Chief Keef

Chief Keef rose to prominence in the drill movement during the 2010s, channeling his Chicago roots into raw, street-focused rhymes that chronicled inner-city struggles with violence and narcotics. He entered the scene at age 16 through the local track “I Don’t Like,” which spread rapidly among the city’s high school crowds before mixtapes and online clips secured a deal with Interscope. The resulting debut album, Finally Rich in 2012, performed strongly by landing inside the Billboard 200’s top 30. After two full-length projects in 2015, the tireless artist maintained a heavy release schedule that included five mixtapes each in 2017 and 2018, among them Two Zero One Seven, Thot Breaker, and Mansion Musick. Subsequent output centered on the recurring GloFiles series, whose fourth volume surfaced in 2020, followed by the album 4NEM in 2021 and the 2024 mixtape Dirty Nachos, a joint effort with Mike Will Made-It.

Born Keith Cozart in Chicago, he first connected with listeners via the 2011 single “Bang,” a minimalist, deliberate cut that quickly resonated with South Side youth. Glory Boyz issued the mixtapes The Glory Road and Bang that year, yet an arrest for unlawful weapon use—after pointing a firearm at an officer—closed out 2011. Early the next year, while finishing house arrest at his grandmother’s residence, “I Don’t Like” crossed a million views online and drew Kanye West’s attention, prompting a remix that added Big Sean, Pusha T, and Jadakiss. The track anchored Finally Rich, released late in 2012 by Interscope and featuring guest spots from 50 Cent, Young Jeezy, and Rick Ross alongside production by Young Chop and Mike Will Made-It. As Chicago police investigated Keef’s possible link to a shooting death, footage of him at a gun range sparked a parole violation case that resulted in a two-month juvenile detention sentence in 2013.

Interscope ended its relationship with the rapper a year later, and in early 2015—while he served another house-arrest period tied to further violations—a planned hologram concert was canceled after Chicago’s City Hall pressured the venue. Releases continued regardless, yielding four mixtapes plus the LPs Bang 3 and Nobody 2 by year’s end. On New Year’s Day 2017 he dropped Two Zero One Seven, then issued his fifth studio album, Thot Breaker, that summer; Dedication followed later that year with appearances from Lil Yachty, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and Tadoe, plus beats from D. Rich, StuntMan, Turbo, CBMix, and K.E. on the Track.

The same prolific pace defined 2018, bringing additional installments of The Leek series, the first two parts of The GloFiles, Mansion Musick in July (with Playboi Carti on “Uh Uh” and Tadoe on “Sky Say”), and the projects The Cozart and Back from the Dead 3. In 2019 the seventh and eighth volumes of The Leek preceded GloToven, a high-profile collaboration with Zaytoven that featured only Lil Pump. Keef revived the GloFiles series with its third volume late in 2019 and fourth in 2020; “Bang Bang,” another link-up with Mike WiLL Made-It, arrived that year, while 2021 singles included “The Talk” and “New Bugatti” (with Ski Mask the Slump God and DJ Scheme), leading to the album 4NEM. Further 2022 releases comprised “Tony Montana Flow” (with Akachi) and “Almighty Gnar” (with Lil Gnar). In 2024 he rejoined Mike WiLL Made-It for Dirty Nachos, which contains the track “PULL UP GHOST-CLAN” featuring 2 Chainz.