9 (Lil' Kim album)
| Company type | Record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founder | Lil' Kim |
Area served | United States |
| Owner | Lil' Kim |
9 represents the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, officially released on October 11, 2019, under the labels Queen Bee Entertainment and eOne. The album's lead single, "Go Awff," was introduced on February 15, 2019. While filming the reunion episode of VH1's Girls Cruise, Kim revealed intentions to produce a second installment of 9 slated for 2020.
Background
On March 23, 2019, Lil' Kim revealed the album's originally planned release date as May 17, 2019. She characterized 9 as a symbol of spiritual renewal and a meaningful figure connected deeply with her career milestones and personal experiences: Junior M.A.F.I.A. consisted of nine members, her daughter’s birthday falls on June 9th, Biggie passed away on March 9th, and the album was released in 2019. During an interview at the 2019 BET Awards, she highlighted the significance and influence of this number.
In April, eOne postponed the album’s launch from May to July to coincide with Kim’s reality series Girls Cruise, though the final release date was set for October.
Promotion
The track "Nasty One" from 2018 was initially intended to serve as the lead single but was ultimately left off the album. Instead, "Go Awff," which dropped in February 2019 and was supported by a music video in March, took the lead single position. In April, Lil' Kim shared the promotional single "No Auto Blanco" exclusively via SoundCloud. The album’s second official single, "Found You," featuring appearances from O.T. Genasis, City Girls, and Watts Up Mickey, was unveiled in September 2019. On October 3, she released the third single "Pray for Me," featuring Rick Ross and Musiq Soulchild, alongside confirming October 11 as the album’s official release date. Although early reports suggested a 13-track listing, the final version included nine songs, with "Missing" being excluded.
Lil' Kim announced that a follow-up to 9 would arrive later, featuring collaborations with artists such as Missy Elliott, Paris Hilton, Remy Ma, and Fabolous, as well as comedian Pretty Vee. The initial part of 9 was also issued in a deluxe CD edition that included “Nasty One (Remix)” as an additional track, while “Spicy” was incorporated into the vinyl version.
Promotional photography was conducted by renowned celebrity photographer Michael Antonio Hunter with styling by Misa Hylton.
Critical reception
Upon release, the album was highlighted on NPR's list of "best new albums of the week" and garnered reviews ranging from mixed to favorable. Jordan Bassett from NME awarded it 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as "lewd, contrarian and confrontational – all qualities that have solidified Kim’s iconic status."
Commercial performance
While 9 did not enter the US Billboard 200, it achieved position number 47 on the Top Album Sales chart, reached number 7 on R&B/Hip Hop Album Sales, and secured number 16 on the Independent Albums chart with total pure album sales amounting to 2,627 copies.
On an international scale, it peaked at number 22 on the French Digital Albums chart, number 70 on the UK Album Downloads Chart, and number 22 on the UK R&B Albums chart.
Track listing
Sample credits
- "Catch My Wave" incorporates a sample from "OGFD" by Frank Dukes.
- "Go Awff" contains a sample of "Dangerous" by the xx.
- "Too Bad" features an interpolation of "Get It Together" by 702.
- "You Are Not Alone" includes an interpolation of "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson.
- "Found You" samples "Ms. New Booty" by both Bubba Sparxxx and Ying Yang Twins.
- "Auto Blanco" samples "No Auto Durk" by Lil Durk.
- "Spicy" incorporates a sample from "Hot Stepper" by Ini Kamoze.
Charts
Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chart| Chart (2019) | Highest ranking |
|---|---|
| French Digital Albums (SNEP) | 22 |
| UK Album Downloads (Official Charts Company) | 70 |
| UK R&B Albums (Official Charts Company) | 22 |
| US R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales (Billboard) | 7 |