A fter 12 years, five albums and four mixtapes, the curtain closes. Nines’ final project, Quit While You’re Ahead, will be his last. And though many are often sceptical about the idea of a rapper retiring, believing that any such promise will eventually be walked back on, the 34-year-old, real name Courtney Leon Freckleton, is serious about his sixth album being his ultimate.
“I ain’t coming back. I don’t care how much money they offer me,” he says, “If I made decisions based off money, I deffo wouldn’t have had the career I have. No money can make me come back.
” For more than a decade, Nines has been a leading name in the rising tide of British rap. Three of his albums are certified gold, another one silver. All landed in the Top 5, while his August 2020 album Crabs in a Bucket, was his first No 1.
He has filtered his stories of hustling and hunger in north-west London through a trademark laid-back flow, and a sense of lyricism filled with punchlines and metaphors. The imagery in his videos and short films have often matched the luxury of his music, bringing his street diaries to the screen. In that process, a cult following that started on YouTube has spread across the country, and beyond.
The past few months have been intense for Nines. Making Quit While You’re Ahead took about six months, then after that he bunkered down to shoot videos and the now trademark short film that have accompanied all of his most recent projects. There is a huge show at south.