Tim Vocals Sets It Off, Chief Keef Keeps It Brief at NYC Debut

Photo by Jack Sommer

SOB’s was lit up last night by new comers Chief Keef and Tim Vocals. Both young artists have been shrouded in a lot of hype in the wake of some popular MP3s and YouTube videos released earlier this year. Chief Keef has received a lot more attention: the video treatment for his song, “I Don’t Like” quickly broke a million views and is on its way to eight thanks to Kanye West’s remix treatment.

The atmosphere at SOB’s was one of tense anticipation. People had come to see if Chief Keef, a sixteen-year-old rapper, would prove himself on stage for the first time. SOB’s was crawling with Keef’s affiliates from Chicago — everywhere you looked someone was wearing a Bulls hat or shirt — and members of the Treated crew could be found casually mingling in their trademark lids.

Although both artists performed well, Tim Vocals stole the show. While Chief Keef buzzed harder, the energy of the room entirely shifted when Tim Vocals launched into his remix of R. Kelly’s “Bump & Grind.” For twenty minutes people didn’t care about Chief Keef, completely captivated by this young talent from Harlem — the only artist in the building representing New York. By the time Vocals began his Michael Jackson tribute he had won over the crowd entirely, with the exception of one individual in the back who booed so loud that Hustle Simmons led the crowd in a GTFO chant.

Chief Keef was exactly what everyone came to see; he was hype and got the audience jumping. Keef rocked sunglasses the whole show and bounced around the stage bumping into his entourage and getting wild. The only disappointment came when the show ended after only a sixteen-minute performance. People have already given Chief Keef the nickname Brief Keef in response to his abbreviated sets.