Me Just As I Am."
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