But I’m going to sit back and enjoy the ‘Sosa’ ride. “I expected stuff like this to be going on,” Keef says. He’s looking to add artists to his GBE Entertainment label, and has “visions” for his future-just like he did for the present. Keef dismisses claims that his success is built on cosigns from hip-hop stars including Drake and T.I. compilation ‘Cruel Summer.’ “An artist can create a buzz without radio and have some success, but it’s not until they get radio play do they become real stars.” “Hot 97 had some success with Chief Keef,” he says, “but the record didn’t explode until Kanye and his cohorts placed verses on the ‘I Don’t Like’ ,” which racked up 357,000 plays on rapper Pusha T‘s SoundCloud page and was later included on G.O.O.D. Music remix from Kanye West released in May. While “Like” picked up steam online before going to radio, WHTZ (Hot 97) New York PD Ebro Darden credits its charting to an all-star G.O.O.D. Interscope plans to release a clip for third single “Hate Being Sober” (featuring 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa) ahead of the LP’s release, but doesn’t have a timeline for radio adds. On YouTube, the “Like” video has 19.7 million views, while the clip for “Love Sosa” clocked 18.1 million in about a month.

20 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in September. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October and No. Breakout hit “I Don’t Like,” featuring Lil Reese, reached No. Keef’s success has begun to translate offline. is how we find our music, so that’s how we’re going to treat the music.” “That fan-generated enthusiasm carries into radio and becomes something undeniable to them where they can’t turn a blind eye to it,” says Jackson, who praises Keef’s “unvarnished” persona. Interscope executive VP of A&R Larry Jackson is confident the risk involved with releasing a debut from an artist whose success is mainly online will pay off.

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