Crop Circle 2

Last updated

Crop Circle 2
Nines - Crop Circle 2.png
Studio album by
Released28 April 2023 (2023-04-28)
Length43:13
Label
Producer
Nines chronology
Crabs in a Bucket
(2020)
Crop Circle 2
(2023)
Crop Circle 3
(2023)
Singles from Crop Circle 2
  1. "Tony Soprano 2"
    Released: 20 April 2023 [1]

Crop Circle 2 is the fourth studio album by English rapper Nines, released on 28 April 2023 by Zino and Warner Records. It features guest appearances from Skrapz, J Styles and Fatz of Ice City Boyz, Wretch 32, M Huncho, Potter Payper, Clavish, Nafe Smallz, Kojey Radical and Tiggs da Author. [2] The album, which shares its name with a 2020 film made by Nines following his 2018 album Crop Circle , [3] was preceded by the lead single "Tony Soprano 2". [1]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash 8/10 [4]
Evening Standard Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Financial Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Mic Cheque7.5/10 [6]

Reviewing the album for Clash , Shanté Collier-McDermott felt that Crop Circle 2 "establishes Nines as the authentic talent fans love him for. He's grounded, able to casually flex his accomplishments, and this project signs off with him basking in a different lifestyle". She ultimately found that the album is "circular in nature" and "fuelled by continuation", with its "rolling instrumentals and narration encompassing an earlier era of his artistry in a fine-tuned way". [4] David Smyth of the Evening Standard wrote that Nines's "deadpan, unshowy delivery makes his words entirely believable and all the more startling", and that his "smooth production that foregrounds melody brings him closer to pop than his lyrics ought to allow". [1] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times opined that the album "resembles The Godfather Part II , a tale of trying to go straight", with Nines "present[ing] himself as getting too old for the criminal life rather than atoning for it". Hunter-Tilney concluded that "Nines and his producers have done an impressive job here". [5]

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings of Crop Circle 2
PublicationListRankRef.
Complex UK Complex UK's Best Albums of 20236 [7]

Commercial performance

Crop Circle 2 placed at number three on the midweek UK Albums Chart dated 1 May 2023, [8] debuting at number two on the final chart published on 5 May 2023. [9]

Track listing

Crop Circle 2 track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro" Show N Prove 2:12
2."Highly Blessed" (featuring Wretch 32 and Skrapz)
Jerome Williams3:25
3."Favela" (featuring J Styles)
  • Freckleton
  • Jordan Lindsay
  • Ayo Simpson
  • Taylor
Flyo2:21
4."Calendar" (with Aisa)
3:14
5."Nothing Like Me" (featuring M Huncho)
  • Freckleton
  • Mujtaba Khan
  • Eyobed Getachew
  • Paul Oseh
  • Mansur Brown
  • E.Y.
  • Karlos
  • Mansur Brown
2:26
6."Weedman" (featuring Lylo Gold)
Monte Booker 2:28
7."Tony Soprano 2"
  • Freckleton
  • Swifta
  • Benjamin Miller
  • Swifta
  • Benji Miller
3:50
8."What's Beef" (featuring Potter Payper)
  • R14 Beats
  • TN
  • Apo
2:48
9."Different League" (featuring Clavish and Nafe Smallz)
PabloMCR4:07
10."Wrist Watch / Prayed for This"
  • Freckleton
  • Oseh
  • Gregory Matta
  • Michelin Shin
  • Wayne Henderson
  • Willie Harris
Karlos2:37
11."F**k the Worl" (featuring Kojey Radical and Tiggs da Author)
2:31
12."Line of Fire Pt. 6" (featuring Fatz, J Styles, Little Torment and Streetz)
  • Freckleton
  • Taylor
  • Oseh
  • Show N Prove
  • Karlos
4:35
13."Letter to Hydro Interlude"
  • Freckleton
  • Taylor
Show N Prove1:43
14."Hear Me Out"
  • DannyGotThatJuice
  • Prod GX
2:17
15."Outro"
  • Freckleton
  • Rachel Moulden
  • Monro
  • Sorai
  • Monro
  • Sorai
2:39
Total length:43:13

Charts

Chart performance for Crop Circle 2
Chart (2023)Peak
position
Irish Albums (OCC) [10] 15
Scottish Albums (OCC) [11] 79
UK Albums (OCC) [9] 2
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [12] 1

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [13] Gold100,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Smyth, David (28 April 2023). "Nines: Crop Circle 2 album review - the rapper's deadpan delivery makes for startling moments". Evening Standard . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  2. Patterson, Joseph JP; Keith, James; Onapa, Emmanuel (28 April 2023). "First Impressions Of Nines' New Album Crop Circle 2". Complex . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. Neale, Matthew (21 April 2020). "Watch Ghetts, Kojey Radical, and more in Nines' new film Crop Circle". NME . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. 1 2 Collier-McDermott, Shanté (28 April 2023). "Nines – Crop Circle 2". Clash . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (28 April 2023). "Nines: Crop Circle 2 album review — hard-boiled road rap with a complex sound". Financial Times . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. Riaz, Hamza (14 May 2023). "Review: Nines, 'Crop Circle 2'". Mic Cheque. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  7. Patterson, Joseph JP; Keith, James; Cagna, Claudia (15 December 2023). "Complex UK's Best Albums Of 2023". Complex UK . Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  8. Griffiths, George (2 May 2023). "Odds on! The Lottery Winners' Anxiety Replacement Therapy tracks for Number 1". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  10. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  12. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  13. "British album certifications – Nines – Crop Circle 2". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 5 December 2024.