Chief Keef – Biography, Age, Songs, Net Worth, Facts (2025) & More

“I started to argue to anyone that would listen that drill music was more than shock value or a new spin on gangsta rap. The scene planted the seeds for hip-hop’s ascendancy in music’s digital economy.”⁶

Keith Farrelle Cozart was born on August 15th 1995 on the South Side of Chicago.⁷ He is a rapper, producer and label owner.⁸ He started as a teen and soon became a defining voice of drill.⁹ The sound is dark, bass heavy and rooted in local street life.¹⁰ Early singles “I Don’t Like” and “Love Sosa” spread on YouTube, blogs and radio.¹¹ The tone felt new. He built a loyal base with raw videos, a steady stream of mixtapes and relentless hooks. By 2025, he has released multiple projects as an independent artist also built GBE then Glo Gang then 43B and created a small business ecosystem around his name.¹² Media once called him a symbol of Chicago drill. That label has stuck.

Chief Keef Personal Info.

Some verified facts about Chief Keef (as of 2025)

• “Almighty So 2” earned Pitchfork’s Best New Music badge with an 8.4 review calling it a late-career high point.¹⁵
• Faneto was officially certified Platinum by the RIAA in March 2024 marking one of his most enduring catalog hits.¹⁶
• Almighty So 2 debuted at #30 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Independent Albums chart confirming strong first-week performance for an indie release.¹⁷
• Industry tallies pegged first-week U.S. units for Almighty So 2 at ~23k driven by streams and direct sales.¹⁸
• Keef and Mike WiLL Made-It dropped a collaborative project Dirty Nachos (2024) expanding his late-career discography beyond solo albums.¹⁹
• He launched ‘A Lil Tour’ in 2024 billed as his first headlining run since 2017 with dates across North America.²⁰
• After a scheduling hiccup ‘A Lil Tour’ was rescheduled to fall 2024 keeping momentum behind the new album cycle.²¹
• He is booked for ONE Musicfest 2025 (Atlanta, Oct 25–26) extending his festival presence through the end of the year.
• The “Say Ya Grace” collab with Lil Yachty (Lyrical Lemonade) landed in YouTube’s Top 5 Trending on release week, signaling strong video traction.²²
• 43B Records continued to grow as Lil Gnar joined the roster as an early signing showing Keef’s focus on building a pipeline for new voices.²³
• He also touched Rolling Loud California in 2024’s broader festival circuit run, adding to the post-album performance surge.

Career timeline

Early life and background (1995–2010)

• Family and neighborhood: He grew up in Parkway Garden Homes on the South Side.²⁴ Music was near and street pressure was real. His father left early so his grandmother raised him. The environment shaped his voice.
• Musical beginnings: He started rhyming around age five using a home karaoke machine. He attended Dulles Elementary and then Dyett High School.²⁵ He dropped out during his freshman year to focus on music. By then he was rapping with friends, testing flows in school hallways and learning to record at home.
• First encounters with the law: At 16, Keef was arrested in December 2011 after firing a gun from a moving car. The court put him on house arrest for a month. Locked inside, he started posting freestyle clips online.²⁶ The stripped-down style clicked with viewers. It gave drill its first wave of raw visuals. His harsh environment and street reputation shaped the themes he never left behind.²⁷

Music beginnings (2011–2012)

• By 2011, he was releasing mixtapes and one-off songs on sites that were popular in that era.²⁸ “UF Overload” surfaced earlier but the buzz grew with “The Glory Road” and “Bang” in 2011.²⁹ The music traveled through word of mouth with teens swapping links and channels sharing his songs. While on house arrest he kept posting, kept talking to fans and built a base that did not need radio.
• The real break came with “I Don’t Like” in early 2012. The hook repeated like a street chant and it went viral. Kanye West remixed it with major rappers like Pusha T, Big Sean and Jadakiss and within months Keef’s name was everywhere. That summer, he landed a $6 million deal with Interscope that included three albums and his own label Glory Boyz Entertainment. At 17, with no studio album yet the momentum was staggering.

