"9 Piece" is a song by American rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

. There are two versions, one featuring T.I. and the other –

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

. The song was originally placed on Ross' mixtape '' Ashes to Ashes'' and later released as a single from his fifth studio album, ''

God Forgives, I Don't ''God Forgives, I Don't'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on July 30, 2012, by Maybach Music Group and Slip-n-Slide Records, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. The album was produced by several record ...

'' (2011). However, despite peaking at number 61 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song did not make the final cut for the album. In 2013, "9 Piece" was featured on the soundtrack of

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor Coppola, Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed ...

's film ''

The Bling Ring ''The Bling Ring'' is a 2013 crime film written and directed by Sofia Coppola featuring an ensemble cast led by Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, and Claire Julien. It is based on the 2010 '' Vanity Fair'' article "Th ...

''.

Background

"9 Piece" was produced by

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

, with whom Ross had previously worked on the single "

B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast) "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)" is the second single from Rick Ross' fourth studio album '' Teflon Don''. It features Styles P. It was produced by Lex Luger. The song was originally released as an unmastered version on Ross' promotional mixtape, the ...

", as well as "MC Hammer" off of his 2010 studio album '' Teflon Don''. The original version of "9 Piece" with a guest verse by T.I. was featured on Ross' mixtape ''Ashes to Ashes'', which was released on December 24, 2010. A new version was recorded later, with Lil Wayne replacing T.I. The second version was released as a single from ''God Forgives, I Don't'' on May 10, 2011. Despite being a commercial success, the song was left out of the final track list for the album.

Music video

Each version of the song has its own music video. The first video was directed by MMG's in-house director Spiff TV, and was released on December 24, 2010, coinciding with the release of ''Ashes to Ashes''. The official music video for the second version, directed by Gil Green, was released on June 24, 2011. It shows Rick Ross and Lil Wayne at various locations, including a restaurant, its parking lot, a strip club and a pool club. The rappers are organizing drug deals via their iPhones while under police surveillance. The video features cameo appearances from Gunplay,

Ace Hood Antoine Franklin McColister (born May 11, 1988), better known by his stage name Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was signed to record producer DJ Khaled's label We ...

Torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...

Young Breed Triple C's, also known as Carol City Cartel, is an American hip hop group founded by Rick Ross in 2005. The group takes its name from the Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens, and consists of Gunplay from Miami, Torch from the Bronx, New Yo ...

8Ball & MJG 8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop duo from Memphis, Tennessee. They met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut album ''Comin' Out Hard''. They went on to release ''On the Outside Looking In ...

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

and Birdman. Alex Young of

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

commented on the video: "Strippers, guns, drugs, and…iPhones? Check, check, check, and check." As of May 2014, it has gained over 4 million views on YouTube.

''The Bling Ring''

"9 Piece" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2013

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

'', directed by

. The soundtrack was supervised by frequent Coppola collaborator

Brian Reitzell Brian Reitzell (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician, composer, record producer and music supervisor best known for his work on many film and TV soundtracks. He is notable for working extensively with the American film director Sofia ...

and contains a mix of music ranging between hip-hop,

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...

and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

. Reitzell tried to find contemporary music that would fit within the film's setting, commenting "I spent a few months listening to everything that is out now, and then going back a bit to when the story actually happened." "9 Piece" is featured in one of the first scenes of the film, where the characters of

Katie Chang Katherine Chang (born May 3, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rebecca Ahn in ''The Bling Ring'' (2013), Ellen Reeves in ''A Birder's Guide to Everything'' (2013) and Claire Connors in '' The Outcasts'' (2017). Early li ...

and Claire Julien are seen rapping to the song, while it's playing from their car's stereo system.

Chart performance

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2011 singles Rick Ross songs T.I. songs Lil Wayne songs Song recordings produced by Lex Luger (musician) Songs written by Rick Ross Songs written by T.I. Songs written by Lil Wayne 2010 songs Songs written by Lex Luger (musician)