A Chicago teenager and his burgeouning rap career has benefitted from court-imposed time-out.
Chief Keef, 16, is an unsigned rapper who has been on house arrest at his grandmother's South Side home since being arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at police officers.
The incident raised the rapper's profile and one of his tracks, "I Don't Like" went viral. The youngster's song caught the attention of Kanye West who grabbed the track, remixed it and unleashed it radio airwaves and the Internet.
According to Gawker.com, producers from Kanye's G.O.O.D. music label recorded Keef's portion of the "I Don't Like (Remix)" from his Chicago home using a laptop and microphone.
Keef has been a bit of an underground star in Chicago high school circles for a while, but his notoriety has grown after a couple of mixtapes and videos went viral.
He's now courting interest from several major labels, including Cash Money, which has stars such as Lil Wayne on the roster.
"The attention this record has brought on the Chicago hip-hop scene is priceless. It really couldn't have come at a better time, as just within the last two or three weeks about four Chicago rappers have inked major label record deals," Andrew Barber of Chicago hip hop blog Fake Shore Drive told NBC Chicago. "Since this remix dropped, I've had A&R's from just about every record label asking for tips and inside info on Chicago artists. It's madness right now. This could be the best time ever for Chicago hip-hop."
As for that house arrest, Gawker reports that Keef was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a weapon following an incident involving a couple of Chicago police officers last December.
Which in the world of hip hop, isn't always necessarily a bad thing when it comes to downloads and album sales.