Breakthrough and Finally Rich (2012–2013)

• In December 2012, he released “Finally Rich” through Interscope and GBE. The album dropped on December 18th 2012 via Interscope and Glory Boyz Entertainment and it has since been certified platinum by the RIAA.³⁰ It featured “Love Sosa” an all-time drill anthem and “Hate Bein’ Sober” with 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa.³¹ Guests like Rick Ross and Jeezy added weight to the tracklist. The album proved drill could fill clubs and radio sets & not just YouTube feeds.
• By 2013, the mainstream couldn’t ignore him. He showed up on Kanye West’s Yeezus singing the hook on “Hold My Liquor” with Justin Vernon.³²
• In 2015, Chicago blocked a planned hologram concert over safety fears. At the same time legal issues kept piling up and Interscope began to cool. Officially they blamed sales. Privately, the reality was his absences and the constant drama. Still in 2013 he dropped “Bang, Pt. 2” on his birthday, “Almighty So” in October and even served a short juvenile sentence for violating probation with a gun range video.³³

Independent career (2014–2025)

• In 2014, he dissolved Glory Boyz Entertainment and rebranded as Glo Gang. Releases flowed through indie partners like RBC, E1, and FilmOn.³⁴ Bang 3 finally came out in 2015 in two parts through Glo Gang and FilmOn.³⁵ Dedication landed in 2017 through Glo Gang and RBC.
• In 2019, he teamed with Zaytoven for “GloToven”.³⁶ In late 2021, he released 4NEM on Glo Gang and RBC. The music stayed raw but the craft kept sharpening.
• In June 2022, he launched 43B. The name stands for “Forget Everybody.” It was a partnership with BMG and RBC for distribution. Under 43B, he released Almighty So 2 in May 2024. He explored fashion with Glo Gang apparel drops and a True Religion capsule.
• Over the years he picked up writing credits around bigger projects. He worked with Atlanta voices and Midwest peers. A track with Lil Yachty and ILOVEMAKONNEN titled “Qued Up” reflected his reach.³⁷ In early 2023, he linked with Sexyy Red on “Gettin’ Nat Belt.” The record started as playful smoke and ended as a full viral trend. It reminded the internet that Keef knows how to spark a moment.

Controversies and legal issues

• Firearm incidents: In January 2011, police stopped him and he pulled out a handgun. Officers fired but missed. He spent a short time locked up and was put on house arrest. By December that same year, he was arrested again for firing a pistol during a chase.³⁸ These moments marked the start of years of legal trouble.
• Mocking deaths: In September 2012 a teenage rival Lil JoJo was killed. Keef posted a cruel tweet that drew outrage across Chicago. He later said the account was hacked. Police reviewed his online comments. No charges followed but the post added a harsh glare to everything he did in public.
• Probation violations and jail: After a gun-range video aired in 2012, prosecutors argued he had violated probation. In January 2013 a judge sentenced him to two months in juvenile detention. He was released in March. That same year he skipped a scheduled UK show which led to a lawsuit and default judgment. He was also caught speeding at 110 mph in a 55 zone.
• Post 2013 run-ins: In 2014 he faced a DUI case and an eviction. In 2017, a producer accused him of robbery and assault linked to a stolen watch.³⁹ Charges were later dropped. He also faced a marijuana charge in South Dakota that year. These cases kept him under pressure but did not stop releases for long.
• Recent controversies: In July 2024, his account posted political slogans including “Trump 2024.” He later said the account was hacked. The episode stirred debate. In April 2025, Bhad Bhabie said she had a “friends with benefits” relationship with Keef starting when she was 16. Since he is about 11 years older, the claim sparked backlash and discussion. As of mid 2025 he had not responded publicly.

