Balancing his characteristic humor with newfound vulnerability, Keef’s latest is a worthy capstone to a prolific year in which the Chicago rapper has resurrected his reputation and career.
Keith Cozart has been known to the public as Chief Keef since 2012, when his first hit, “I Don’t Like,” vaulted him into the national consciousness. He was 16 years old then, and for many, he was inextricably linked with the crisis of gun violence in his native Chicago. The lightning to the thunder that was “I Don’t Like” was a WorldStar video of a kid excited that Keef, who had been sentenced to house arrest for unlawful use of a weapon, had been released—the first hint of the enthusiasm that would accompany the rapper’s initial rise. But Cozart is 22 now, and in industry terms, his arrival might as well have been a decade ago. His latest full-length, Dedication, is a testament to how much he’s grown—not necessarily as an artist (though that’s there too), but as a person. It’s a worthy capstone to a year in which Keef has released four solid-to-great solo projects, resurrecting his reputation and career.
Keef’s unconstructed approach to rap has earned him ferocious critics, in addition to those who would summarily dismiss him for being simply a bad influence, a media spectacle, or both. In his hometown paper’s good-faith review of his major label debut, Finally Rich, the writer Greg Kot asserted that Keef’s sole innovation had been to appear colder than any other contemporary gangster rapper, and dismissed his mumbled verses as “robotic, deadpan, stoned.” It was a fair assessment, if a stingy one. But five years later, with Keef matured and mellowed, it’s easier to listen to his current music and pick up on the charisma that caused one of his deeply passionate Chicago fans to threaten to beat the hell out of anyone questioning his reputation back in the day.
There are several indications of Keef’s growth on Dedication, but nostalgia is the principal element that unites the record’s grab bag of styles and approaches. It’s everywhere. Glimpses of his school days surface on “Keke Palmer,” where there’s an early reference to blue books; on “Text,” he recalls toting a BB gun in his lunch bag in second grade; and on the fearsome throwback “Glory Bridge,” he’s thinking about how fly he looked at school. In a recent interview, Snoop Dogg asks Keef what he loves the most about being from Chicago. The rapper, who has lived in California for the past several years, thinks for a moment, and then confesses to missing the city in its entirety.
It’s that willingness to admit to vulnerability, to having emotions other than fury, that keeps Dedication interesting throughout. Keef will never be a perfectionist. His verses are not compulsively crafted or alive with brilliant wordplay; they’re compelling mainly for their turns of phrase, for the sudden jokes or changes in perspective. His deadpan sense of humor remains well intact. The second verse of “Told Y’all” includes the immortal line, “Pull up in all white like a Nazi,” and there’s a funny couplet on “Keke Palmer”: “Hopped on yo shit and killed it, like ‘Whose song is this?’/All up in my DM, man, ‘Who mom is this?’” Keef admires Lil Wayne, and while he doesn’t share Weezy’s technical ability, he does share his role model’s gift for the unexpected left turn, the hilarious surprise.
Atlanta’s D. Rich produced more than half the songs on Dedication, with standout turns from StuntMan (“Keke Palmer,” “Text”) and Ness (“Glory Bridge”). In contrast to Thot Breaker and with the exception of the weirdly tender standout “Negro,” the record is decidedly drill, and on the imperial beats for “Mailbox,” “Cook,” “Get It,” and others, Keef teleports back to his old life. But while it’s not quite JAY-Z-on-American-Gangster-style reminiscence, even the more vividly violent songs here feel like they were made at a remove. “I passed the streets with flying colors” he boasts on “Bad,” another highlight, and the past tense is clearly intentional.
Though the record has some weak links, it’s cleverly sequenced to minimize mediocrities. It opens with two fantastic singles, “Ticket” and “Keke Palmer,” and is backloaded with can’t-miss tracks including “Negro,” “Less Speed,” “Kills,” and “Told Y’all.” Along with a couple of appearances from the GBE rapper Tadoe, there are solid features from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Lil Yachty, but they blend in so well that you barely notice how unusual it is for Keef to break with his traditional insularity and collaborate with artists outside his immediate circle. It’s just another sign of his newfound humility, a quality that comes with age—and one that, after this year, should make even the most ferocious anti-Keef partisans willing to give the 22-year-old’s music another chance.
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15 Songs, 45 Minutes
EDITORS’ NOTES
It wasn’t long ago that Chief Keef took the rap game by storm, influencing a generation of rappers with the minimalistic, emotive rap style that put his native Chicago back on the map. Dedication is the result of Keef's successors wearing that same style thin, forcing him to innovate once again. The album is Keef at his most lyrical, eschewing the nasally melody he'd also tried on for a period, relying here on well-enunciated bars. The bass, too, is subdued, Keef's raps carrying the brunt of the load, and doing so with grace and ease on the double-time 'Less Speed.' Tucked deep at the end is “Be Back,” a song that boasts a cheeky production nod to “Faneto,” Keef’s last bona fide smash.
EDITORS’ NOTES
It wasn’t long ago that Chief Keef took the rap game by storm, influencing a generation of rappers with the minimalistic, emotive rap style that put his native Chicago back on the map. Dedication is the result of Keef's successors wearing that same style thin, forcing him to innovate once again. The album is Keef at his most lyrical, eschewing the nasally melody he'd also tried on for a period, relying here on well-enunciated bars. The bass, too, is subdued, Keef's raps carrying the brunt of the load, and doing so with grace and ease on the double-time 'Less Speed.' Tucked deep at the end is “Be Back,” a song that boasts a cheeky production nod to “Faneto,” Keef’s last bona fide smash.
