Chief Keef is one of the most popular rap artists in the drill subgenre. The Chicago-based artist became famous in 2012 with the songs Love Sosa and I Don't Like. He then signed a $6 million deal with Interscope Records. And the song Hate Bein' Sober even made a remix Kanye West.
Cheef Keef Early Years
Chief Keef is the artist's stage name. His real name is Keith Farrell Cozart. The guy was born on August 15, 1995 in the criminal American city of Chicago. His family cannot be called prosperous, because his mother Lolita Carter was 15 years old at the time of birth. Little is known about the biological father - his name is Alfonso Cozart, who was also a minor. Alfonso was shielded from his son. The grandmother became Keef's legal guardian, she provided and raised the child.
The performer was named after his deceased uncle Keith Carter. In the city he was known as Big Keef. The artist then used this name to create his pseudonym. My uncle lived in Chicago's South Parkway Garden Homes and was a member of the local Black Disciples street gang. As a teenager, Chief Keef joined her too.
Chief Keef was interested in music from an early age. When he was 5 years old, he was already writing songs and rapping. Moreover, he took an old karaoke from his mother, found empty cassettes and tried to record small compositions. Already in his teens, he began to seriously engage in writing tracks.
When the guy was in school, he already had a significant fan base, consisting of schoolchildren from his area. Keefe was a very smart kid and always got good grades. He first attended Dulles Elementary School. Then the boy continued his studies in the senior classes of Dyett High school. And he was tired of studying. And he left school at 15 to pursue rap and music.
Musical career Cheef Keef
The performer gained his first fame in 2011. Thanks to the release of mixtapes The Glory Road and Bang, residents of the southern districts of Chicago drew attention to him. In the same period of time, the novice artist began to release clips for his tracks on YouTube.
Thanks to the composition I Don't Like, which was noticed by the famous rapper Kanye West, the artist was very popular. Together with Big Sean, Jadakiss and Pusha T, he recorded a remix, the composition quickly became popular on the Internet. The rapid increase in the artist's popularity was commented on by journalist David Drake from Pitchfork. He said that Chief Keef literally "leaped out of nowhere".
Already in 2012, several labels fought for a promising teenager. At the same time, he was offered to sign contracts with CTE World, Interscope Records, and others. Young Jeezy offered to cooperate with the CTE World label, but Keefe insisted on waiting. As a result, the artist decided to work with Interscope Records, signing a contract for $6 million. Moreover, the management gave him $ 440 thousand to organize his label called Glory Boyz Entertainment.
One of the terms of the agreement was the release of three albums under the auspices of the record company. The debut album on the label was Finally Rich, on which you can hear: Young Jeezy, Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent, Rick Ross and others. In a short period of time, the album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200.
In 2013, Chief Keef released two more albums, Bang 2 and Almighty So. However, they did not receive the same popularity as previous releases. For the "fans" of the artist, the release of the works was a long-awaited event, but neither they nor the music experts were able to appreciate the compositions at their true worth. Cozart later admitted that the quality of the songs had deteriorated due to codeine addiction. He was taking a cough suppressant.
Departure from the label and the further work of Chief Keef
In October 2014, the label's management decided to terminate the contract with Chief Keef. The artist announced the news on Twitter. He also said that all the promised projects would be implemented. In 2015, the rapper signed an agreement with the label.
Bang 3 came out late in 2015, becoming one of Cozart's most anticipated releases. On August 3, the performer released the first part, and on August 18 the second part was released. On the disc you can hear popular American artists Mac Miller, Jenn Em, ASAP Rocky, Lil B and others. In total, the collection includes 30 tracks. Certain songs stayed on the main charts in America for about a month.
In the summer of 2015, Saro (a close friend of the artist) was shot dead on the road from another car. The same car then knocked down a stroller with a one-year-old child, the baby immediately died. Chief Keef was shocked by what happened. And he decided to organize a charity concert in memory of the dead. In order to reduce crime in his native Chicago, the rapper decided to create the organization Stop the Violence Now.
In March 2016, Cozart tweeted that he wanted to take a break from his rap career. However, in 2017 he recorded a joint track Young Man with MGK. And then came the album Two Zero One Seven, which included 17 tracks. In the same year, another record with Dedication was released.
From 2018 to 2019 the controversial musician has released five mixtapes. You can hear Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, G Herbo, Soulja Boy and others in them. In 2020, the artist helped produce the Lil Uzi Vert album.
Chief Keef's legal troubles
Due to the rebellious nature of the performer, there were many problems with the law. When Keith was 16 years old, he was driving a Pontiac car and opened fire from the window. According to some sources, he also fired at the police. Law enforcement agencies accused him of illegal use of weapons and sent the artist under house arrest for a month. He spent it at his grandmother's house.
Moreover, in the same year, the rapper was detained for the manufacture and sale of drugs. Due to the fact that Cozart was a minor, he was recognized as a delinquent and placed under house arrest.
Rapper Lil JoJo was killed in 2012. Almost all Chicagoans were sure that Chief Keef was involved in the death. The reason for this was the provocative tweet of the artist, where he ridiculed the death of a local artist. Moreover, the mother of Lil JoJo assured that Cozart received money for the murder of her son. After a series of trials, the performer was not arrested. The judge substantiated this by the fact that no reliable evidence was presented to the investigation.
In 2013, Cozart exceeded the speed limit to 110 mph, the legal limit was 55 mph. For this, he was ordered to spend 60 hours on community service and was given a probationary period of 18 months. Cozart was also arrested several times for driving under the influence of marijuana.
In 2017, music producer Ramsay Tha Great filed a lawsuit against the performer for robbery. According to him, Chief Keef stole a Rolex watch while threatening and pointing a weapon. Ramsay was unable to provide the necessary evidence, so the charges were dropped. However, in the same year, Keith was arrested for possession and use of cannabis.
Chief Keef's personal life
At the moment, the artist does not have a soulmate. However, information often appeared in online publications that Cozart had 9 children born out of wedlock. The first child - daughter Cayden Kash Cozart was born when the performer was only 16 years old. In 2014, Keith himself told fans about the birth of his third child - a son named Crew Carter Cozart.
Nothing is known about the rest of the children. The court ordered the rapper to pay alimony of at least $ 500 per month for each heir. However, he refuses to do so. Keefe explains this with insignificant incomes and the inability to pay a significant amount.
