Chief Keef – “Almighty So 2” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Chief Keef finally releasing his highly anticipated 5th LP after numerous delays. Rising to stardom in 2012 off his 6th mixtape Back from the Dead & the full-length debut Finally Rich, he would go on to become a progenitor for drill music popularizing it in the Windy City inspiring the likes of Lil Uzi Vert & 21 Savage or even Billie Eilish. Other standouts in Keef’s discography include Bang 2, Almighty So, Back from the Dead 2, Glotoven, 4NEM & more recently the Mike WiLL Made-It produced Dirty Nachos from a couple months ago. But when it seemed like it was never coming off, Almighty So 2 has finally seen the light of day.

“Almighty” with co-production from The Legendary Traxster is this apocalyptic opener referring to himself as a rapper’s dream & that everyone knows what he’s been through whereas the self-produced “Neph Nem” featuring Ballout & G Herbo works in a grander atmosphere going Chicago drill to flex. “Treat Myself” is a dedication to self care lighting a blunt in the morning & being himself going for a bit of a calmer approach instrumentally & after the “Jesus” skit, the song “Jesus” featuring Lil Gnar turns the aggression up calling their blicks Optimus Prime the way it transforms people’s brains.

We go into a vibrant trap vibe for “Too Trim” of course boasting about how trim he is just before “Runner” samples “Streetrunner” by Nancy Wilson telling y’all to watch your damn back because his crew be running the streets out here. “Banded Up” featuring Tierra Whack brings some bells into the fold flexing their wealth, but then the grim drill banger “Grape Trees” featuring Sexyy Red up to the party as players.

“1,2,3” flips “And I Love Her” by Bobby Womack detailing his lifestyle while “Drifting Away” pretty much talks about being zooted in addition to referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 9-time WWE tag team champion, 8 time WWE Cruiserweight Champion & アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座 Rey Mysterio whose son Dominik is a former 2-time NXT North American Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion mixing trap, pop rap, hyphy & Chicago drill all in 1. “Never Fly Here” featuring Quavo demands respect on their names like Lil Baby & the “Told the bitch I don’t want her pussy, the bitch proceeded to rape me” line during the first verse was an eyebrow-raising moment obviously because it’s a fucked up situation that Sosa & no other person deserve to go through.

Beginning the last leg of Almighty So 2, the majestic drill-infused “Prince Charming” addresses a woman who’s been thinking of him recently while the 7-minute “Believe” gives off a psychedelic mood altogether refusing to put on someone else if you ain’t puttin’ on your mans. “Tony Montana Flow” crosses gangsta rap & Chicago drill over one another advising not to come over to his turf cause it’s crowded unless it’s Master P or you’re ’bout it ’bout it. “I’m Tryna Sleep” ends the album passionately attempting to rest after making $1M the week previously.

Almighty So is one of my top 5 mixtapes in Chief Keef’s discography, so my expectations for it were a bit higher than Dirty Nachos earlier this year. Lo & behold, Almighty So 2 surpasses the high level of quality Chicago drill music that made his previous tape amongst his best & the most I had enjoyed from him in a while. The instrumentals are all articulately conceived, Sosa recaptures the energetic performances from the classic we got over a decade ago & we have a tight guest list similar to Dirty Nachos’.

Score: 4.5/5

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Chief Keef – “Dirty Nachos” review

This is the 32nd mixtape from Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Chief Keef. Rising to stardom in 2012 off his 6th mixtape Back from the Dead & the full-length debut Finally Rich, he would go on to become a progenitor for drill music popularizing it in the Windy City inspiring the likes of Lil Uzi Vert & 21 Savage or even Billie Eilish. Other standouts in Keef’s discography include Bang 2, Almighty So, Back from the Dead 2, GloToven & 4NEM. But with Mike WiLL Made-It fully producing Dirty Nachos, expectations for it were very high for me personally.

After the intro, the first song “2 Times” is an energetic trap opener talking about having to steal a couple times in the past & seeing dollar signs when you look in his eyes whereas the title track encourages to get off the block & take a trip. “Doja” briefly yet bombastically flexes the kind of weed he be smoking leading into “Ridiculousness” featuring Ballout bringing a suspenseful atmosphere this time around talking about being on too much savagery.

