Keef has been shot at by the police, arrested on gun charges, is responsible for a child, and was investigated in the murder case of fellow teenage Chicago rapper Joseph "Lil Jojo" Coleman" (7) (8). Keef overcame his troubled childhood and he is now off probation, as of March 2014, and enjoying a $6 million record deal (9) (10). .
Keef and a few other young artists, especially those in his clique called "300"," have been able to use drill music as a vehicle to go from rags to riches (literally), so the genre inevitably took-off in the 300's hometown of Chicago. Drill music, however, has stirred up intense controversy among listeners, as its performers are a plethora of archetypal "Chief Keef's " that rap about what they know: graphic violence. While other rap has been criticized for sporting the same distasteful lyrics, drill music is different; it focuses almost solely on violence. In addition, gangs in Chicago are more susceptible to musical and social-media related influences than gangs in other areas due to their composition of teenage gun-toters. In fact, "studies suggest a connection between the types of music youth listen to and a wide range of troublesome attitudes and behaviors. Some of these studies focus on aggressive and violent attitudes " (11).
Keef's quick rise to the spotlight, as well as controversy surrounding him, brought long overdue attention to gang violence, and the young men involved, in Chicago. The violence suffered daily by young men in Chicago, like Keef, is more often than not ignored and disregarded due to their demographics. Society and media like to focus on tragedies inflicted upon innocent people with promising futures; "then, there are kids like Keef or murdered South Side rapper Lil JoJo, who are dismissed as gangsters and thugs and thus, when they fall victim to the violence that plagues their neighbourhoods, the implication is that they are only getting their just desserts"" (13).