The following 13 pages are in this category, out of 13 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).
1. Chief Keef – Keith Cozart, better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. During his teenage years and while under house arrest, Keefs music videos were met with acclaim from local school students. His increasing popularity led to him being the subject of a bidding war among labels. Ultimately, Keef signed a record deal with Interscope Records. Keef also became the CEO of his own label, Glory Boyz Entertainment. His debut album Finally Rich was released on December 18,2012, since becoming famous, Keef has continued to experience ongoing legal issues. Despite being dropped from Interscope in late 2014, Keef continued self-releasing mixtapes through his Glo Gang label, although Keef had originally planned Bang 3 to be released as his second album, a then-track from the album, Nobody, developed into its own project. Keef released Nobody as an album in December 2014, while continuing to delay the often-pushed back Bang 3. Chief Keef was born Keith Cozart in Chicago, Illinois when his mother was 16 and he grew up in the Parkway Garden Homes, located in the Washington Park neighborhood on the citys South Side. Keef is estranged from his father, when he was a minor, Keefs legal guardian was his grandmother. He began rapping at a young age, regularly listed as 5, using his mothers karaoke machine. During his childhood, Keef attended Dulles Elementary School and the Banner School, Keef dropped out of Dyett High School at age 15. In 2011, Keef first earned attention from Chicagos South Side community with his mixtapes, The Glory Road. In December, Keef fired gunshots from a Pontiac Grand Prix in Chicagos Washington Park neighborhood, police showed up at the scene and the incident resulted in Keef being arrested and charged with unlawful use of a weapon. Keef was consequently placed under house arrest at his grandmothers house for 30 days, followed by another 30 days of home confinement. It has been noted that by the time this incident occurred, Keef had already achieved local South Side popularity, while under house arrest, Keef posted several videos to his YouTube account. These videos were at the forefront of Chicagos hip hop subgenre, the attention he received increased during the short time between the release of his mixtapes, Bang and Back From the Dead, and music videos, including Bang, 3Hunna and I Dont Like. Once his house arrest ended, WorldStarHipHop released a video of a child hysterically celebrating Keefs release from house arrest and it also caught fellow Chicago rapper Kanye Wests attention, and West created a remix of the song with rappers Pusha T, Jadakiss and Big Sean
2. Lil Bibby – Brandon G. Dickinson, better known by his stage name Lil Bibby, is an American hip hop recording artist from Chicago, Illinois. He released his mixtape in 2013, titled Free Crack. He released the follow-up mixtape Free Crack 2 on August 29,2014, Bibbys latest project, Free Crack 3 was released on November 27,2015. In 2013, Lil Bibby released his debut mixtape, titled Free Crack. The title to the mixtape was inspired by Kanye Wests track, called Crack Music, describing the fact that both Bibby and West are from Chicago, Illinois. He cited Drake and Jadakiss, as two of his favorite rappers, vice stated that Bibbys first mixtape were cleared from its influences from both of these rappers. The mixtape features guest appearances from these newcomers Lil Herb and King L, while the production was handled by Hit-Boy, Young Chop and The Olympicks, the tape combines a gruff and imposing voice, along with a solid delivery and flow. The tracks are hard-hitting with plenty of bass and strong lyrics from Bibby, the most that stands out as far as the beats from the mixtape was a track, called Whole Crew. The music videos were released for such as How We Move featuring King L, Change, Water. Following the release of the mixtape, Bibby was featured on a cover in Vibe. The article complimented Bibby, stating that he had what it takes to be a music artist, due to his maturity. In December 2013, in an interview with XXL, Bibby hinted that the step for his career could be an EP. In 2014, it was stated, that the rapper Drake was a huge fan of Bibby. Bibby said it pushed him onto improve his debut release, adding the tracks Water, in January 2014, Bibby appeared on Sways radio show Sway in the Morning. On the show he spoke about the success of his debut mixtape, during the same month, Bibby also featured on New Yorks radio station, Hot 97. During the same month, Bibby stated in his interview with Billboard, that he was working on material for an EP, Bibby also appeared on the list of 2014s XXL Freshman Class. He was the last person selected to the list, due to Young Thugs last minute cancellation. In July 2014, he made his appearance on the songs, collaborating with a rapper and a Memphis-native Juicy J