2 Chainz’ feature on “Pull Up Ghost-Clan” is significantly stronger vibrantly boasting that they’ll be at the spot in a coupe just before dedicating “Damn Shorty” featuring Sexyy Red to all the strip clubs out there & I can definitely hear this being played at those kinda spots. “Why You Mad?” hops over strings & hi-hats asking haters the titular question prior to “Watch for the Pigs” menacingly calling out the feds.

“Charged Up” gives me a cloudy trap vibe instrumentally telling us that’s exactly how he be feelin’ while “Promenade” almost has a quirkier tone talking about the cops trying to get him on a daily basis. “Beware of Dog” might be my least favorite on the tape because it feels a little unfinished to me personally, but then “Girl Woo” although more fleshed out seems like a flat pop rap cut.

Meanwhile, “Player in Me” brings a trippier flare to the beat boasting his player status while “Love Don’t Live Here” comes through with aggressive braggadocio. “Status” chillingly sets out to fit 5 or 6 bitches in his car being on Saturn while “Harley Quinn” comparing his girl to the titular DC character over synth-horns. “Bang Bang” rounds out the tape by bringing Chicago drill undertones to the fold portraying images of the gangsta life 1 last time.

Almighty So 2 has been quickly turning into the modern day Detox by now, yet I’ll absolutely still take Dirty Nachos as a way of making up for the constant delays. Mike WiLL’s production is more refined than some of the O.G. versions Shawn Ferrari did, Keef gives some of his best performances I’ve heard from him in a while & the 3 features don’t bother me all that much.

Score: 4/5

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GloToven – Self-titled review

Chief Keef is a legendary 23 year old rapper & producer from Chicago, Illinois who blew up onto the scene in 2012 with his Back from the Dead mixtape & his debut album Finally Rich. Both of which I highly recommend if you wanna get into drill music. He’s dropped a handful of projects since then & this new one with Zaytoven producing it from front to back really stopped me in my tracks.

The album kicks off with “3rd Person”, where Keef talks about how life is fabolous over an abrasive beat. The next song “Old Heads & Regretful Hoes” with Lil Pump sees the 2 talking about good dope over a somber trap beat while the track “Batman” spits that gun talk over an atmospheric instrumental. The song “Ain’t Gonna Happen” is an emotional piano ballad while the song “Fast” addresses fake cats over a spacious beat.

The track “Spy Kid” is a vicious diss towards 6ix9ine while the song “Fuck What the Opp Said” is self-explanatory over a flute-inflicted beat. The track “Petty” is a druggy auto-tune ballad that doesn’t go over very well while the song “Han Han” talks about money over a piano-inflicted trap beat. The track “Posse” gets confrontational over a glimmering trap beat while the song “Sneeze” continues the gun talk over a haunting beat. The album then finishes with “What Can I Say”, where Keef talks about hoes over a moody beat.

To be honest, this is Chief Keef’s best effort in a while. He sounds angrier than ever & Zaytoven provides him with some of the most hard hitting instrumentals that we’ve heard on one of his projects in years.

Score: 4/5

Chief Keef – “Mansion Musick” review

Chicago, Illinois drill pioneer Chief Keef is returning with his 20th mixtape a month after his Ottopsy EP. The opener “Belieber” talks about groupies over a beautiful yet unexpected set of piano chords while the next track “Rawlings” gets celebratory over some sub-bass & the hi-hats are going off like machine guns. The song “TV On (Big Boss)” gets charismatically braggadocious over a gritty instrumental while track “Uh Uh” is filled with gritty street bars over a druggy instrumental from Pi’erre Bourne. The song “Sky Say” talks about taking a vacation over a cloudy trap beat, but the Tadoe verse at the start doesn’t do anything for me.

The track “Hand Made” sees Keef bragging once again over a futuristic bass-heavy instrumental from Nard & B while the song “Get This Money” pretty much speaks for itself over a trap beat from some piano keys & plinky Atari-esque synthesizers. The track “Yet” gets sexual over an instrumental with strings & rubbery bass while the song “Part Ways” talks about flexin’ up over a gloomy beat. The penultimate track “Tragedies” talks about wealth over a chaotic instrumental from Keef himself & the closer “Letter” gets more introspective over some sole piano keys.

Overall, this was a solid tape. Some of the beats could’ve been better, but a lot of them are pretty hard & Chief Keef continues to sound more coherent with each recent project.

Score: 3.5/5