Chief Keef and Future combine with the ATL Rich Kidz on this newly released "Ratchet" record. Anyone expect this to hit the radio? I can definitely see that being the case already.
The Chicago Sun-Times just reported that Chief Keef was taken into custody this afternoon after a judge found out he was violating his probation. Those are literally all the details as of now. Look for an update as more surface...
UPDATE: The arrest does indeed stem from his firing of a gun in a video with Pitchfork last year. He'll be held in custody until his sentencing on Thursday.
Looks like Keef isn't waiting for anything in 2013. Not even a month after the release of his debut album, Finally Rich, he reveals the artwork to his upcoming mixtape, Bang Pt. 2. No release date for this has been set, but it is to be hosted by DJ Holiday, Mike Epps and Michael Blackson.
What do you think of a Chief Keef mixtape so soon after the album?
I was on Twitter recently talking about the recent Chief Keef album. I didn’t think too highly of the album and someone told me, “Maybe you can’t relate to the music.” It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that argument used to defend music I didn’t particularly agree with or enjoy, but it stung me this time because I’m from Chicago. How dare somebody question what I can or can’t relate to in that context. Instead of trying to convince this person I met only 5 minutes earlier, I decided to go quiet and digest what “you can’t relate” means.
I’m a product of Chicago’s Back of the Yards, South Side area, which is neither good nor bad, but it's had its moments. But that’s not relevant to relating to any album, as I enjoyed Straight Outta Compton and never once stepped on the soil of the CPT. The idea you have to have experienced what is happening in the music in order to understand it is quite possibly the laziest argument you can come up with.
As stated above, this twitter exchange revolved around Chief Keef’s debut album, Finally Rich, and my verdict that album wasn’t good. Keef hails from Chicago’s notorious Englewood neighborhood, know both for its violence and Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose. Keef made major waves earlier this year with “I Don’t Like,” which interestingly enough is one of the only songs on the album that I do like.
Finally Rich is weighed down by extremely limited subject matter (smoking dope, piping down chicks, trolling the internet and flossing hard). It would be accurate for me to say “Yup, I can’t relate, except for the trolling the internet part." It’s true Chief Keef and I don’t have much in common, but is that why I don’t like his album? Of course not. The album is pretty basic, even for an artist of Keef’s caliber.
If Keef expounded on his tough upbringing, I could have appreciated his plight but he didn’t. His choice not mine. It is not my responsibility as a listener to find avenues for which the artist and I should connect; that’s the artist job. It’s their story to tell, share and convey their pain or joy. If you can’t do that, then what’s really the point?
Maybe Chief Keef isn’t as talented as NWA, which would be an easy assumption to make, but lets give Keef some time to prove himself. Maybe relating to people like me isn’t all that important to him. But regardless of whether I can associate myself with something, sometimes the music is just bad, and to quote another Southside of Chicago artist, Common, “If I don’t like it, I don’t like it, it don’t mean that I’m hating.” Maybe the music is plainly bad and no further explanation is needed. Twitter probably couldn’t wrap their minds around or relate to something so simple. That’s that shit I don’t like.
The official numbers are in as T.I. debuts at #2 with Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head, selling 179K units (ahead of his 150-175K projection). The other notable hip hop debut last week was Chief Keef, moving only the projected 50K, which is good for only #27 on the Billboard charts.
My assessment: strong numbers for T.I. and lacking for Chief Keef. Room for improvement, at least. What are your thoughts?
