Just Nine

Being fortunate enough to have had an abundance of musical influences early in life such as Jazz, Soul, Funk, Rap, R&B, Electronic, Rock & Roll and many more, the art of mixing and blending vinyl almost came together naturally for Kenichi Thomas aka DJ Just Nine. With the powerful influence of Hip Hop culture, perfecting the craft of DJing consumed his life from a young age. That same desire to perfect his craft has been noticed throughout the Twin Cities and beyond earning DJ Just Nine spots on Rhymesayers Ent. artist Atmosphere’s tours, taking part in Rock the Bells Hip Hop Festival, playing multiple Soundset Hip Hop Festivals and acted as I Self Devine’s tour DJ for five years.

During that time he has also been holding down the decks for Minneapolis hip hop artist Greg Grease as well as playing countless club nights throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul. Partnered with Greg Grease, he has performed countless events and festivals including 10,000 Sounds Festival, CMJ Music Festival, Stone Arch Festival, SxSW Music Festival, A3C Hip Hop Festival, SoundSet Festival, RedBull Sound Select and more.

Together with Greg Grease, they also teamed up with fellow musicians MMYYKK, Proper-T, Trelly Mo and Elliot Serber to create the future-funk band Astralblak (formerly known as ZULUZULUU). They have released a debut album, What’s The Price (Sound Verite Records), in 2016 and have toured the US and played countless events such as Soundset Festival, Low End Theory, 80/35 Festival, Afropunk and many others.

Just Nine is a DJ that understands the essence of a Hip Hop DJ; planning sets meticulously by using his craft to grab and hold any crowd’s attention. His precision with cutting and scratching during his live sets is reminiscent of DJ's Jazzy Jeff, Mix Master Mike, and Premier.