Recent projects and moves (2023–2025)

• “Gettin’ Nat Belt” turns into a moment (2023): In mid-2023, he dropped a playful diss track called “Gettin’ Nat Belt.” Aimed at a Philadelphia rapper it carried a viral hook that listeners could copy. The line was perfect for TikTok and Reels. Fans looped it into dances, skits and memes.⁴⁰ The official video quickly passed a million views. The buzz also reignited interest in his older work sending new fans back into his mixtapes. It became his biggest viral wave since “I Don’t Like.”
• Collaborations and media: He kept the momentum going with new features and appearances. In late 2023, he joined DCG Shun and Bsavv on the “Play Wit Me” remix which pulled in millions of views.⁴¹ He also dropped verses for Atlanta and Midwest artists. His freestyle on ‘On The Radar Radio’ went viral with clips circulating across TikTok.
• New albums and singles: Throughout late 2023 and into 2024, he stayed visible with a mix of tapes and singles. “Big Gucci Sosa” released in November 2023 gave him a Nickname ‘Sosa’.⁴² He followed with “All the Smoke” and “Mozzarella” in early 2024 which kept social feeds moving. The highlight was ‘Almighty So 2′. Arriving in May 2024 after years of anticipation it continued the story of a beloved 2013 tape.
• Return to Chicago stages: In June 2024, Chief Keef returned to Chicago for the first time in years. Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash festival booked him and he admitted to feeling nervous after such a long absence. When he walked out fans shouted his early hits in unison.
• Building toward the next phase: In 2025, he began teasing a new studio album. Photos from studio sessions showed him with big-name collaborators sparking rumors of East Coast features.⁴³ His team has filmed multiple videos with cinematic intros raising expectations. By late 2025, fans are anticipating a defining project.

Discography

Fan connection and community impact

• Chief Keef’s rise was never built by marketing plans. It was local buzz that spilled online. YouTube and social media gave fans a straight line to him and he still uses them the same way today. He reposts drawings, reacts to memes and talks in the slang heard in his songs. Reddit threads and Discord groups keep his music alive. The talk often comes back to authenticity & fans trust him because his lyrics reflect his real life. That trust holds even when he steps away for months at a time.

“His success is tied to him being one of the first to do this drill shit at a major scale… Sosa opened the doors for everyone in Chicago even his opps.”⁵⁷

• His online presence has always felt raw. Instagram Lives, short TikToks and offhand posts set the tone while hashtags like #GloGang turned into a mini-movement. During his 2013 juvenile sentence the tag #FreeChiefKeef gathered support.

“What I do like is all the people who do memes, remaster songs, post throwback photos etc. I think the community is p strong when it comes to that.”⁵⁸

• New York drill and London drill copied the sound that started in Chicago. The beats, the ad-libs and the simple hooks all come from Keef’s style. Many young rappers treat Finally Rich like a guide. You can hear his influence in how they rap, the slang they use and the way their videos look.

Business ventures and label deals

• GBE and the Interscope deal (2012): The success of “I Don’t Like” brought a major label deal. Reports valued it at $6 million for three albums with about $440,000 set aside to launch Glory Boyz Entertainment. His debut Finally Rich came under that deal. By late 2013, the partnership had cooled. A second album never came. In October 2014, Keef and Interscope parted ways. Afterward, he announced that Glo Gang would take the place of GBE.
• Glo Gang: In early 2014, he reintroduced himself under the Glo Gang name. It stood for a brighter vision and a close-knit circle. The label tag appeared on his next projects though distribution shifted with each release. This setup gave him ownership of his masters and full control of his merch. He also added a few younger Chicago artists to the roster. None broke through on his level but the label kept everything self owned.
• 43B Records (2022): Chief Keef announced 43B in June 2022, a joint venture with RBC and BMG. Short for “Forget Everybody” the label added new artists in 2022 and 2023. The deal gave him international reach but kept him in control of his output.
• Fashion and merch: For Keef, style is part of the identity. Glo Gang apparel is dropped in limited batches at concerts and through online shops. In 2022, he linked with True Religion for a capsule celebrating the brand’s anniversary. The range included hoodies, t-shirts and denim stitched with his logos. He’s also leaned into jewelry commissioning custom grills and chains. Fashion may not be his main business but it plays a role in revenue and brand loyalty.
• Partnerships and placements: In the late 2010s, his releases often went through RBC and FilmOn. His tracks even showed up in video games and streaming playlists. He learned the business side early and now he handles music like a founder. He owns much of his catalog and decides how and where it gets released.

Kanika Dhingra

Kanika Dhingra is a pop culture writer with 5+ years of experience decoding celebrity fame. From hip-hop trailblazers to viral chart-toppers, she delivers smart, stylish profiles that resonate with fans and critics alike.