вЂњI passed the streets with flying colorsвЂќ he boasts on вЂњBad,вЂќ another highlight, and the past tense is clearly intentional. But while itвЂ™s not quite JAY-Z-on- American-Gangster-style reminiscence, even the more vividly violent songs here feel like they were made at a remove.

In contrast to Thot Breaker and with the exception of the weirdly tender standout вЂњNegro,вЂќ the record is decidedly drill, and on the imperial beats for вЂњMailbox,вЂќ вЂњCook,вЂќ вЂњGet It,вЂќ and others, Keef teleports back to his old life. Rich produced more than half the songs on Dedication, with standout turns from StuntMan (вЂњKeke Palmer,вЂќ вЂњTextвЂќ) and Ness (вЂњGlory BridgeвЂќ). The second verse of вЂњTold YвЂ™allвЂќ includes the immortal line, вЂњPull up in all white like a Nazi,вЂќ and thereвЂ™s a funny couplet on вЂњKeke PalmerвЂќ: вЂњHopped on yo shit and killed it, like вЂWhose song is this?вЂ™/All up in my DM, man, вЂWho mom is this?вЂ™вЂќ Keef admires Lil Wayne, and while he doesnвЂ™t share WeezyвЂ™s technical ability, he does share his role modelвЂ™s gift for the unexpected left turn, the hilarious surprise.ДЄtlantaвЂ™s D. His deadpan sense of humor remains well intact. His verses are not compulsively crafted or alive with brilliant wordplay theyвЂ™re compelling mainly for their turns of phrase, for the sudden jokes or changes in perspective. ItвЂ™s that willingness to admit to vulnerability, to having emotions other than fury, that keeps Dedication interesting throughout. The rapper, who has lived in California for the past several years, thinks for a moment, and then confesses to missing the city in its entirety. In a recent interview, Snoop Dogg asks Keef what he loves the most about being from Chicago. Glimpses of his school days surface on вЂњKeke Palmer,вЂќ where thereвЂ™s an early reference to blue books on вЂњText,вЂќ he recalls toting a BB gun in his lunch bag in second grade and on the fearsome throwback вЂњGlory Bridge,вЂќ heвЂ™s thinking about how fly he looked at school. There are several indications of KeefвЂ™s growth on Dedication, but nostalgia is the principal element that unites the recordвЂ™s grab bag of styles and approaches. But five years later, with Keef matured and mellowed, itвЂ™s easier to listen to his current music and pick up on the charisma that caused one of his deeply passionate Chicago fans to threaten to beat the hell out of anyone questioning his reputation back in the day. In his hometown paperвЂ™s good-faith review of his major label debut, Finally Rich, the writer Greg Kot asserted that KeefвЂ™s sole innovation had been to appear colder than any other contemporary gangster rapper, and dismissed his mumbled verses as вЂњrobotic, deadpan, stoned.вЂќ It was a fair assessment, if a stingy one. KeefвЂ™s unconstructed approach to rap has earned him ferocious critics, in addition to those who would summarily dismiss him for being simply a bad influence, a media spectacle, or both. ItвЂ™s a worthy capstone to a year in which Keef has released four solid-to-great solo projects, resurrecting his reputation and career.

His latest full-length, Dedication, is a testament to how much heвЂ™s grown-not necessarily as an artist (though thatвЂ™s there too), but as a person. But Cozart is 22 now, and in industry terms, his arrival might as well have been a decade ago. The lightning to the thunder that was вЂњI DonвЂ™t LikeвЂќ was a WorldStar video of a kid excited that Keef, who had been sentenced to house arrest for unlawful use of a weapon, had been released-the first hint of the enthusiasm that would accompany the rapperвЂ™s initial rise. He was 16 years old then, and for many, he was inextricably linked with the crisis of gun violence in his native Chicago. Keith Cozart has been known to the public as Chief Keef since 2012, when his first hit, вЂњI DonвЂ™t Like,вЂќ vaulted him into the national consciousness.

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