Chief Keef is set to perform in Chicago for the first time in over a decade after being booked for Summer Smash Festival in June.
Keef was announced as one of the headliners of this year’s Lyrical Lemonade festival alongside Playboi Carti and Travis Scott and his Cactus Jack labelmates such as Sheck Wes and Don Toliver.
Berto Solorio, co-founder of the festival, celebrated the return of Keef to his hometown, telling the Chicago Sun-Times: “It’s going to be a historic moment in Chicago music history when Sosa returns home to perform at Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash.”
Also scheduled to perform are the likes of Big Sean, Kodak Black, Denzel Curry, Lil Yachty, JID, Mick Jenkins, Ski Mask the Slump God and Waka Flocka Flame.
The festival takes place on June 14-16 at SeatGeek Stadium. Tickets are available here.
Check out the full lineup below.
Chief Keef’s issues with Chicago authorities date back to the beginning of his career when he was labeled an “unacceptable role model” by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was then responsible for not allowing the rapper to perform in the city.
In 2015, Keef graced the stage at Craze Fest in Indiana, roughly 25 miles from his hometown, but he appeared via hologram from California and his performance was almost immediately shut down by police.
The rapper was previously sentenced to house arrest as a juvenile for pointing a gun at a police officer, and later spent time behind bars for violating his probation in that case.
In other news, Keef has recently been working with Sexyy Red, with the two hooking up on a remix of “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad).”
He also praised his chemistry with the rising rap rookie, telling Billboard: “Shit. I just know she fuck with me real heavy. I fuck with her too. Saying she wants to come through and I said ‘hell fucking yeah’.”
The track was originally released in December 2023 as part of the deluxe edition of Sexyy’s Hood Hottest Princes.
Keef also recently released a new project of his own called Dirty Nachos, a full-length collaboration with heavyweight hitmaker Mike WiLL Made-It.
