99.9%

In May 2014, it was announced that Kaytranada had signed a deal with UK-based independent record label XL Recordings and planned to release an EP in the summer.^[4] During an interview with New York-based music magazine The Fader, the Montreal producer disclosed that XL is "one of the labels I always wanted to be on [...] It's a good label for people who are sort of lost and are like, 'Let me see what's going on.'"^[5] Kaytranada described the untitled EP as "abstract-feeling" and "uptempo, neo-soul," and was aiming to "make it as funky as possible".^[5] In addition, he confirmed that he had worked with Vic Mensa, Karriem Riggins, Reva DeVito, and Shay Lia amongst others.^[5][6]

On August 12, 2014, at the announcement of the EP's tentative title, So Bad, a song named "Leave Me Alone", featuring vocalist and fellow Montreal native Shay Lia, was released as the lead single.^[7][8] However, no updates had been provided regarding the EP's release date.^[9][10]

As reported on December 15, 2014, Kaytranada expanded his project into a full-length album.^[10] On Facebook, he posted a glimpse of his renewed contract with XL, along with the words "ALBUM COMING."^[11][12] Serving as the second single is the trap-influenced "Drive Me Crazy", featuring Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, released on January 27, 2015.^[13][14]

On September 7, 2015, Kaytranada took to Twitter to announce the album's official title: 99.9%.^[15] During Benji B's "Montreal Special" on BBC Radio 1 on March 16, 2016, he shared more details about his long-awaited effort. The producer expounded on the album title, explaining that it reflects his dissatisfaction and indecisiveness when it comes to his musical endeavor.^[16][17] Furthermore, he confirmed that Canadian instrumental band BadBadNotGood and The Internet's lead vocalist Syd were both recruited as guests contributors.^[18] Speaking about BadBadNotGood, he revealed that they recorded about fifteen tracks together, though only two were selected for the album.^[16][19] He also premiered a track from the album titled "Bus Ride" which features drum work from Detroit jazz percussionist and producer Karriem Riggins, and accompaniment from Toronto multi-instrumentalist and producer River Tiber.^[20][21][22] On Twitter, he confirmed that the album would be released on May 6.^[18][23]

The following day, Kaytranada unveiled via Instagram and Facebook the artworks and track listing for 99.9%, along with short individual animations corresponding to each track.^[22][24] The album's digital version was made available for pre-order ahead of its release on iTunes and Amazon, while its physical format could be pre-ordered on XL Recordings' online store.^[25][26] The physical product comes on a double 12-inch vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, and includes a free CD of the digital album.^[26]

On April 7, 2016, "Glowed Up", which features Anderson .Paak on vocals, debuted on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show, with the music video, directed by Bo Mirosseni, premiering soon after.^[27][28] Marc Hogan from Pitchfork gave the song a "Best New Track" designation, stating that "It's a track where two complementary artists sound like they are right where they want to be, and the pleasure is in how they bring us into this world, too".^[29]

In anticipation of the album's release, an album-themed video game, 99.9%: The Game, was launched on Kaytranada's website on April 20, 2016.^[30] Designed by artist Ricardo Cavolo, who also worked on the album's artwork, the game is a side-scroller modeled after 2013's popular mobile game Flappy Bird.^[30][31] Players must navigate an airplane through obstacles while collecting items to earn points.^[30][31] Players who attain a high score of over a hundred points will be rewarded with a free download of "Nobody Beats the Kay," a bonus track from the album.^[31] On May 10, 2016, a music video for "Lite Spots" was released.^[32]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.4/10[33]
Metacritic	81/100[34]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[35]
Financial Times	[36]
The Irish Times	[37]
Mixmag	9/10[38]
The Observer	[39]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[40]
Q	[41]
Record Collector	[42]
Spin	8/10[43]
XLR8R	8/10[44]

99.9% received critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to all reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on a number of 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[34] Both Pitchfork and Spin gave the album a rating of 8 out of 10. Pitchfork's Jonah Bromwich wrote, "The genre-defying stew of funk, soul, R&B, and beat and dance music that Kaytranada has cooked up on 99.9% nods back at that heritage of percussion-driven synthesis."^[40] At PopMatters, which gives a rating out of ten stars, the album received an average rating of 6 stars. In his review, Chris Conaton wrote, "Even though [Kaytranada] doesn't do every genre he attempts equally skillfully, there's a pop music core to most of these songs that keeps 99.9% listenable throughout."^[45]

Kaytranada has won the 2016 Polaris Music Prize for the album.^[46]

All tracks produced by Kaytranada, except "Bus Ride" by Kaytranada, Karriem Riggins and River Tiber, and "Weight Off" by Kaytranada and BadBadNotGood.

Notes

• "Track Uno" contains a sample of "I Figure I'm Out of Your Life" by Delegation, written by Kenneth Gold and Michael Denne.
• "Bus Ride" contains a sample of "По садочку хожу", written by Валерий Колесников, Вячеслав Новиков, Владимир Молотков and Александр Христидис.
• "Got It Good" contains a sample of "Olho de Vidro" by Jaime & Nair, written by Jaime Alem.
• "Drive Me Crazy" contains a sample of "Bermuda Triangle", written by Alan Hawkshaw.
• "Despite the Weather" contains excerpts from "Camouflage" written by Bob Selvin.
• "Glowed Up" contains a sample of "Raindrops" by Bobby Heath, Eric Peters and Robert Hunter.
• "Breakdance Lesson N.1" features samples from the Attitude recording "Love Me Tonight", written by David Frank Michael Murphy.
• "Lite Spots" contains a sample of "Pontos De Luz" performed by Gal Costa, and written by Jards Macalé and Waly Salomão.