TIA Over the past 8 years, Chief Keef has
held his place in hip-hop as one of this generation’s
most remarkable artists.
TIA: From the jump, much of what attracted
people to Sosa was his unmistakable style
of rapping that was hard to miss, and ranges
from older cuts like the melodic “Citgo”...
TIA: To darker, more recent tracks like 2018’s
“Rawlings…”
TIA: Genius covered Chief Keef’s influence
back in 2018, charting the impact his music
had on today’s generation of rappers - including
everyone from Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert
to YBN Cordae and Almighty Jay.
CORDAE: Everybody remembers where they were the first time they heard “Don’t Like.”
Everybody remember that shit.
TIA: But besides his catchy songs and his
prolific influence, we wanted to break down
Chief Keef’s sound and pinpoint what exactly
makes him and his raps so unique.
DR. CARSON: One of the things that might be so
appealing about Chief Keef is his voice as
an instrument.
TIA: That’s Dr. A.D. Carson, an assistant
professor of hip-hop at the University of
Virginia, who said part of what makes Chief
Keef so unique just comes naturally.
DR. CARSON: If you think about, say what Trap
music might do for us, is it invites us to
listen for something that is incredibly predictable,
and Chief Keef is actually doing that incredibly
predictable thing with his voice.
TIA: The cadence on Chief Keef's songs can
range from precise clipped verses to the occasional
catchy melody like on "My Baby."
DR. CARSON: If we imagine a beat like a grid and
then rappers are trying to snap the rhymes
or the flow to that grid and Chief Keef finds
these ways to be off the grid just a bit.
TIA: What stood out to Dr. Carson is Sosa’s
versatility, along with his darker drill sound
and ability to keep fans guessing.
TIA: On 2014’s “Faneto,” a crowd favorite
at parties and a universal hype anthem, Dr. Carson
notes that what’s so attractive about the
track is how much the song switches over the
course of three and a half minutes.
CARSON: The way that he delivers the line,
cadence-wise it's consistent, but then the
energy that he puts into delivering those
particular lines.
He puts a different kind of energy into it
and so it's a softer delivery of a consistent flow.
TIA: Of course, Sosa’s style of rap is reflective
of his hometown of Chicago, the city that
pioneered drill music.
CHIEF KEEF: What we used to call drill music
is when you be into it and it’s rowdiness
goin on.
TIA: As a drill rapper, Chief Keef’s intonation
on the track brought him plenty of attention
with many people, including Sosa himself,
claiming he created “mumble rap.”
CHIEF KEEF: I’ll be like ah they tryna sound
like me or something but it’s not that big
of a deal because if that’s what they’re
tryna do then it ain’t like nobody gon’ know.
Everybody gon’ know, even they know, too.
SKI MASK: I really was influenced by that
nigga Chief Keef.
You don’t have to be lyrical anymore to
be somebody, a factor.
It’s your energy.
TIA: Between his labels as a drill rapper
and a mumble rapper, Chief Keef was able to
shape and re-shape his sound that helped craft
his legacy as he experimented sonically.
DR. CARSON: Chief Keef being someone who's well known for not just this particular flow,
engaging in content that other rappers have engaged with but by different means.
Then other people find ways to take that innovation
and move it a bit forward.
TIA: Chief Keef has dropped innumerable albums,
mixtapes, and loosies, with each project more
singular than the next, practically making
him an OG at just 24 years old.
CHIEF KEEF: I know a lot of people who’d
say I wouldn’t consider myself an OG but…
KERWIN: You definitely have the pass to say
that.
CHIEF KEEF: I do, I do.
TIA: And according to Dr. Carson, Chief Keef
doing his own thing is exactly why people
Love Sosa.
DR. CARSON: People love Chief Keef
for the same reasons that people have continued
to love particular artists who make rap music.
Folks who continue to do what they’re doing
despite the world attempting to tell them
that they don’t fit in it.
TIA: I’m Tia with Genius News bringing you
the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.
