
Chief Keef Shares Video for “Runner,”
Chief Keef released his long-awaited album Almighty So 2 last week, earning rapturous critical acclaim and is trending towards becoming one of his biggest commercial debuts in years. Today, Sosa shares the first video from Almighty So 2: “Runner,” a soul-sampling album highlight. “Runner” expertly samples the dramatic vocals, sweeping strings, and cinematic horns from Nancy Wilson’s 1974 single “Streetrunner,” a song with lyrics that seem to comment on Sosa’s early years in Chicago: “Growing up, you ran the streets/Learned young the cold street code/It was hard times, nickels and dimes/Then you hit that motherload.” Sosa’s version adds kinetic, footwork-influenced drums and percolating pianos, as the artist dialogues with the sampled vocals in witty and aggressive couplets and channels his state-of-mind from his days on the streets. In the video, the Almighty So takes us to church, as he rhymes from the confession booth and then takes a ride in his Rolls Royce.
Produced by Chief Keef himself and the product of several years of work, Almighty So 2 is a defining moment in the influential artist’s decade-long career. The young auteur mostly eschews melody on the new album–instead, he resolves to showcase his prodigious abilities as an emcee, sharpening his pen and emptying out his arsenal of flows. Sosa throws his entire body into his vocal performances, whether he’s building in intensity until he reaches a thunderous crescendo, or delivering his smirking punchlines with an audible disrespect.
The album has garnered rapturous reviews, earning Best New Music honors from Pitchfork (8.4), along with glowing praise from Rolling Stone, HYPEBEAST, The FADER, Stereogum, and more. Charting on Spotify as the #2 debut album in the U.S. (and #4 in the world) during its opening weekend, the long-awaited album features appearances from Sexyy Red, Quavo, G Herbo, Tierra Whack, his 43B signee Lil Gnar, and his Glo Gang associate Ballout. Home to highlights like “Believe,” “Drifting Away” and “Treat Myself,” Almighty So 2 is now available everywhere via 43B.
Last week, along with the album, Chief Keef announced “A Lil Tour,” his upcoming nationwide headlining tour. Produced by Live Nation, “A Lil Tour” criss-crosses the U.S. for 17 dates, starting in Boston on July 16th, passing through Brooklyn on July 24th (Brooklyn Paramount), Atlanta on July 29th (Coca-Cola Roxy), Los Angeles on August 10th (Hollywood Palladium), and more before ending in San Francisco on August 13th. 43B signee Lil Gnar and The Glo Boyz will join Sosa on tour as support for all dates. Tickets are available beginning Wednesday, May 15th at 10am local time at ChiefKeef.com.
Almighty So 2 continues a banner year for the influential Chief Keef. In March, he connected with superproducer Mike WiLL Made-It for the collaborative mixtape, DIRTY NACHOS, a Trap-A-Holics-hosted throwback to the heyday of the mixtape era. Earlier in the year, Sosa collaborated with Sexyy Red on two singles from her Hood Hottest Princess (Deluxe)–”Ghetto Princess,” and “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Mama),” and teamed up with Lil Yachty for “Say Ya Grace,” a highlight from All Is Yellow, the first album by Lyrical Lemonade. The song’s Cole Bennett-directed video went viral: the song reached the top 5 of YouTube’s Trending chart, and racked up over 3 million views in its first week of release. In June, Chief Keef makes his long awaited return to Chicago on June 16th, performing his first show in his hometown since 2012, at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash. Check out more on Chief Keef here.