[REVIEW] Nines – One Foot In [@NINES1ACE] [@EXPLICITLDN]

[button color=”orange” link=”http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/Nines/OneFootIn/2624″ target=”http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/Nines/OneFootIn/2624″]DOWNLOAD Nines – One Foot In NOW[/button]

“told my n** don’t borrow out his pedal, I lose weight every time I sell you light”

Nines is definitely one of the most popular UK rappers to step out of the underground scene into the mainstream limelight. The North West London rapper gained instant widespread recognition with a collection of “Shutdown” videos which showed Nines giving back to his community. Whether it was buying new shoes or grills for the youths, or giving out turkeys to the public before Christmas, it was something that we have never witnessed before from a UK rapper and it was an innovative move to stand out.

The UK commended Nines for his devotion to his community and he soon flourished as a rapper proving to the UK that he has a lot to offer musically. It was after his debut mixtape “From Church Road To Hollywood” that we soon realised that Nines can single-handedly take over the game.

And take over he did, as fans were eagerly anticipating more music from the Church Road rapper. He released ‘Gone Till November’ whilst he was incarcerated and proved to still run UK Rap whilst he was away gaining nothing but support and praise from the inside.

Fast forward to 2015 and any mention of Nines sends the UK into a frenzy. However, the wait is finally over as Nines is back once again teaming up with SBTV to bring you ‘One Foot In’ one half of a two part project on Nines, his story and his come up.

The mixtape begins with the “Intro” featuring Speshill which sets the mixtape off to an explosive start as Nines raps fire over a cover of Nipsey Hussle’s “Killa”. Nines’ does what he does best with a laid back flow and a series of punch lines. After the intro it seems that Nines is back like he never left.

There is a diverse set of producers on the mixtape from the likes of: Slay, Show & Prove, long term collaborator PDubzz and many more.

‘One Foot In’ has a more structured sound compared to previous releases. This makes sense as Nines it starting to make his music more personal for the listeners. One aspect of the mixtape that allowed Nines to achieve this is the noticeable collaborations with the 6 Figure Music group as well as collaborating with rapper TE dness and singer Chrish Andoh. Tracks like “No Other” have a vibe to it that works well with the direction of the mixtape and attracts a whole new set of listeners, catering to a wider audience.

The lead single of the project “Can’t Blame Me” is the track that was blessed with the first visuals from the mixtape. Nines reminds the scene why they call him “Punchline Nines” as he drops nothing but lyrics that go over the head.

Nines’ has a strong team behind him and has a few tracks on ‘One Foot In’ that really represents the talent coming from Church Road. Tracks like: “Grind For Real” featuring Skrapz, Likkle T & Keza, “Watch and See” featuring Fatz & Streets and “Ice City” featuring Skrapz & Fatz prove that Nines’ is bringing his team through with him.

A track that stood out on the mixtape was “Yay” featuring Tigger Da Author. Complemented with the unique sound of Tigger Da Author, Nines tells the listeners a story of a girl who took a turn for the worse, whose life got taken over by cocaine.

Nines’ mixtapes usually offers bonus material and with ’One Foot In’, this is no different. Nines adds an audio version of his “SBTV Bars- 2015” along with a fresh, exclusive “Freestyle”. Nines has also been one to shine light on upcoming talent and it was a nice touch to add a track of Nafe Smallz as a bonus track on the mixtape.

The wait for new material from Nines was worth it as he has shown a considerable amount of progression in his music. The quality of the mixtape has the traits of an album and Nines is on his way to making history in the UK Rap scene.

BEST TRACK: RICK JAMES / JUST ANOTHER DAY /

Tariq Peters (@Explicit LDN)

[button color=”orange” link=”http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/Nines/OneFootIn/2624″ target=”http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/Nines/OneFootIn/2624″]DOWNLOAD Nines – One Foot In NOW[/button]