diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5e09b53b4850..763b6792d3d5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
 VERSION = 6
-PATCHLEVEL = 8
+PATCHLEVEL = 9
 SUBLEVEL = 0
-EXTRAVERSION =
+EXTRAVERSION = -rc1
 NAME = Hurr durr I'ma ninja sloth
 
 # *DOCUMENTATION*