Chief Keef – Almighty So 2 [CD]

Its not easy being ahead of your time: You have to wait years for the world to catch up. Such was the case when an 18-year-old Chief Keef followed up his anthemic major-label debut (2012s Finally Rich) with a pair of self-released 2013 mixtapes (Augusts Bang, Pt. 2 and Octobers Almighty So) that sounded obscure in comparison, prompting many a claim that hed fallen off as quickly as hed gotten on. These days, you can hear echoes of both projects everywhere, in particular Almighty So, the better of the two. You might argue that the slurry, intuitive style which has dominated the past decade of rap began here. Eleven long years later, the projects sequel arrives after a half decade of teasing. (Keef previewed Almighty So 2s initial cover art way back in 2019.) Hip-hops reinvented itself a dozen times over in that time span, perhaps the only constant being Keefs enduring influence. On Almighty So 2, the 28-year-old veteran sounds as if hes well aware of just how tall his legacy looms. I done been through so much smoke to where I couldnt even see myself, he raps in his oft-copied swing on Treat Myself before busting out a classic Sosa-ism: Diamonds shining off my charm, I think I Christmas treed myself! He spits fire and brimstone over sinister church choirs on Jesus, puffs out his chest on the soulful Runner, and offers up the most demented Scarface impression since Future circa 2011 on Tony Montana Flow. And on Believe, the former teenage phenom is now a man whos done some soul-searching in his time off from shaping the sound of modern rap.

ALMIGHTY NEPH NEM (FEAT BALLOUT & G HERBO) TREAT MYSELF JESUS SKIT JESUS FEAT LIL GNAR TOO TRIM RUNNER BANDED UP (FEAT TIERRA WHACK) GRAPE TREES (FEAT SEXYY RED) 1,2,3 DRIFTING AWAY NEVER FLY HERE (FEAT QUAVO) PRINCE CHARMING BELIEVE TONY MONTANA FLOW I’M TRYNA SLEEP