9 Lives is AZ's third album, under the Motown imprint. Most of his fans call it his worst album to date, with the belief that the disc's production and AZ's lyrics were bland and unoriginal. Overall, 9 Lives shows AZ trying harder with a more radio-friendly style to stay with one label instead of being dropped from his contract in the way that he was in the past. The single "Problems" featured a sample from the DeBarge song "All This Love".