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- 15 Songs, 45 Minutes
- Released: Dec 1, 2017
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It’s not often Chief Keef puts major features on his projects. He had Lil Bibby on his latest project The W, but Keef usually keeps his features limited to his GBE crew—Tadoe, Ballout, Fredo Santana, etc. Now, for the first time since his 2012 debut album Finally Rich, Sosa is including some big names on his new album The Dedication, and XXL has the exclusive first look at the album’s official tracklist.
Lil Yachty and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie will both be featured on The Dedication, which officially drops Dec. 1. Pre-orders will be available on iTunes this Friday (Nov. 10), along with the Lil Yachty collab “Come on Now.” Tadoe is also featured on two songs from the album.
Eight of the album’s 15 tracks are produced by D. Rich, and previously released records like “Kills” and “Text,” some of the best songs Keef has dropped this year, are also included on the LP. Sosa himself produced two songs on the album under his producer pseudonym Turbo.
Keef revealed the cover art a little while back, and his longtime creative director Colourful Mula told XXL a bit about the inspiration for the cover. “The album title was inspired by Lil Wayne, so me and Keef wanted to find a creative spin on the original Dedication cover,” says Mula. “Keef randomly said ‘crossword puzzle’ and I took it from there. It’s also fun to see what fans find in the puzzle which could always be a hint at future song titles and projects.”
Peep the final cover, along with the tracklist and production credits for The Dedication, below.
TRACKLIST
01. Ticket
02. Keke Palmer
03. Mailbox
04. Cook
05. Bad (feat. Tadoe)
06. Text
07. Glory Bridge (feat. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie)
08. Get It
09. Negro
10. Less Speed
11. Come On Now (feat. Lil Yachty)
12. Kills
13. Told Y’all
14. Let Me See (feat. Tadoe)
15. Be BackDedication
Chief Keef – Dedication Album (Zip)
It’s not often Chief Keef puts major features on his projects. He had Lil Bibby on his latest project The W, but Keef usually keeps his features limited to his GBE crew—Tadoe, Ballout, Fredo Santana, etc. Now, for the first time since his 2012 debut album Finally Rich, Sosa is including some big names on his new album The Dedication, and XXL has the exclusive first look at the album’s official tracklist.
Lil Yachty and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie will both be featured on The Dedication, which officially drops Dec. 1. Pre-orders will be available on iTunes this Friday (Nov. 10), along with the Lil Yachty collab “Come on Now.” Tadoe is also featured on two songs from the album.
Eight of the album’s 15 tracks are produced by D. Rich, and previously released records like “Kills” and “Text,” some of the best songs Keef has dropped this year, are also included on the LP. Sosa himself produced two songs on the album under his producer pseudonym Turbo.
Keef revealed the cover art a little while back, and his longtime creative director Colourful Mula told XXL a bit about the inspiration for the cover. “The album title was inspired by Lil Wayne, so me and Keef wanted to find a creative spin on the original Dedication cover,” says Mula. “Keef randomly said ‘crossword puzzle’ and I took it from there. Justin bieber sean kingston eenie meenie lyrics. It’s also fun to see what fans find in the puzzle which could always be a hint at future song titles and projects.”
Peep the final cover, along with the tracklist and production credits for The Dedication, below.
TRACKLIST
01. Ticket
02. Keke Palmer
03. Mailbox
04. Cook
05. Bad (feat. Tadoe)
06. Text
07. Glory Bridge (feat. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie)
08. Get It
09. Negro
10. Less Speed
11. Come On Now (feat. Lil Yachty)
12. Kills
13. Told Y’all
14. Let Me See (feat. Tadoe)
15. Be BackDedication
Chief Keef – Dedication Album (Zip)
It’s not often Chief Keef puts major features on his projects. He had Lil Bibby on his latest project The W, but Keef usually keeps his features limited to his GBE crew—Tadoe, Ballout, Fredo Santana, etc. Now, for the first time since his 2012 debut album Finally Rich, Sosa is including some big names on his new album The Dedication, and XXL has the exclusive first look at the album’s official tracklist.
Lil Yachty and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie will both be featured on The Dedication, which officially drops Dec. 1. Pre-orders will be available on iTunes this Friday (Nov. 10), along with the Lil Yachty collab “Come on Now.” Tadoe is also featured on two songs from the album.
Eight of the album’s 15 tracks are produced by D. Rich, and previously released records like “Kills” and “Text,” some of the best songs Keef has dropped this year, are also included on the LP. Sosa himself produced two songs on the album under his producer pseudonym Turbo.
Keef revealed the cover art a little while back, and his longtime creative director Colourful Mula told XXL a bit about the inspiration for the cover. “The album title was inspired by Lil Wayne, so me and Keef wanted to find a creative spin on the original Dedication cover,” says Mula. “Keef randomly said ‘crossword puzzle’ and I took it from there. It’s also fun to see what fans find in the puzzle which could always be a hint at future song titles and projects.”
Peep the final cover, along with the tracklist and production credits for The Dedication, below.
TRACKLIST
01. Ticket
02. Keke Palmer
03. Mailbox
04. Cook
05. Bad (feat. Tadoe)
06. Text
07. Glory Bridge (feat. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie)
08. Get It
09. Negro
10. Less Speed
11. Come On Now (feat. Lil Yachty)
12. Kills
13. Told Y’all
14. Let Me See (feat. Tadoe)
15. Be BackDedication