NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – PULSE Records has signed Maxwell Jardine, professionally known as 9lives, as announced today by PULSE Music Group co-CEOs Scott Cutler and Josh Abraham and PULSE Music Group President/Head of Creative Ashley Calhoun.
New Zealand-born South African artist 9lives is a crucial leader in pioneering the Sigilkore sound and scene (a new, fast-growing internet-born rap subgenre drawing inspiration from trap, cloud rap, hyper pop, and electronic). Since emerging in 2022, 9lives has rapidly grown a following, culminating in over 435 million Spotify streams across 15.6 million listeners in 184 countries over the past 12 months. 9lives has over 800 million cumulative streams to date. The new single from 9lives, “MULTIMILLIONAIRE (with Trippie Redd and Odetari),” drops on all platforms on Friday (January 19).
Josh Abraham, Scott Cutler, and Ashley Calhoun commented: “At PULSE, we gravitate towards artists and creators who are uniquely themselves and who are trying something new. 9lives is at the forefront of a fascinating, emerging genre, and we’re thrilled to partner with him to help amplify his music and his vision.”
9lives commented: “I’m super excited to have the backing of PULSE Records – their expertise and knowledge in my corner will significantly boost the journey that I’m on as an artist. I can’t wait to get started with them on this next chapter of my career!”
Dan Woolston of Higher Ground MGMT commented: “I have always been a fan of PULSE and their ability to create some of the best records with the world’s most unique and established artists. The team understood the blueprint 9lives had in mind while further complimenting his vision for the project. We are grateful to be working with Scott, Josh, Ashley, and the team at PULSE on such an exciting project.”
9lives is a frontrunner of a new generation of artists blending and blurring sounds to create their own sonic movement transcending the traditional genre rules. With his distinctive style, dark aesthetics, and innovative approach to production, the artists’ projects, including “#exclusive,” “33.1FM”, Odetari collab EP 3×3, and breakout single “XTAYALIVE,” have amassed over 400 million streams on Spotify alone. In the first year of his career, the 19-year-old artist has already worked with industry A-listers, including Trippie Redd, Rico Nasty, Jaleel, Kanii, Odetari, and more.
9lives’ music exists in a realm of its own where he is the central star of the art. Alluring and magical, the artist’s eclectically crafted music evokes emotion and storytelling, fusing an intricate amalgamation of gen-z subcultures between the ethereal lofi trap textures of cloud rap, the manipulated chopped vocal pitches of hyperpop and the uptempo bounce and animated sound FX of electronic club styles like Jersey club. One to watch, 9lives, creates his supernatural fantasy world fit for the world stage. Late last year, the producer also signed a global publishing deal with Kobalt Music.
In June 2023, PULSE Music Group and Concord launched PULSE Records. The label is the latest vertical for PULSE Music Group, which already boasts a music publishing and artist management arm. PULSE Records capitalizes on PULSE Music Group’s ability to invest in the highest levels of creative talent, supported by Concord’s existing label services platform and administrative teams. PULSE Music Group principals Scott Cutler, Josh Abraham, and Ashley Calhoun, President/Head of Creative lead PULSE Records. PULSE Records is a part of Concord Label Group and is distributed through the company’s longtime relationship with Universal Music Group.
