March 11th marked the tenth year anniversary of Chief Keef’s now absolutely iconic I Don’t Like, a single released ahead of his Finally Rich mixtape. Whilst the track, and Keef, are frequently associated with low brow hip-hop, few tracks have had such a distinct impact upon the genre (which moves arguably faster than any other does, constantly seeing new trends and styles come to fruition) in the last decade.
Photograph: Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Not only did I Don’t Like popularise the Drill sub-genre, but it also brought forth another voice from Chicago after Kanye West’s career exploded into the spotlight in the mid-2000’s. This link to Ye continues in the remix that he made of I Don’t Like for G.O.O.D. Music’s collective album Cruel Summer in the same year, a track that started life as the work of a 17 year old rapper and then became a song remixed by Kanye West, featuring hip-hop veterans such as Ye himself, Pusha T, Big Sean and Jadakiss.
With a sharp beat of 808’s and classic Drill-style bass via Young Chop and Keef’s simplistic (to the point of becoming intensely catchy) lyrics alongside a not quite HD music video which is among the most iconic in hip-hop history, I Don’t Like paved the way for a new style of hip-hop. This track is hugely responsible for opening the musical floodgates and letting through hundreds of artists, all coming from a 17 year old from Chicago.
It is a song with humongous influence, and not one to be overlooked for its lyrical simplicity (more comparable to vocal shot-gun blasts as opposed to rap’s usually more poetic lyrical style).
Chief Keef’s I Don’t Like released on March 11th, 2012 via Interscope Records. Watch the iconic music video below:
