The Ones: Chief Keef’s “GLO Gang Arena”

With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear curated by the Levels team. We sort through all the new songs—across all the platforms and subgenres—so you don’t have to. Thank us later.

Chief Keef - “GLO Gang Arena”

In 2019, new Chief Keef releases can feel like data dumps. He drops music so prolifically (down from eight mixtapes last year to four this year) that it can feel perfunctory, especially as we get deep into the installments for series like The Leek and The GloFiles. Sifting his songs for the gems can, at times, be a chore, but The GloFiles (Pt. 3) front loads the precious cargo. The mesmerizing, Dolan Beats-produced opener “GLO Gang Arena” is a return to the aggro chants that made Keef one of the decade’s most influential rappers. Over hypnotic synths and hair-trigger hi hats, he shout-raps his way through a party, transforming the affair into a Glo Gang bash. His lyrics are simple but effective, asserting the power of the brand, remembering his journey, and then pivoting into attacking his competition. “You ain’t gotta beef with me, you ain’t competin’ with me/You ain’t my cup of tea, nigga, you can’t eat with me,” he grumbles. As Chief Keef thrashes through on “GLO Gang Arena,” it’s as if he’s trying to plant his flag. With “glo’-ing up” dominating the cultural lexicon, he’s entitled to mark his territory.

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork