{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox album | name = Crop Circle 2 | type = studio | artist = Nines | cover = Nines - Crop Circle 2.png | alt = The title "Crop Circle 2" inside of a circle against a black background, with the text outlined in orange as if on fire in a field, with some smoke visible | released = {{start date|2023|04|28|df=y}} | recorded = <!-- Please source recording dates/years --> | studio = | genre = <!-- Please source genres --> | length = 43:13 | label = * Zino * Warner | producer = * Beat Butcha * Benji Benji * Danny Got That Juice * EY * Flo * GX * Jacob Manson * Jerome Williams * Karlos * Mansur Brown * Michelin Shin * Monro * Monte Booker * R14 Beats * Show N Prove * Sokari * Swifta | prev_title = Crabs in a Bucket | prev_year = 2020 | next_title = Crop Circle 3 | next_year = 2023 | misc = {{Singles | name = Crop Circle 2 | type = studio | single1 = Tony Soprano 2 | single1date = 20 April 2023<ref name="ES"/> }} }} '''''Crop Circle 2''''' is the fourth studio album by English rapper Nines, released on 28 April 2023 by Zino and Warner Records. It features guest appearances from Skrapz, J Styles and Fatz of Ice City Boyz, Wretch 32, M Huncho, Potter Payper, Clavish, Nafe Smallz, Kojey Radical and Tiggs da Author.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/nines-crop-circle-2-review|title=First Impressions Of Nines' New Album ''Crop Circle 2''|website=Complex|last1=Patterson|first1=Joseph JP|last2=Keith|first2=James|last3=Onapa|first3=Emmanuel|date=28 April 2023|access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> The album, which shares its name with a 2020 film made by Nines following his 2018 album ''Crop Circle'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/watch-ghetts-kojey-radical-more-nines-new-film-crop-circle-2-2651317|title=Watch Ghetts, Kojey Radical, and more in Nines' new film ''Crop Circle''|website=NME|last=Neale|first=Matthew|date=21 April 2020|access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> was preceded by the lead single "Tony Soprano 2".<ref name="ES"/>
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = ''Clash'' | rev1score = 8/10<ref name="Clash">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/nines-crop-circle-2/|title=Nines – Crop Circle 2|magazine=Clash|last=Collier-McDermott|first=Shanté|date=28 April 2023|access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Evening Standard'' | rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="ES">{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/nines-crop-circle-2-album-review-rappercourtney-freckleton-b1077037.html|title=Nines: Crop Circle 2 album review - the rapper's deadpan delivery makes for startling moments|newspaper=Evening Standard|last=Smyth|first=David|date=28 April 2023|access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Financial Times'' | rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="FT">{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/ad649cb3-f5e9-4cbc-9c06-77944310683e|title=Nines: ''Crop Circle 2'' album review — hard-boiled road rap with a complex sound|newspaper=Financial Times|last=Hunter-Tilney|first=Ludovic|date=28 April 2023|access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Mic Cheque'' | rev4score = 7.5/10<ref name="MC">{{cite web|url=https://miccheque.com/2023/05/14/nines-crop-circle-2-review/|title=Review: Nines, 'Crop Circle 2'|website=Mic Cheque|last=Riaz|first=Hamza|date=14 May 2023|access-date=15 May 2023}}</ref> }} Reviewing the album for ''Clash'', Shanté Collier-McDermott felt that ''Crop Circle 2'' "establishes Nines as the authentic talent fans love him for. He's grounded, able to casually flex his accomplishments, and this project signs off with him basking in a different lifestyle". She ultimately found that the album is "circular in nature" and "fuelled by continuation", with its "rolling instrumentals and narration encompassing an earlier era of his artistry in a fine-tuned way".<ref name="Clash"/> David Smyth of the ''Evening Standard'' wrote that Nines's "deadpan, unshowy delivery makes his words entirely believable and all the more startling", and that his "smooth production that foregrounds melody brings him closer to pop than his lyrics ought to allow".<ref name="ES"/> Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the ''Financial Times'' opined that the album "resembles ''The Godfather Part II'', a tale of trying to go straight", with Nines "present[ing] himself as getting too old for the criminal life rather than atoning for it". Hunter-Tilney concluded that "Nines and his producers have done an impressive job here".<ref name="FT"/>
=== Year-end lists === {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |+ Select year-end rankings of ''Crop Circle 2'' |- ! scope="col"| Publication ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| List ! scope="col"| Rank ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- ! scope="row"| ''Complex UK'' | Complex UK's Best Albums of 2023 | style="text-align: center;"| 6 | style="text-align: center;"| <ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/joseph-jp-patterson/complex-uk-best-albums-of-2023|title=Complex UK's Best Albums Of 2023|magazine=Complex UK|last1=Patterson|first1=Joseph JP|last2=Keith|first2=James|last3=Cagna|first3=Claudia|date=December 15, 2023|access-date=May 31, 2024}}</ref> |}
