We've been waiting on this one for a good long while, but today Nines' Crabs In A Bucket is finally out. It's been two years since his sophomore album Crop Circle, but anticipation for its follow-up never dipped for a second.
We got the first taste of the album earlier this month with "Clout", a rap fan's delight that paid homage to his musical heroes, and then the second taste with the NSG-assisted "Airplane Mode", itself a tongue-in-cheek homage to Soul Plane. They weren't the only cuts filled with pop culture references and elusive wordplay; right now, Twitter threads are cropping up left, right and centre as people unpack the 17-track opus.
Like Crop Circle, Nines couldn't simply release an album. Instead, alongside co-director Charlie Di Placido, he's put together a short film that puts segments from the album against short scenes and skits that give an honest and at times tragic look at what it's like to transition from street life to the music industry. It's not as simple as handing in your notice and working your two weeks. There's humour in there too of course, but some of the hardest-hitting moments happen in the blink of an eye, like the opening scene where he explains the difference between trap stars and drillers, and the nihilism that pervades the latter.
Take a listen below and look out for the huge number of features that include Headie One, Skrapz, Nafe Smallz, Fundz, Tiggs Da Author, Louis Rei, Roy Woods, Q2T, NorthSideBenji, Frosty, Odeal, REID B2WN, Cherrie, Clavish and Chappo CSB.
