On Friday, May 10, 2024, Chief Keef released his long-awaited album “Almighty So 2,” the sequel to the highly-regarded “Almighty So,” which was released over 10 years ago. Expectations and anticipation were at an all time high, especially after having been delayed numerous times. Keef delivers infectious beats, braggadocious lyrics and many memorable moments on “Almighty So 2.”
Keef produced the majority of the beats on the record himself. Playing both the rapper and the producer, Keef allows for a firm grasp in crafting the 16 songs to his liking. The track “Jesus” begins melodically as Keef sleazily raps to a looped guitar until the music crescendos into narration, spoken by comedian Micheal Blackson and accompanied by hard drums, high hats and a booming bass.
“I’m a king, not a prince, I’m still sippin’ purple rain / Don’t look up to Chief Sosa, look up to Jesus Christ,” Keef raps.
While asserting himself to the high stature of royalty, Keef ferociously preaches for listeners to stray away from idolizing celebrities and rappers to a godlike stature, and to instead follow the words of religion. Narration by Blackson adds comedic effect as he mentions other rappers in the industry by completely mistaking their names in an attempt to insult them.
“Banded Up” includes a repetitive chorus by Keef, which, by the end of the song, becomes the worst part of the track as it is repeated four times. Although it has faults, the song excels with a dark drill-esque sound accompanied by banging bells and an aggressive and powerful feature by Tierra Whack. Whack boasts and rapidly raps off beat, serving as one of the best features on the entire album.
“I been gettin’ money, I feel just like Oprah hand / I’m ’bout to drop like the crotch on Rick Owen pants,” Whack raps.
“1, 2, 3” begins with a sampled and interpolated version of Bobby Womack’s “And I Love Her.” As the vocals of Womack continue throughout the entirety of the song, a loud snaring and satisfying trumpet is played. With a strong and dominant presence, Keef’s performance accompanied by wonderful production causes “1, 2, 3” to stand out as one of the best records on the album.
“Police pull me over, I can tell they hatin’ / I got pink slips, license, pink slips, license, and registration,” Keef Raps.
Premiered in 2021, the snippet “Tony Montana Flow” discusses uproar and immense commotion on social media, becoming a trending sound. Having officially released the track as a single in 2022, the single became the album’s penultimate track, serving as a full circle moment for fans anticipating the release of “Almighty So 2.”
Ultimately, after many long-awaited years, Keef delivers one of the best sounding trap albums of 2024 by implementing gravitating sonic sounds, satisfying instrumentals, selective features and captivating sample flips to further cement his famous catchphrase, that everyone loves Sosa.