luka

Well-known member
Interesting to compare this thread with the Migos thread. Two indisputably important and game changing acts over the last few years, both highly influential in England specifically, but this one is all positivity and singing from the same hymn sheet, the Migos one is everyone calling Barty a cunt.

I think it's largely because Migos work in the hit factory, in Hollywood, whereas Keef has somehow moved sideways into being an indie auteur, a Tricky, but with good songs, and therefore more amenable to dissensus sensibilities. Crowley touches on this earlier in the thread but in reference to Thug.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Might also be that Keef's huge discography lends it itself more to that sort of obscurant nerd analysis. Migos are much more restrained in terms of output. More measured. Can't see Keef duetting with Madonna anytime soon.

Re. the psychedelia, yes, definitely the substances about also the context. Wiki mentions psychedelia in the same sentence as PTSD which sounds about right. Keef definitely has a feel of unwanted flashbacks and night terrors. Street trauma.
 

forclosure

Well-known member
hold on luke i dont think its that people think my mans a cunt its probably in part due to people just being exhausted with the alomst totalitarian approach poptimism has on talking about alot of hobbies and indulgences,its never been easier to take the position of somebody who believes in taking down sacred cows and believing we should prop up artists who work in the hit factory world of things so they just feel inescapable even in spaces where you feel like you could momentarily take a breather from all that,that and like i said before me personally i just find them reallly tacky but whatever. (That Mark E. Smith line on New Puritan about "deep down inside you know everybody wants to like big companies" feels more awfuly relevant now than ever)

Im not much of an acolyte in Keef compared to Crowl and third,hell when he first popped up ill be straight i didnt care AT ALL about man and that was when he was considered the person to represent all thats wrong with current rap etc its when one day i decided to throw on Back from the dead 2 and Bang 3 and i was like "know what theres some interesting stuff going on here, bass & drums feel blunter than others but if i stick with this a bit more i could get something out of this.


i feel also as far as britain is concerend as much as people kinda see them as drill afterthoughts i feel like Montana of 300, Herbo and Bibby made a big mark over here for all the experiments and "psychedelic" qualities we can waffle about, having capital b "BARS" is still considered important so its obvious to me man would gravitate to them as their more traditional (i do find it funny that despite adopting and breaking down stuff from Chicago and southern rappers fans of UK rap still bang the hammer about "mumble rappers")

Trying to talk with David Drake about uk Drill this was something he touched on with me where he said hes got no problem with british drill its just that he feels all the man from here just for some reason make repeats of the "Kill Shit" beat despite other arguably more experimental sounds in drill going on at the time and nobody in Chicago working within that sound anymore.
 
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forclosure

Well-known member
side note: people can talk about him being one of the most underrated influential rappers of the last 20 years all they want Lil Reese is awful good lord
 

luka

Well-known member
Yeah but Barty slapped David Drake up publicly on Twitter over that same claim and made him look stupid. He ran off crying it was well funny.
 

luka

Well-known member
I know you didn't call him a cunt btw I was just having fun. Good post anyway and I know what you mean about poptimism which is why I tried to address that topic a bit on the advertising thread but people just wanted to argue about definitions so it didn't get anywhere perhaps I will try again another day
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
My favourite Keef moment is in SHIFU when the beat goes backwards and he goes

"You fu, your squad fu, I'm not fu"

and then goes

"Told that bitch, F-U you to FU,
you not cute

'Im gonna do what I gotta do
who told you that shit

Not FU I swear you been lied to
This Hermes, not no Ferrogamo"

and it sounds like he's speaking fucking Klaatu Barada Nikto. The first time I heard it, I thought I was having an embolism.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
An early fave:


Partly this song is all bout Future's hook but I love Keef's verse.

Been thinking a bit about how hard it is for me to get my head around Keef as a great rapper, 'cos I'm from the UK, 'cos I'm old and have that late 90s template internalised even if I hate that retro fetishism (is that even a thing anymore, even that seems old now). I chat about rap a lot with a mate from the 'States and he just hears it differently. His internal rules are different. But listening to a lot of these tracks is bringing that home, even the little triple syllable flourish at the end of every sentence here.
 
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DannyL

Wild Horses
WTF is going on with the production on this one. 3 different distinct tracks all in one and the main track that is returned to is just off the hook with some insane keytar moments, Genuinely feels like an mad private press record:


Amazed no one has put this in the thread yet. Keef as messiah, snare as gunshot:


'lil facetime on my tec is the most ridiculous fire line.


Ambient Keef in love
 
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luka

Well-known member
It's one of my favourites. It's on the playlist. I'm not posting tunes cos my favourites are all on there but I fucking love that song I was listening to it this morning
 

version

Well-known member
I dunno about everyone else, but I'd say so. Where's Waldo alone is one of the best of the decade, imo. A lot of stuff's fallen by the wayside, but I still listen to BFTD 1 and 2 pretty regularly.
 

luka

Well-known member
we all agree this is the best music of the decade right? not necessarily the #1 spot but up there.

Barty hates it. It brings out this aggressive streak in him. To him you can't have keef and migos, it's one or the other and he's a migos man.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
A lover, not a fighter eh?

Keef is so much better than Migos. He has a willingness to push the envelope sonically, that I don't hear it in Migos. They do have an interesting vocal interplay thing going on but I struggle with the rest of it tbh
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
I think there's a rawness with Keef that's allied to a believability. He is who he says he is, much like 2013 Gucci.
Migos feel like they're playacting to me. Moving through all the formal stylistic lyrical poses you have to do in the genre i.e. all the cliches about trapping. Is there a Migos lyric that's ever surprised anyone?
Was interesting when Blissblogger was talking about their adlibs on here - you have to locate the interest away from the lyrical 'cos they're fundamentally pretty boring lyrically.
 
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