Our fam Godilla checks in with his review of the collaborative effort from Snowgoons and Nine, ‘King’. Have a read of that and you may also stream the album at the end.
I was lucky enough to experience so many different eras in hip-hop music. As a youngin’, I witnessed the golden era, the daisy age, the hip-house phase and the west coast rise to dominance with G-Funk. Back in the 90s when hip-hop was regional and different areas had distinctive sounds, the east coast was regaining momentum with albums such as B.I.G.’s ‘Ready To Die’, Black Moon’s ‘Enta Da Stage’ and Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘Enter The Wu-Tang 36 Chambers’. An overlooked album that helped bring some attention to that raw sound was Nine’s ‘Nine Livez’. The album had the break out single “Whutcha Want” and followed up with singles like “Any Emcee” and “Ova Confident”. Nine continued the BX dope with his second album ‘Cloud Nine’. After being off the scene he returned with a few mixtapes. This time he returns with ‘King’ a full musical onslaught with the help of The Snowgoons production team.
The album starts with the lead single “The Revenant”. Nine shows he hasn’t lost a step on a menacing Snowgoons production. This song should kill any doubt of whether time got the best of the BX emcee. This song sets the tone for the album’s vibe and continues with songs like “Killmonger”, “Pull Up” and “Pita Roll”. Guest vocals by Griselda’s Conway, Ruste Juxx and Chris Rivers show Nine has no problem keeping up with hitters from today’s scene. The crown feature in my opinion is the track “Breathe” featuring Kool G Rap and Smoothe Da Hustler. Over a smooth track with horns that fade in and out all three emcees show the skill that have their names revered in respected circles.
My favorite track is “Hilfiger”. The song is a detailed affirmation to why we should respect the O.G. It’s an ode to the era he debuted in while letting new jacks know the time. Another stand out is “I Am” where Nine shouts out many of our music’s icons and unsung heroes. This track shows authenticity while showing love to those who paved the way. The Snowgoons show growth in their production. Hard drums and haunting melodies and piano stabs provide Nine with the perfect backdrop to plot his return. Any producer would have a tough time filling in for previous producers Rob Lewis and Jesse West, but The Snowgoons were able to fill the void and add on to an already strong track record. The 13 song album is a great reintroduction to Nine while solidifying The Snowgoons reputation as a respected production team. Hopefully this is just the start of their work together.