==Commercial performance== ''Crop Circle 2'' placed at number three on the midweek UK Albums Chart dated 1 May 2023,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/odds-on-the-lottery-winners-anxiety-replacement-therapy-tracks-for-number-1-__39165/|title=Odds on! The Lottery Winners' ''Anxiety Replacement Therapy'' tracks for Number 1|publisher=Official Charts Company|last=Griffiths|first=George|date=2 May 2023|access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> debuting at number two on the final chart published on 5 May 2023.<ref name="UK"/>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = ''Crop Circle 2'' track listing | extra_column = Producer(s) | title1 = Intro | writer1 = {{hlist|Courtney Freckleton|Ellis Taylor}} | extra1 = Show N Prove | length1 = 2:12 | title2 = Highly Blessed | note2 = featuring Wretch 32 and Skrapz | writer2 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Jermaine Scott|Christopher Kyei|Jerome Williams}} | extra2 = Jerome Williams | length2 = 3:25 | title3 = Favela | note3 = featuring J Styles | writer3 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Jordan Lindsay|Ayo Simpson|Taylor}} | extra3 = Flyo | length3 = 2:21 | title4 = Calendar | note4 = with Aisa | writer4 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Taylor|Jacob Manson|Beyoncé Knowles|Robert Williams|Nija Charles|Ozan Yildirim|Robert Waller|Scott Storch|Andrew Franklin|Austin Schindler|Ella Howell|Eyobed Getachew|}} | extra4 = {{hlist|Show N Prove|Jacob Manson}} | length4 = 3:14 | title5 = Nothing Like Me | note5 = featuring M Huncho | writer5 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Mujtaba Khan|Eyobed Getachew|Paul Oseh|Mansur Brown}} | extra5 = {{hlist|E.Y.|Karlos|Mansur Brown}} | length5 = 2:26 | title6 = Weedman | note6 = featuring Lylo Gold | writer6 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Lylo Gold|Ahmanti Booker}} | extra6 = Monte Booker | length6 = 2:28 | title7 = Tony Soprano 2 | writer7 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Swifta|Benjamin Miller}} | extra7 = {{hlist|Swifta|Benji Miller}} | length7 = 3:50 | title8 = What's Beef | note8 = featuring Potter Payper | writer8 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Jamel Bousbaa|R14 Beats}} | extra8 = {{hlist|R14 Beats|TN|Apo}} | length8 = 2:48 | title9 = Different League | note9 = featuring Clavish and Nafe Smallz | writer9 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Cian Wright|Nathan Adams|Donovan Hardie}} | extra9 = PabloMCR | length9 = 4:07 | title10 = Wrist Watch / Prayed for This | writer10 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Oseh|Gregory Matta|Michelin Shin|Wayne Henderson|Willie Harris}} | extra10 = Karlos | length10 = 2:37 | title11 = F**k the Worl | note11 = featuring Kojey Radical and Tiggs da Author | writer11 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Kwadwo Amponsah|Adam Simon|Taylor|Eliot Dubock}} | extra11 = {{hlist|Show N Prove|Beat Butcha}} | length11 = 2:31 | title12 = Line of Fire Pt. 6 | note12 = featuring Fatz, J Styles, Little Torment and Streetz | writer12 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Taylor|Oseh}} | extra12 = {{hlist|Show N Prove|Karlos}} | length12 = 4:35 | title13 = Letter to Hydro Interlude | writer13 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Taylor}} | extra13 = Show N Prove | length13 = 1:43 | title14 = Hear Me Out | writer14 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Dan Cordero|Darrin Chandler|Bob James|Dinky Bingham|Ewart Dewgarde|Kenyatta Blake|Michael Bivins|Ronnie Devoe|Walter Dewgarde|Silky|Gottfried Nortey|Jeffery Dyson|}} | extra14 = {{hlist|DannyGotThatJuice|Prod GX}} | length14 = 2:17 | title15 = Outro | writer15 = {{hlist|Freckleton|Rachel Moulden|Monro|Sorai}} | extra15 = {{hlist|Monro|Sorai}} | length15 = 2:39 | total_length = 43:13 }}
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ Chart performance for ''Crop Circle 2'' ! scope="col"| Chart (2023) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{album chart|Ireland3|15|date=20230505|rowheader=true|access-date=5 May 2023}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|79|date=20230505|rowheader=true|access-date=6 May 2023}} |- {{album chart|UK2|2|date=20230505|rowheader=true|access-date=9 May 2023|refname=UK}} |- {{album chart|UKR&B|1|date=20230505|rowheader=true|access-date=6 May 2023}} |}
== Certifications == {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|certyear=2024|relyear=2023|artist=Nines|title=Crop Circle 2|award=Gold|type=album|accessdate=5 December 2024|id=19236-4904-2}} {{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|streaming=true|nosales=true}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2023 albums Category:Nines (rapper) albums Category:Warner Records albums