Derrick Keyes, known professionally as Nine, was born on September 19, 1969, in New York City and is an American rapper. Initially going by the names "Nine Double M" and "9 Double M," Nine gained early recognition through his guest appearances on Funkmaster Flex's tracks "Six Million Ways to Die" (1993) and F.A.L.L.I.N.(And You Can’t Get Up) (1991). His breakthrough came with the release of his debut album, Nine Livez, in March 1995, which featured the single "Whutcha Want?". Both the album and the single achieved moderate success on the Billboard Charts. Nine's subsequent album, Cloud 9 (August 1996), produced by Rob Lewis, did not achieve the desired breakthrough. Following these releases, Nine took a hiatus from music to pursue other ventures, including acting in the television series NY Undercover. He returned to the music scene in the mid-2000s with several albums, including Quinine (April 2009) and King (September 2018), the latter of which was a collaboration with Snowgoons. Nine's work is characterized by his deep, raspy voice and strong jazz influences typical of the East Coast hip-hop scene. His albums are now largely out of print and were produced in limited quantities.
