9lives has just dropped his first release of the year, and while it’s not exactly a Valentine’s Day anthem, it definitely brings the heat.
The NZ producer teams up once again with frequent collaborator Odetari on the glitchy “UP FREESTYLE.”
“‘UP FREESTYLE’ feels like a combination of my world with Odetari’s,” says 9lives. “The synths and leads are huge, and I also added four-on-the-floor drums in sections which were Odetari-inspired. He did his thing and brought those fire melody lines.”
The pair have a proven track record—just look at their RIAA Gold-certified hit “I LOVE YOU HOE” (now sitting at 500M+ plays) and the Trippie Redd-assisted “MULTIMILLIONAIRE.”
“UP FREESTYLE” arrives fresh off 9lives’ run performing alongside American singer Kanii on the European leg of the ‘#BLUE’ tour and sets the stage for a big 2025.
Last year, Rolling Stone AU/NZ dubbed 9lives “the future of music,” pointing to his impressive, and by no means exhaustive, list of collaborators: jnhygs; Kanii (on multiple occasions); Odetari; Trippie Redd; and Lil Nas X.
“His bedroom beats have Platinum-selling rappers and multiple Grammy winners from the other side of the world falling over themselves to work with him; his future-facing production has tapped into a truly innovative sound, one which could only have been born out of this hyper-digital age, created by an eager musician soaking up the infinite sonic inspirations afforded to him at the flick of a button,” we wrote at the time.
In just a few years, 9lives has racked up outrageous streaming figures, with multiple tracks being played hundreds of millions of times on Spotify alone.
When we compiled our ‘Future of Music’ series this year, selecting 25 of the most exciting artists from Australia and Aotearoa we believed were destined for the very top, 9lives just had to be included. Some of his peers may have had more publicity, some of his rivals may have had a more extensive discography, but none could compete with his remarkable consistency and ridiculous numbers.
“Did you know that one of the 2020’s most innovative artists hails from humble Hawke’s Bay? […] 9lives has caught the attention of US stars like Trippie Redd and Odetari… While the current ‘Big 3’ of rap bitterly bicker about their talent in a very public way, 9lives and the new generation of producers quietly go about their business, dropping endless streaming behemoths,” we wrote.
9lives “UP FREESTYLE” (w/ Odetari)” is out now.
