Almighty So 2

Keef's ear has always been for the dramatic, and Almighty So 2 gives his gothic raps a new grandeur. His best songs have a certain brutality for them, but here, the mixes are crisper, more professional. Stepping up in the studio can sometimes mean sanding off the edges, but every one of these songs is sharp. “Almighty (Intro)” takes a sample of Carl Orff's oft-used composition “O Fortuna” and cuts it while the drums fan below, building tension as the voice flattens affirmations and insults for more than a minute (“The your mom could have you all over again, you still couldn't be me”) Then Keef comes in and the drums gallop while he drops weird bends (“Put my nut in her cup and chase her prostate” ) and points out how his creation was defined: “I was born in '91…Feel a cougar headin' for that ass? Boy, you better run.” He checks every box for a great rap intro Keef in pole position to step on it.

So 2 it's so big all the way through. Keef remains restless, indulging in wild thoughts and building them into feature-length productions. “Drifting Away” is a marvel of Zaytoven-esque pianos, 808 beats, punchy synths and digital flutes that shimmer and stumble behind Keef's talk about money and Kanye West's claims of cutting-edge musical drill. Ironically, it sounds very far from the drill, as if it had drilled so nicely into the Uzi's Eternal Atake or any of TisaKorean's latest albums. That's the magic of Chief Keef—even when he sticks to the script, he can do the unexpected. Tierra Whack might not have been the first rapper to come to mind for a Keef collaboration, but she grabs a vicious double-time flow on the back half of “Banded Up” that perfectly compliments Keef's halftime screams. Would you ever expect Keef to say “I start wearing yellow diamonds, looks like I peed myself” and compare enemies to old mascot for Honeycombs cereal over angelic choir vocals on “Treat Myself”? Or to work Bobby Womack and Wilson Pickett samples into a roaring vintage drill on “1,2,3”? Or to layer drum triplets over spiral piano keys on “Neph Nem”? The fact that they all feel leftist and kind of uninterested is a testament to Keef's continued ability to surprise after 15 years.

With that trust comes a new investment in his legacy. Keef is still focused on present and future success, but he's spending just as much Almighty So 2 considering his arduous journey to the top. Sorrow and longing aren't new to him, but at the end of his first verse on “Jesus,” he briefly works through the shift in perspective that came with his move from Chicago to California. The pathways of his mind are less active, but he remembers every run. “Prince Charming” is one of several songs filled with the memories those who make it most cherish: advice from his grandmother, bologna on his plate, situations that made his “front yard look like GTA.” car meeting.”