The gonzo “The Talk” is equally as guttural, with hard-hitting hi-hats and a sinister synth line that sounds like a didgeridoo imagine a 2012-era Lil Bibby beat, but polished ever-so-slightly and improved upon. “Hadouken,” with its looping Young Buck sample, is a banzai charge in the form of a drill song, with an unstoppable forward momentum that’s unfortunately almost halted by outdated transphobia (“ you the type of n***a link up with a tranny”).
Here, his delivery is focused, almost militant in its indifferent tone he lobs his voice across these blaring beats (those booming horns and 808s on “Tuxedo”) like grenades into enemy territory, taking no prisoners in the process. The album’s cover art, a sandbox littered with jacks and plastic army figures fighting an undisclosed battle - call it Sosa’s Small Soldiers - confirms this to be a call to arms, a rallying cry after taking a few much-needed years off. Not only is 4NEM the first “proper” project Keef has dropped since 2017’s Dedication, but it’s his first “proper” sounding release in ages. But, broadly speaking, there’s a clear-sightedness to the direction and structure of these tracks - the type that’s been sorely missing from Keef’s (admittedly legendary) independent run at the start of the previous decade. Not in a strictly literal sense, mind you his enunciations and utterances are intelligible, even lucid in a way that might seem a bit too professional. But the degree to which this is an obstacle - which has always been the case with Sosa, at least since Almighty So - has never been less severe as it has on 4NEM, his most approachable release in terms of basic comprehension. This isn’t to say that Keef’s sold out this time around on the contrary, the vision on display here is so singular, so peculiar to a specific subset of intended listeners, that it may naturally turn some off from the sheer eccentricity of its disposition.
Honestly, this is something of an emergency - not just to those who’ve invested a considerable amount of time and energy into the Chicago rapper’s career, but to hip-hop fans of any inclination or proclivity. While there’s been little to no media fanfare surrounding its release, Chief Keef’s 4NEM is an album that demands your utmost attention.
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