Finally Rich – Chief Keef

2012	Finally Rich	Chief Keef	★★	47	Hip-Hop	Drill

There’s so much more intensity and hype with Chief Keef’s music compared to almost everything else coming out in the early 2010. The Chief Keef/Young Chop artist/producer duo is really only rivaled by Waka Flocka/Lex Luger in terms of energy, and Waka’s aggressive, Southern, crunk influences don’t feel the same as Keef’s overbearing Chicago drill style.

Finally Rich reminds me a lot of 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Trying, not in terms of sound exactly, but because they’re albums with big hits and big misses that achieved “classic” status because of how they started an unexpected explosion of interest in the niche hip-hop movements they were a part of, despite some repetitive techniques and obvious flaws. 

Repetition really is the key to what makes Keef’s best songs work. He says “That’s that shit I don’t like” around 40 times on “I Don’t Like” (as if I actually had to say what song he says it on), and you sing along with him all 40 times. He says “Sosa” about 20 times above deep, plodding bass and fluttering percussion. “Sober” is said 27 times on (you guessed it) “I Hate Being Sober,” a cool song featuring 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa.    

Other features on here from these big, aggressive kind of drug personalities like Rick Ross, Jeezy and French Montana match Keef’s energy nicely as well.

I will say, the repetitive lines and Keef’s droning, kind of emotionless delivery can sounds stupid or childish. Plus, the beats are mostly derivative of each other. And there aren’t too many lines with particular meaning found anywhere on the album. Still, about half the tracks somehow work.