9Lives
9lives' production style -- a combination of cascading synths, trap beats, and punctuating sound effects -- serves as a backbone for viral collaborations with Trippie Redd (2023’s “Popular”) and Odetari (2023’s “I Love You Hoe,” 2024’s “Millionaire”), as well as his own solo soundscapes #Exclusive (2022) and 33.1Fm (2023).
Born Max Jardine to a South African family in the rural New Zealand town of Hawkes Bay, 9lives was encouraged to take drum lessons and soon began experimenting with loops at home. Wanting to stand out from the crowd of trap-influenced beatmakers, Jardine first gravitated toward jungle and ambient production before becoming enamored with sigilkore, a unique style taking influence from cloud rap and hyperpop: hazy textures at upbeat tempos, often inspired by the sonic palettes of video games.
Jardine's first big success as 9lives began with 2022’s #Exclusive, a collection of his best, trippiest beats. Rappers Luci4 and Xanahxlic, two of the best-known names in sigilkore, each sampled the set’s lead track “Khaos Emerald,” leading to viral success on TikTok and a groundswell of streams for 9lives' work. The following year, he branched out even further, releasing the well-received single “XTAYALIVE” and producing rapper Odetari's debut 3x3 EP and Trippie Redd's “Popular,” one of the key tracks on Redd's St. Michael, Vol.2. (Redd also appeared on a popular remix of Odetari and 9lives' “I Love You Hoe.”) By the end of 2023, he’d inked a global publishing deal with Kobalt, hoping to usher his sound even further into the mainstream.
© Mike Duquette /TiVo
Similar artists
-
-
-
-
-
-
BABY I'M HOME (w/ Kanii & 9lives)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by APG Inc. - Odetari on 16 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
XTAYALIVE (Remixes)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by The System on 27 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
REASSURE ME (w/ 9lives)
Dance - Released by APG Inc. - Odetari on 7 Jun 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
khaos emerald
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by The System on 13 Nov 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Go (Xtayalive 2) (Sped Up)
Dance - Released by The System on 12 May 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
BABY I'M HOME (ODECORE MIX)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by APG Inc. - Odetari on 16 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I LOVE YOU HOE (w/ Trippie Redd & 9lives)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by APG Inc. - Odetari on 5 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
khaos emerald 2 (Remixes)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by The System on 24 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Go (Xtayalive 2) (Slowed Down)
Dance - Released by Masked Records - Warner Records on 30 Jun 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I LOVE YOU HOE (w/ 9lives)
Dance - Released by APG Inc. - Odetari on 12 Jul 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
khaos emerald (Remixes)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by The System on 9 Jan 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I LOVE YOU HOE (ODECORE 1400 MIX)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by APG Inc. - Odetari on 9 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Belong With You
Dance - Released by Revealed Recordings on 18 Dec 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -