Chief Keef

Chief Keef, a 16-year-old hip-hop star, was almost completely unknown outside of Chicago's South Side until recently. He had a song called "Bang," which now has close to a million views on YouTube, and he had a mixtape, and a dedicated following amongst Chicago high school students. But he was not a rapper who was known outside of the local high schools.

WorldStarHipHop-a website that hosts hip-hop-related videos for an estimated two million unique viewers per day-posted a video of a young child rapping along to "Aimed At You," one of Chief Keef's biggest songs. A hip-hop video going viral is hardly a new story. But what's unique about Keef's rise is just how late in the game the wider Internet world has caught on. The WorldStar video was just the right match to light a fuse that had already been primed.

Keef used a rather proven system, borne of a long history of enterprising Chicago rappers that combined viral attraction with a loyal, localized fan base. East Side rappers Big Homie Doe and King Louie began their careers by emulating the path of Bump J, the last Chicago street rapper to unite the disparate gangs that divide Chicago's street rap scene. Doe and Louie would burn CDs and distribute them by hand, just as Bump J had done ("Schools, bus stops, El stations, parties we would go to"). And they also tapped into the school.

After a preview earlier this month, Chief Keef finally releases the full visual treatment for "Love Sosa." Frequent collaborator Young Chop handled production duties on the high-energy track. Director DG Films captured the Chicago rapper in his natural element of mobbing out with his GBE clique.

Keef is signed a major record deal with Interscope Records, and is the CEO of his own record label Glory Boys Entertainment. His debut album Finally Rich was released on December 18th.

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