Chief Keef - Two Zero One Seven

Chief Keef
Two Zero One Seven
2017
Spotify

Thinking that somehow Chief Keef has aged out of the rap game seems ridiculous, but his releases as of late have sure made it seem that way. When his first record came out at just 17 years old it seemed like Keef was destined for utter greatness, yet He has been unable to re-create that same magic He had on Finally Rich. For this new album, Two Zero One Seven Chief Keef has teamed up with legendary trap producer Lex Luger. Both Artists however have seen their careers start to fade, and music that at one time was essential has now become disposable. This record needed to be a return to form for both and a statement that Chief Keef is here to stay. At times Two Zero One Seven scratches that itch, but for the most part neither the beats nor the rapping set this album apart from the pack. Chief is still one of the best trap rappers out there, and his delivery on this album is quite great, and He sneaks savage one liners in almost on a whim. His stream of consciousness raps are so all over the place that predicting which direction He is going to go next is nearly impossible. We also have to discuss the production on this record, because there are times where it is just really bad. Volumes waiver, some are richer than others and there really is nothing that unifies these tracks both content and production wise. "Stand Tall" for some reason is way louder than anything else on the record, but just in volume, clearly a rushed job.

The record all suffers from sounding very similar throughout. The beats rarely get above a crawl and Chief Keef sort of allows his lyrics to fall on the beat. This may be the reason so many of his great one liners fly by without much fanfare, He just seems to be sleep walking through this thing which really limits your own excitement. There are so many times where you just want to Keef to act as if He is actually enjoying or excited about what He is doing, but instead He allows the moments to pass unfulfilled. "Go" has this really interesting piano line in it, but it is way to long and never changes making it a chore to get through. There simply are not enough exciting moments for you to sit through an hour of music, and the moments that are somewhat interesting Keef lets pass without any recognition. By the time the final bonus track arrives it is a relief to put this back up on the shelf and move on. Chief Keef has something and something really special, He just needs to find a way to package it correctly and bring more energy to his records so they really pop. Two Zero One Seven really does not pop.

5.0 out of 10