Have you ever named your chopper Juelz Santana? Chief Keef has had a trying year, what with the label strife and inability to secure a retail release for Nobody or his still-shelved Bang 3. But that hasn't slowed down the creative machinations. Today (Jan. 28), Keef let loose of "Voodoo," one of the weirdest--and, undoubtedly, best--things he's ever committed to wax.

Work backwards. Just before the three-minute mark, KC Da Beat Monster's psycho-drama keys and deliberate drums are sliced in two by a wave of distortion, sending "Voodoo" reeling for the rest of its runtime. Undeterred, Keef follows suit, playing cat-and-mouse with the snares, eventually threatening to put his Juelz to your bandana. Keef's writing, underrated in perpetuity, is razor-sharp here: the coda alone catches his jewelry dancing on his neck and Keef feeling paternal about his new gun. As for the performative aspects of the song, "Money in my pocket, that's my boo, baby!" is one of the more expressive moments in the Chicagoan's catalog.

From "Voodoo"'s opening notes, Keef is focused and economical in a way he seldom has been, even on his stellar debut Finally Rich. Does your favorite rapper have goons in Nigeria? Does he have an ambulance at the cops' house? More importantly, how many artists shoehorn a half-dozen would-be hooks into a five-minute loosie? None, and that's the point. As Keef moves further and further from radio-sanctioned success, he gets weirder, more incisive, and more irresistible.

 

Listen to "Voodoo" below:

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