Chief Keef is only 26 years old, but he’s already a recording industry veteran. His career started back in 2012 when he was just 16, and it comprises four studio albums, four EPs, and 38(!) self-released mixtapes. While the majority of his projects were released under the auspices of his own Glory Boyz Entertainment or Glo Gang imprints, he’s cycled through a variety of distribution partners, including Interscope, RBC Records, and 101 Distribution. However, it looks like he’s finally getting an official label, 43B, through which he’ll release projects for his own signees beginning with Atlanta upstart Lil Gnar.
Gnar has been recording and releasing music since 2018 and has been affiliated with the SoundCloud “rage rap” movement since, working with such contemporaries as Craig Xen, Lil Skies, Lil Tracy, Lil Yachty, Ski Mask The Slump God, and Trippie Redd, with videos directed by Lyrical Lemonade’s Cole Bennett. He dropped his first official full-length album Die Bout It earlier this year with features from the late Lil Keed, YSL associate Yak Gotti, and his new label boss, Chief Keef.
In a statement, Chief Keef called 43B a “passion project,” and said he looks forward to passing on his hard-won industry knowledge to younger artists (Gnar is 26, too, but presumably less experienced in the music business). “43B has been a passion project of mine for over a year and I’m ready to give artists that are changing the game a label where they can really succeed,” he said. “I’ve been independent for almost 10 years, so I want to pass on my knowledge of the industry to artists who are shifting the culture so they can make it to the top.”
Meanwhile, BMG head of A&R and marketing Sophie Kautz said, “43B will operate on an artist-friendly model, giving our artists and producers the means to flourish in their careers.”