V9

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