Working their magic from different corners of the map, Chief Keef and Mike WiLL Made-It have each shaped the sound of contemporary hip-hop to an immeasurable degree. Today, the two street rap titans share Dirty Nachos, their first collaborative mixtape, out now via 43B / Ear Drummer Records / RBC Records.
Over the course of 18 tracks, Sosa and Mike deliver a diverse platter of hard-hitting street slappers, with each distinct element enhancing the other like jalapeños, chili, and cheese on a dish of fully-loaded nachos. The two legends make a perfect pair, the rapper switching up his flows to seamlessly fit the producer’s symphonic soundscapes. The scraping pizzicato strings of “RIDICULOUSNESS” inspire Sosa to sink his teeth into the instrumental and not let go, whipping quick cadences between the booming 808s. Recent single “DIRTY NACHOS” is a chaotic confection of screeching synths and subsonic 808s, leaving space for Sosa’s sly smack talk. On songs like “WHY YOU MAD” and “PROMENADE,” Mike applies a lighter touch, and Sosa responds with the taffy-like pitch-shifted melodies that only he can conjure.
Hosted by the Trap-A-Holics, Dirty Nachos welcomes two guests, one from the Midwest and one from the South to complement the two main artist. Mike WiLL’s frequent collaborator 2 Chainz graces “PULL UP GHOST CLAN” with his inimitable presence, while Sosa continues his streak of searing Sexyy Red collaborations with “DAMN SHORTY.” The tape ends with “LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE,” “HARLEY QUINN,” “STATUS,” and “BANG BANG,” four previously-released Chief Keef-Mike WiLL collaborations that showed fans what to expect from the full mixtape.
Dirty Nachos is the opening salvo in what is shaping up to be a busy year for Chief Keef. The 28-year-old rapper is currently hard at work putting the finishing touches on Almighty So 2. The follow-up to one of Sosa’s most mind-bending projects (2013’s Almighty So, home to hits like “Blew My High”) Almighty So 2 follows in the wake of 2022 singles like “Racks Stuffed Inna Couch,” “Chief So,” and “Tony Montana Flow.” The hotly-anticipated Almighty So 2 drops later this year via 43B, Chief Keef’s record label, formed in a joint venture with BMG. Recently, Sosa collaborated with Sexyy Red on two singles from her Hood Hottest Princess (Deluxe)–”Ghetto Princess,” and “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Mama),” and teamed up with Lil Yachty for “Say Ya Grace,” a highlight from All Is Yellow, the first album by Lyrical Lemonade. The song’s Cole Bennett-directed video has already gone viral: the song reached the top 5 of YouTube’s Trending chart, and racked up over 3 million views in its first week of release.
Mike WiLL Made-It has been on a momentous streak with recent successes, including notable releases such as “Wanna Come Thru” ft. Coi Leray, the remix of U2’s “Atomic City”, Gucci Mane’s latest single, “Cold,” featuring B.G., and collaborations like “Blood Moon” with Lil Uzi Vert and “There I Go” with J. Cole and Gucci Mane. In a pioneering move, Mike WiLL Made-It was announced as the first-ever lead producer for the 2023-2024 NBA season on ESPN, with his track “Now or Neva” featuring MoneyBagg Yo, showcased in ESPN’s NBA In-Season Tournament official commercial. This came as a follow up to the initial single, “Different Breed,” featuring the incomparable Swae Lee and Latto. At this year’s Grammy Awards Mike WiLL received an Album of The Year nomination for his work on Endless Summer, alongside longtime collaborator Miley Cyrus, holding a producer credit on “Thousand Miles” (Ft. Brandi Carlile), “Violet Chemistry,” and “Muddy Feet” (Ft. Sia)”. Showing no signs of slowing down, 2024 promises to be an impactful and buzzy year for Mike WiLL with more new music on the horizon.
© 2024, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
