Chief Keef's hologram can't catch a break, and it's a win for Keef

Chief Keef's hologram can't catch a break, and it's a win forKeef

Hip-Hop / Music

Chief Keef's hologram can't catch a break, and it's a win for Keef

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By Leor Galil

today at 01.00 PM

Chief Keef is running for mayor of Chicago, and as is the case with his rap songs, he doesn't appearto follow any rule book but his own. After all, the city wrapped up a mayoral election just monthsago, and Keef's got some outstanding warrants preventing him from entering Chicago anytime soon.Keef made the announcement on Twitter yesterday as part of a response to his ongoing struggle toperform anywhere near Chicago via hologram.

The MC has attempted to appear in this digital-avatar form twice in the past couple weeks. He hasn'tbeen able to play more than one entire song due to pressure from Rahm Emanuel's office, which saidKeef's hologram "posed a significant public safety risk." Redmoon Theater was originally slated tohost the first hologram performance on July 17, but the Pilsen venue cancelled the show. Keef's 3-Dimage did manage to play his 2012 breakout hit, "I Don't Like," during an unannounced set Saturdaynight at Craze Fest in Hammond, Indiana, but local police cut the power shortly after.

It's a bizarre series of events focused on a digital representation of a public figure with the potentialto add a wrinkle to First Amendment issues. Chicago magazine's Whet Moser covered the legalprecedent behind issues of free speech when it concerns safety and public performances in athoughtful piece that questioned whether or not the city of Hammond infringed on Keef's rights. Theconclusions are murky, as Moser found legal precedence that could be used to support both sides.

But regardless of who is in the right in the eyes of the law this entire episode feels like a big win forKeef--or at the very least a publicity coup. The story's gone national, with Keef becoming a symbolfor free speech activists in the process, and it's easy to see him staying in the spotlight, at least aslong as the rapper and his camp push the hologram issue with no sign of the mayor's officerelenting. That might not last longer than a couple weeks, but a couple weeks is more than enoughtime to give a boost to Keef's latest project. His forthcoming album, Bang 3, is due to come outAugust 18 on FilmOn TV and MondoTunes, which signed Keef to a $2.5 million deal for two albums.Greek billionaire Alki David owns a majority stake in MondoTunes and nabbed Keef the deal; Davidalso founded Hologram USA, which has been behind Keef's aborted virtual performances.

While Keef has reentered the public consciousness in a big way, he never lost his grip on rap fans,for whom he supplied a steady stream of stylistically scattershot mixtapes and singles. And Keef'sstill making hits: most recently his 2014 track "Faneto" grew into an underground phenomenon thatspurned countless remixes. His voice isn't quite everywhere, but it still feels somewhat present--Iheard at least one DJ drop Kanye's remix of "I Don't Like" at Pitchfork Music Festival. As the NewYork Times pointed out Craze Fest was no different:

Malcolm Jones, a promoter for Craze Fest, said the Hammond police and a representative from themayor's office visited him on site after 7 p.m. on Saturday. The authorities asked if Chief Keef waspresent, or if his voice or music would be played. "I said his music had been playing all night," Mr.Jones, 22, said. "His voice has been here since the beginning."

Now people who wouldn't attend Craze Fest or spend a chunk of their week scrolling throughmixtape sites and rap blogs are once again aware of Keef's activities--and it's happening while Keeftakes more odd stylistic turns. His first single from Bang 3, "Ain't Missing You," is a remix of JohnWaite's "Missing You" dedicated to rapper Big Glo, aka Mario Hess, a cousin of Keef who was shotand killed last April. Keef recounts fond memories of his older cousin through ripples of Auto-Tuneon the sparkling track, inserting a strong sense of loss and pain while finding a new pulse in afamiliar melody.

The song's spirit lends itself to the antiviolence message Keef's been pushing since David signedhim, which may still be a hard sell to those incredulous about the rapper's actions since his rise tofame. But "Ain't Missing You" is a hit to some. The song's video has racked up close to 1.5 millionYouTube plays since debuting earlier this month, and I imagine the numbers will climb once Bang 3drops.

Tags: Chief Keef, hologram, Hammond, Redmoon Theater, Craze Fest, Chicago Magazine, Ain'tMissing You, Faneto, Rahm Emanuel, Whet Moser, Alki David, MondoTunes, HologramUSA, Bang 3,Image, Video

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Chief Keef's hologram can't catch a break, and it's a win for Keef

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