Crop Circle 3

Last updated

Crop Circle 3
Nines - Crop Circle 3.png
Studio album by
Released6 October 2023 (2023-10-06)
Length42:38
Label
  • Zino
Producer
  • 1st Born Music
  • Babycashy1
  • Daniel Miles
  • Handz Beatz
  • Harrijay
  • I Don't Rap I Dress
  • Jackson Romain
  • Jacob Manson
  • Jojo Mukeza
  • Karlos
  • LuqMakesBeats
  • ProdByDizzy
  • RJ Cherry
  • Show N Prove
Nines chronology
Crop Circle 2
(2023)
Crop Circle 3
(2023)
Quit While You're Ahead
(2024)
Singles from Quit While You're Ahead
  1. "Daily Duppy"
    Released: 24 September 2023
  2. "Toxic"
    Released: 5 October 2023

Crop Circle 3 is the fourth studio album by British rapper Nines, released on 6 October 2023, through Nines' own independent record label, Zino Records. [1] It features guest appearances from Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Big Narstie, Blade Brown, Fatz, George the Poet, Little Torment, Mark Morrison, Max Valentine, M Dot R, Miraa May, Mugzz, Ouraa, ShockTown, Skrapz, Streetz, Tiggs Da Author, Trapstar Toxic, and Tunde, while the album's production was primarily handled by Jacob Manson, Karlos, and Show N Prove with assistance from Handz Beatz, Jackson Romain, RJ Cherry, and several other producers. [2] The album serves as a follow-up to Nines' third, Crop Circle 2 (2023) and will serve as the final part of an album trilogy that began with Crop Circle (2018) and continued with Crop Circle 2 (2023). [3] Upon the release of the album, Nines released a short film of the same name. [4]

Contents

Release and promotion

Months after the release of the second instalment of his Crop Circle album trilogy, on 15 September 2023, Nines took to his Instagram to announce the release of Crop Circle 3 while sharing the album's cover art and release date for 6 October. [5] [6] On 24 September, Nines released his highly anticipated "Daily Duppy" which premiered on GRM Daily. [7] The song served as the album's lead single. [8] On 30 September, Nines shared the album's official tracklist to his Instagram. [9] On 5 October, just a day prior to the release of the album, Nines released the album's second single, "Toxic" featuring Bad Boy Chiller Crew. [1] Upon the release of the album, Nines released a short film of the same name, co-starring Alhan Gencay, Talliah Storm, and Nines himself. [10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]

Crop Circle 3 received positive reviews from music critics. Writing for GRM Daily, Niall Smith wrote that "overall, Crop Circle 3 is a solid body of work" and that it's difficult to compare the album to Nines' past work. He stated that on the album, "there's a medley of cohesion, chaos and crystalline penmanship". [2] AllMusic 's David Crone wrote that the project is a "smooth, blunt-voiced trap & hip-hop" album and that he "[weaves] struggle and success together in the [his] signature narratives". [11] In a positive review, Tara Joshi for The Guardian hinted towards Nines' retirement from music in her review, writing that "Nines is dreaming of a new, unconfined chapter: perhaps that’s why Crop Circle 3 sounds so enticingly free". [12] The Observer 's Damien Morris wrote that "we find Nines in a comfortable holding pattern" and that on the album, "he rehearses familiar topics" ranging from "his irresistibility to women" to "unfeasibly large bags of weed, and displays little desire to traverse deeper hinterlands". [13]

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings of Crop Circle 3
PublicationListRankRef.
Complex UK Complex UK's Best Albums of 202312 [14]

Track listing

Crop Circle 3 track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro" Courtney Freckleton
1:57
2."Only One" (featuring Skrapz and Ouraa)
  • Freckleton
  • Christopher Kyei
  • Oyinkansola Aderbigbe
3:04
3."So High" (featuring Max Valentine and ShockTown)
  • Freckleton
  • Max Valentine
  • ShockTown
  • Luke Grieve
  • Luke Grieve
  • 1st Born Music
3:59
4."Toxic" (featuring Bad Boy Chiller Crew)
  • Freckleton
  • Gareth Kelly
  • Sam Robinson
  • Kane Welsh
  • Jacob Manson
  • ProdByDizzy
  • LuqMakesBeats
  • I Don't Rap I Dress
  • Babycashy1
2:58
5."Daily Duppy" (with GRM Daily)FreckletonKarlos3:12
6."Never Be Me" (featuring Blade Brown)
  • Jacob Manson
  • Karlos
2:24
7."Not Guilty" (featuring Mark Morrison and Tiggs Da Author)
  • Karlos
  • Show N Prove
2:34
8."I Do" (featuring Mugzz and Tunde)
  • Freckleton
  • Mugzz
  • Olu Finni
  • Jacob Manson
  • Show N Prove
  • RJ Cherry
2:15
9."Good Morning"Freckleton
  • Jacob Manson
  • Karlos
2:58
10."Max Elliot" (featuring Big Narstie and M Dot R)
  • Karlos
  • Show N Prove
2:41
11."My Turn"FreckletonKarlos2:28
12."Could of Been" (featuring Miraa May)
  • Freckleton
  • Miraa May
  • Jacob Manson
  • Handz Beatz
2:26
13."Line of Fire Pt. 7" (featuring Fatz, Little Torment, Streetz, and Trapstar Toxic)
  • Freckleton
  • Fatz
  • Little Torment
  • Streetz
  • Trapstar Toxic
Karlos3:19
14."Devils Rejects" (featuring Skrapz and George the Poet)
  • Jacob Manson
  • Handz Beatz
3:22
15."Outro" (featuring Debbie)
  • Freckleton
  • Debbie Ehirim
  • Jojo Mukeza
  • Daniel Miles
3:01
Total length:42:38

Charts

Chart performance for Crop Circle 3
Chart (2023)Peak
position
Irish Albums (OCC) [15] 12
Scottish Albums (OCC) [16] 13
UK Albums (OCC) [17] 2
UK Independent Albums Chart (OCC) [18] 3
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [19] 1

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References

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  2. 1 2 Smith, Niall (6 October 2023). "Nines Looks To The Future On New LP Crop Circle 3". GRM Daily . Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. Kanengoni, Jonathan (6 October 2023). "Nines: here's five talking points from the rapper's new album Crop Circle 3". Evening Standard . Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
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  9. "Nines Reveals Track List For The Third Instalment of Crop Circle". GRM Daily . 30 September 2023. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  10. "Nines Releases Brand New Crop Circle Film". GRM Daily . 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
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  16. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
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