* En anglais uniquement
Instantly recognizable by his signature Deadpool balaclava, London driller
V9 rose to prominence in 2018 with the aggressive single "Charged Up." Applying a blunter approach than close Homerton collaborators
KO and
Unknown T,
V9 established himself in 2019 with freestyles for
Kenny Allstar and Tim Westwood along with the release of his debut mixtape, Homerton Sensei.
Growing up in Hackney's Homerton district, rapper
V9 got his start in music in January 2018, releasing debut single "Glide" on popular U.K. rap hot spot Mixtape Madness. Using a Deadpool-inspired balaclava to deliver cold threats and violence-driven bars, the drill rapper quickly established himself as one to watch, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on late-summer singles "Tiger Woods," "DMC," and "Japan." However, it was not until September that
V9 truly broke out: the single "Charged Up," opens with the brutal verses, "Violence and swervings, lean out the ride and burst him/Of course I'm rolling, don't ask me twice if I'll burn him." The song became the rapper's first major hit, racking up millions of views and coining his renowned "V9 too devilish" sequence of bars.
Working locally alongside
Unknown T and
KO under the #Homerton banner,
V9 became the blunt force of the trio, eschewing
KO's technical lyricism and
Unknown T's eccentric flows for brutal, evocative imagery. After ending 2018 with
KO collaboration "Andy & Dwight," early 2019 saw him produce a number of singles: January's "Devilish" embraced his now-iconic catch phrase, while February saw him join Soze for "Get Man Gone."
V9's debut mixtape, Homerton Sensei, soon followed. Released in May, the project continued the rapper's intense approach to the genre, featuring "2.0" versions of both "Japan" and "DMC," as well as collaborations with
Unknown T,
KO,
RV, ST, and Jimmy. Through the rest of the year, the Homerton rapper landed freestyle spots on U.K. platforms like Mad About Bars and Tim Westwood TV, further increasing his exposure as well as that of his Homerton associates. His sophomore tape, Yudokuna, arrived in early 2020: with appearances from Homerton's
KO, Jimmy, &
Unknown T, the rapper's second project saw him embrace more experimental drill production. ~ David Crone