First Impressions Of Nines’ New Album ‘Crop Circle 2’

A week or so ago, Nines was spotted meeting up with Larry June and The Alchemist. Earlier this week, Twitter was arguing about which UK artists Al should work with. Rightly, someone pointed out that there aren’t many UK rhymers who would mesh with that sound, either because of style or experience. One exception that came up, however, was Nines and, as it turns out, Crop Circle 2 goes a long way to proving that point. 

This fourth album is a bit of a departure from the Nines of old—even from 2018’s Crop Circle and 2020’s Crabs In A Bucket, where he folded in elements of Afroswing and more into his sound—so it remains to be seen what the purists will think. As those two albums will attest, it’s not as if Nines has always been doom-and-gloom, but he sounds happier, more laid-back and comfortable in himself than we’ve ever really heard. Production comes from a wide range of producers, most of them from the UK, but there are a few from further afield.

That list includes Jerome Williams, Flo, Show N Prove, Jacob Manson, EY, Karlos, Mansur Brown, Monte Booker, Swifta, Benji Benji, R14 Beats, Michelin Shin, Beat Butcha, Danny Got That Juice, GX, Monro, and Sokari. Features-wise, it’s a similarly broad spread, with guest verses and hooks coming from Skrapz, Wretch 32, J Styles, M Huncho, Lylo Gold, Potter Payper, Nafe Smallz, Clavish, Tiggs Da Author, Kojey Radical, Streetz, Fatz and Little Torment.

Having had a couple of weeks to sit with the album, some of the Complex UK team—Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson, James Keith and Emmanuel Onapa—sat down to share their first thoughts. Tap in below.

A week or so ago, Nines was spotted meeting up with Larry June and The Alchemist. Earlier this week, Twitter was arguing about which UK artists Al should work with. Rightly, someone pointed out that there aren’t many UK rhymers who would mesh with that sound, either because of style or experience. One exception that came up, however, was Nines and, as it turns out, Crop Circle 2 goes a long way to proving that point. 

This fourth album is a bit of a departure from the Nines of old—even from 2018’s Crop Circle and 2020’s Crabs In A Bucket, where he folded in elements of Afroswing and more into his sound—so it remains to be seen what the purists will think. As those two albums will attest, it’s not as if Nines has always been doom-and-gloom, but he sounds happier, more laid-back and comfortable in himself than we’ve ever really heard. Production comes from a wide range of producers, most of them from the UK, but there are a few from further afield.

That list includes Jerome Williams, Flo, Show N Prove, Jacob Manson, EY, Karlos, Mansur Brown, Monte Booker, Swifta, Benji Benji, R14 Beats, Michelin Shin, Beat Butcha, Danny Got That Juice, GX, Monro, and Sokari. Features-wise, it’s a similarly broad spread, with guest verses and hooks coming from Skrapz, Wretch 32, J Styles, M Huncho, Lylo Gold, Potter Payper, Nafe Smallz, Clavish, Tiggs Da Author, Kojey Radical, Streetz, Fatz and Little Torment.

Having had a couple of weeks to sit with the album, some of the Complex UK team—Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson, James Keith and Emmanuel Onapa—sat down to share their first thoughts. Tap in below.