“One day I’ll be legit, and make it out the hood on some genie shit,” Nines raps on breakthrough 2012 track “CR” – and it seems that time has come. Boasting musical successes both at the top of the UK charts and at the back of the 18 bus (as well as many others), few have had a run quite like northwest London rapper Nines. 

Immediately recognisable by his laid-back flow, Nines’ music is widely celebrated for its astute insights on hood politics and national sociopolitical issues alike. Ranging from the trapstar braggadocio of cuts like “Love 2 The Game” (“All I do is unwrap packets / Now I’m ‘bout to be in the 50 per cent tax bracket”) to the hard-hitting social commentary of “Yay ft. Tiggs Da Author” (“She so pretty when I seen her / To me she’s a queen but a nitty to a dealer”), it is this ability to turn real-life experiences into aphoristic turns of phrase that has cemented Nines as a beloved figure in the UK rap scene.

Even amid the now-familiar archetype of gangster-turned-storyteller, Nines stands out with a distinct sense of humour and philanthropy to complement his (alleged) more nefarious activities. On Christmas Day 2011, at the age of 21, the rapper filled a heavy goods vehicle with turkeys and distributed them to people in need in his community: the infamous Church Road estate in Harlesden. Three years later, following a brief stint in prison, an SBTV documentary depicted the artist personally thanking fans who had written to him while incarcerated. 

Since these early instances of hood hospitality, Nines has enjoyed international success for his music. His more recent ventures have seen the rapper take to scripting and directing the ongoing Crop Circle series, which takes a cinematic look at the deprived London communities so central to his music. Riffing on this theme, Crop Circle 3 casts Nines alongside notorious internet personality Alhan Gençay in a Cheech & Chong-style stoner comedy, exploring the pressures of coming of age and staying on the straight and narrow in corrupted inner-city environments through the unlikely lens of weed consumption. 

At the peak of this success, however, Nines announced that his latest album, fittingly titled Quit While You’re Ahead, will be his last. As the project drops today, we highlight five landmark releases in the rapper’s career. 

“F**K THE WORL (FT. TIGGS DA AUTHOR AND KOJEY RADICAL)”

While not one of his biggest hits, looking back, “F**K The Worl (ft. Tiggs Da Author and Kojey Radical)” feels like a pivotal moment in the transition away from rap that Nines is undergoing now. Released on last year’s Crop Circle 2 project, Nines’ lyrics here reveal a surprising vulnerability, with the prolific weedman complaining about “digging through his ashtray” and others “having to get a job in the Metaverse”. It’s a change of pace from his usual hard-as-nails subject matter, speaking to horizons beyond the Church Road Estate. 

“CLOUT”

Nines’ first release following a brutal stabbing that pushed him out of the spotlight for several months, “Clout” – and ensuing album Crabs in a Bucket – was a triumphant return for an artist that many feared might not be heard from again. On the track, Nines calls out these doubters, as well as wider pettiness in the rap game, alongside a music video that recreates various iconic album covers from the 90s and 00s. Leading an album campaign that ended up at number one on the UK charts, “Clout” once again showed that Nines occupied a lane of his own

“YAY (FT. TIGGS DA AUTHOR)”

Telling the heartwrenching story of Nines’ childhood crush who becomes a drug addict, alongside the now-iconic chorus from Tiggs Da Author, “Yay” manages to be both a party staple and deeply emotive. Arriving on the rapper’s 2015 One Foot In album, the track was an early display of Nines’ ability to tread beyond street rap punchlines, offering a sobering perspective on the effects of drug distribution that feature so heavily in his music. 

“FIRE IN THE BOOTH”

Alongside Giggs’ “Talkin Da Hardest” and Sneakbo’s “Touch Ah Button”, Nines’ “Fire in the Booth” freestyle was practically essential listening for anyone growing up in the UK in the early 10s. It’s raw and unrefined, but it’s precisely this coarseness that makes it so compelling – like a regular conversation taking place on the streets of London at the time (albeit a slightly more lavish one that most are used to).

“CR”

Released all the way back in 2012, Nines’ first hit is perhaps his most legendary to date. The use of Yonkers rapper Styles P’s “How I Fly” instrumental helped add a sense of prestige to the UK’s then-fledgling ‘road rap’ scene, continuing a trend that was previously established by “Talkin’ Da Hardest”. With references to the ‘cheese’ weed strain and Blackberry phones, Nines’ lyrics here are effortlessly London, and also oddly prophetic – “One day I’ll be legit / And fly out the hood on some genie shit”. Goodbye Nines, we’ll miss you!