GS9 is a

hip hop collective Musical collective is a phrase used to describe a group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared.Liisa Ladouceur"Collegjthk ctive Souls" ''This Magazine'', November/December 2004. The concept is distinct from th ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Its current members include

Bobby Shmurda Ackquille Jean Pollard (born August 4, 1994), known professionally as Bobby Shmurda, is an American rapper. Along with Rowdy Rebel, Shmurda is considered a pioneer of Brooklyn drill music. He rose to international fame in 2014 when his song "Hot ...

Rowdy Rebel Chad Marshall (born November 24, 1991), known professionally as Rowdy Rebel, is an American rapper from Brooklyn who is signed to GS9 and Epic Records. He is a member of the Brooklyn-based GS9 crew alongside rapper Bobby Shmurda. Rowdy Rebel app ...

, Fetty Luciano,

Corey Finesse GS9 is a hip hop collective based in New York City. Its current members include Bobby Shmurda, Rowdy Rebel, Fetty Luciano, Corey Finesse, and Lil Skrap 1090. Background Rowdy Rebel grew up in a neighbourhood known as "the 90s" in Brook ...

, and Lil Skrap 1090.

Background

grew up in a neighbourhood known as "the 90s" in Brooklyn's

East Flatbush East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the ...

area. People in his neighborhood referred to him as "rowdy" as a child, which is the genesis for his stage name. Many members of GS9 (including Shmurda) originated in the same East Flatbush locale. He is of Jamaican and Bajan descent. Much of Rowdy Rebel's music contains references to the block where he grew up. Rowdy has noted that he and other GS9 members talk about friends from the neighborhood "to keep their names alive." Despite the fact that only he and Bobby Shmurda have been signed to Epic Records, one of their primary goals is to help other GS9 members such as Abillyon and Corey Finesse get record contracts too.

had run-ins with the law while living in Brooklyn, including fifteen months spent in detention for probation violation and being arrested on

gun charges Criminal possession of a weapon is the unlawful possession of a weapon by an individual. Many societies both past and present have placed restrictions on what forms of weaponry private citizens (and to a lesser extent police) are allowed to pur ...

that were later dropped. According to his 2014 indictment, Shmurda was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise called "GS9" that regularly entered into disputes with criminal gangs, was responsible for murders and non-fatal shootings, and engaged in

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

along Kings Highway to

. All members appeared in Shmurda's video for "

Hot Nigga "Hot Nigga" (censored on the album as "Hot N*gga", edited for radio as "Hot Boy" or "Hot Ni") is the debut single by American rapper Bobby Shmurda. It was released for digital download on July 25, 2014 by Epic Records and GS9. The song includes ...

" On June 3, 2014, Shmurda was arrested and charged with felony criminal possession of a weapon. Police claim they saw him flashing the gun in an apartment and when they went to investigate, he tried to hide it in a couch. He was set free on $10,000 bail. On December 17, 2014, police arrested Shmurda and 14 others, including his brother Javese and his fellow GS9 label-mate

. Police charged Shmurda with conspiracy to commit murder,

reckless endangerment Endangerment is a type of crime involving conduct that is wrongful and reckless or wanton, and likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm to another person. There are several kinds of endangerment, each of which is a criminal act that can b ...

, and drug and gun possession; charges against the others included murder, attempted murder, assault, and drug dealing. Shmurda pleaded not guilty and was held on $2 million bail.

Record label

GS9 also release music under GS9 Records. The label is independent and was founded in 2012, however when Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel signed with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 2014. Epic went on to distribute for GS9 up until the beginning of 2022 when GS9 ended their distribution partnership with Epic, in favor of self-distributing without the help of Epic or any other record label. GS9’s first release after leaving Epic was Shmurda’s single “They Don’t Know”. The one exclusion is Rebel, as he now has a full deal with Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment. However, Shmurda no longer has ties with Epic. Shmurda’s last official release under Epic was his song “Shmoney” featuring Quavo and Rebel.

Discography

Mixtapes

References

Hip hop collectives Hip hop groups from New York City Musical groups established in 2012 2012 establishments in New York City {{US-hiphop-band-stub