9TH WARD

Gangster rapper 9th Ward takes his name from New Orleans’s most notorious ward, yet his upbringing carried him through every project and ghetto across the city. Rhymes drawn from that experience came easily enough, though he treated the pursuit lightly until Hurricane Katrina leveled his hometown. After relocating to Atlanta, he finally committed to the recording gear he had purchased earlier and began submitting tracks at every open-mike night while passing out demos to any willing listener. One of those recordings reached producer Nitti, then riding the success of his work on Yung Joc’s hit single “It’s Goin’ Down.” Upon returning to New Orleans, 9th Ward remained unaware of the producer’s endorsements until he caught Nitti on the BET network publicly naming him his new protégé. The rapper promptly headed back to Atlanta, where sessions for his debut album commenced. In early 2008 the street single “Chopper” generated early interest, and its follow-up, “Add It Up” featuring Nitti and Jermaine Dupri, broke through as a hit. Dupri’s So So Def imprint then signed 9th Ward and set a release target for the album before year’s end.