To some rap fans, Chief Keef is still a reliable wellspring of dense, intriguing street rap; to others, he's a misguided and spoiled ne'er-do-well who has been making sloppy Death-of-Rap mixtapes in his mansion since "Love Sosa" fell off the bottom of the charts. Even a cursory listen to Keef's new album, though, pokes a hole, or several, in the latter diagnosis. Bang 3 is clearly not the work of a contrarian, unfocused artist (or, for that matter, an "outsider" one) actively trying to antagonize and self-sabotage; nor is it an awkward or even phoned-in bid for renewed pop appeal. It's the work of a mature rapper and songwriter, putting the skills he developed over several years spent branching out stylistically to good use.
The release of Bang 3 carries some significance for Keef. This project has been in limbo since 2013; it was postulated first as his sophomore Interscope release, then as an album-turned-mixtape (a kiss-off to label bureaucracy), then, following the loss of his deal, as an independent album to arrive exactly one year ago. Luckily, Bang 3 isn't a too-little-too-late effort like Gunplay's recent, forestalled full-length; instead, it sounds like Keef signaling a new beginning. The higher, clearer production values are most immediately noticeable—this is the crispest-sounding Keef release since 2012's *Finally Rich—*and its well-ironed-out song structures. It feels like a new coat of paint to befit a new partnership: The rapper is in the honeymoon phase of a new deal with Greek billionaire, web entrepreneur, and probable psychopath Alki David's multi-platform entertainment company FilmOn, and the sense that he's getting some new encouragement (and constructive criticism) is all over this confident and studied-sounding music.
On Bang 3, his voice is turned up loud, left untreated and pushed to the front of the mix, highlighting smaller, expressive details in his delivery. He builds energy across verses rather than hammering on one idea, relishing word sounds and inflecting his patterns with a conversational, sing-songy style: "I'm rocking Tweet, beat, skeet, then delete" (from "You"). Often, the fun he's having in the booth is infectious, sellling chancier lines like "Remember having pistol fights, now I'm having food fights/ Now we having rack fights, now we having jewel fights" (from "New School").
For the most part, the production stays behind the rapping, unlike Keef's in-house work on Sorry 4 the Weight and the self-produced Back from the Dead 2. Trusted Atlanta stalwart Zaytoven is here, as is Keef's first and most important collaborator, his childhood ally Young Chop. On "Facts", produced by Glo Gang, he delivers some of his most pointed and emotional lyrics on the album over eerie synth string seesaws.
That said, while these songs feel more well-plotted and pristinely delivered than anything he has released in a while (that is not to say "better"), you still get the feeling they are molded from Keef's first thoughts after stepping in the booth. In this case, this makes for a lot of very good, but only a few great tracks; the rigorously composed '80s-inflected ballad "Ain't Missing You"— with its gunshot timpanis, EKG fluttering, and fierce hook—is a one-off novelty, not indicative of a new, aggressively poppy direction.
Ever since the the sleek pop appeal of Finally Rich, fans have wondered if the rapper will someday make another streamlined, unassailably consistent project. Bang 3 seems to signal that, despite his newfound poise, he won't; he's not interested in that. That's not a bad thing, and it's even something of a relief to not be constantly waiting for some succinct return-to-form moment. The key to enjoying his work is appreciating the sweet spots, the moments where his reckless experimentation and his unmistakable attitude intersect and become more than the sum of their parts. These are tapes you wander into slowly and patiently, bypassing some murkier, hastier-sounding clunkers until you find the music that both sounds like no one else and begs for replays reveals itself. It's usually worth it.
