“Kay Nine Tha Boss. Based out of Santa Ana, California, Kay Nine Tha Boss grew up listening to many types of music. The love he developed for Rap helped grow him into a well-seasoned artist. Music not only helped him to cope with everyday life but eventually became a viable platform for Kay Nine to express himself.”

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayninethaboss/?hl=en

We recently linked with Kay Nine and conducted an exclusive Q&A with him. Check it out below:

Explain who you are for those who don’t know.

I am a firm believer that consistency is a key ingredient in becoming successful, in anything you do. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot throughout my Rap career to get to where I am at today. I’ve slept in my car, spent my last dollars on buying beats and gone without sleep for way too long. I had cut out people who I thought were close friends. In the end they turned out to be cancerous to my future. All I know is I have to grind to get what I want and where I want to be.

How long have you been doing music?

I began writing and freestyling at the age of 12. As I got older I started taking rapping more seriously and treated it as a career you know? I saw rap as a way to earn a living and to express myself artistically. In 2010 I independently released my debut album “Reality Check”. That album was a big hit and helped establish my fan base that has only grown since then. From that day forward I told myself I was going to become someone big in music.

How did you come up with your name?

Prior to the release of my first album, I went by the Rap name “Bad Habit”. Kay Nine was my street name. I earned it since I was very aggressive. I had a chip on my shoulder, and I wasn’t going to let anyone get over on me.I decided to make it my Rap name so that people in my neighborhood would already know who I was and it represented who I was in the Rap game. I added “ThaBoss” to separate me from anyone else out there who potentially had the same name.

Who are your influences?

I respect artists who are on their grind and evolve with the industry. There is nothing worse than a person who is all talk. I’ve ran across a lot of artists who say they are working on music, but never put it out. They chose to hold onto it for whatever reason. I’m a believer in dropping quality content and growing my fanbase by doing so. You can’t gain fans, and creditbility, if you have no music out. As a kid, I use to listen to a lot of Brotha Lynch. He rapped about California gang culture and had a dope style. He was relatable to my mindset during those times. As I got older, I became a fan of Nipsey Hussle. He grew up gang banging and came from the same generation as me. He was a businessman who represented growth and gave back to his community. That was something I was able to relate to much more in my adult years.

How did you link with Spice 1?

I opened up for him at a show around 7 or 8 years ago in Mammoth Lake, CA. I had the opportunity to introduce myself and took advantage of it. He came off like a solid dude and we hung out that night. After that show, we kept running into each other at different events. He ended up doing a show in my city, Santa Ana and asked me to pull up. I came out that night with a few homies from my hood.Spice 1 just clicked with everyone like he was from the hood. That gave me a different type of respect for him. After that night, we talked about me signing to his label “Thug World Music Group”. In May of 2019 I signed to his label and it’s been official ever since. We’ve done a couple songs together. One of my personal favorites was, “King Me” which was a huge hit and we followed it up with a remix. It’s been a dope relationship. He’s definitely dedicated to helping me grow my brand. 

What are you currently working on?

I released my latest album, “Clarity” on January 5th, 2021. Since then, I’ve been releasing music videos for songs off of the album. The focus of this album was to bring everything full circle from my past to now. I want to motivate people to not give up on anything in life. I’ve went through a lot of close calls that could have landed me in prison or even killed me. I wanted to share my struggles and successes. I’m currently working on a new single featuring Snoop Dogg and I’m hoping to drop it sometime this summer. I can’t release the title just yet but know it’scoming really soon.

Anything else you’d like to say?

I create music from first hand experiences. Everything I talk about is real from my personal experiences and from the soul. I have a story to tell and want to everyone to enjoy hearing about it.