In the middle of a legal battle that holds the fate of Young Stoner Life (YSL) Records in the balance, rapper Young Thug’s distribution partner, 300 Entertainment, has found the strength to conduct business as usual with the release of Keed Talk To ‘Em 2.
The 20-track music project, along with two bonus digital visuals, is a posthumous album of the late Atlanta rapper Lil Keed, who suspiciously passed away on Friday the 13th in the month of May last year. Sticking to the theme of melodic vocal navigation over high-quality productions, Lil Keed delivers listenable songs that show a variety of unique pitches, tones, and cadences. That could range from his high-pitched harmonizing to a more deeper, low-pitch style of rapping.
A glimpse of his range is illustrated on the fast-paced, violin ridden “SRT,” featuring his brother Lil Gotit, where it’s all about lyrical performance and creatively bouncing off of each other. Lil Keed delivers another standout track with the Big Sean-assisted “Hottest.” As is always expected, Big Sean excels at bringing out the inspirational bravado out of his peers. In “Hottest,” listeners are welcomed into the real world of Lil Keed where he expresses his gratitude from making it out the hood, love for his daughter and mother, along with his allegiance to protecting what’s rightfully his.
The hits come non-stop with follow-up songs “How Many,” featuring Offset, and “Get Money,” featuring Trippie Redd, the lone unscathed and successful survivor of SoundCloud Rap, besides Lil Uzi Vert. If there’s anything that these songs reveal it’s that Lil Keed has a special power for crafting catchy and memorable hooks.
Other features on Keed Talk To ‘Em 2 include jetsonmade, Nav, KayCyy, Young Thug, Cordae, Karlae, Lil Jairmy, Dolly White, StickBaby, and Friday. The album appears to contain the most features that Lil Keed has ever had on a project, and it’s for good reason. From the lyrics, such as that of Trippie Redd where he raps, “What’s up, Keed? Man, I miss my dawg, I can’t even call you,” it isn’t too hard to tell that a lot of the features were added posthumously to Lil Keed’s incomplete recording sessions.
Along with Lil Keed’s signature themes of hustle and opps, the edgy song “Betty Boop” marks Lil Keed’s ability to switch between serious topics to a more playful persona. When antagonizing his competition, Lil Keed playfully jokes about everyone seeing a dead body if they attended their grandmother’s funeral. He collaborates with Karlae, whose contribution brings a much-needed sultry sexiness to the pulsating track. The song is a raunchy banter that would have been entertaining in a live performance.
The album is full of gems like this one that at face-value may be highly underrated, but a closer listen further pinpoints the significant talent lost in Lil Keed’s death. Born Raqhid Jevon Render, Lil Keed was only 24 years old when he died in Los Angeles. His cause of death was linked to eosinophilia, with some speculating that he had an allergic reaction to alleged drug use.
Watch The Official Video For “Long Way To Go”
Lil Gotit Announces Shocking Passing Of YSL Records Artist Lil Keed
Before his death, Lil Keed was crowned a member of the new wave of talent coming out of YSL Records. Starting with his 2018 mixtape, Trapped on Cleveland, Lil Keed made quite the impression and was often lyrically compared to Young Thug. He followed up with another mixtape, Slime Avenue, and was eventually signed by YSL Records and 300 Entertainment for the sophomore release of the Trapped on Cleveland album trilogy.
He first charted on Billboard with the catchy, flirtatious single “Nameless” from his 2018 album, Keed Talk to ‘Em, the fourth album he dropped that year. By the time Long Live Mexico released in 2019, Lil Keed was making headway with singles such as “Pull Up,” with Lil Uzi Vert and YNW Melly, “Pop My Shit (Remix),” with Lil Gotit, and “Swap It Out,” with Lil Duke. His discography would build with the third installment of Trapped on Cleveland 3 and several feature and guest appearances, keeping him busy throughout the pandemic.
Now, with his posthumous project, listeners are left with the thought of what could have been for the rising star who died too soon.
Keed Talk to ‘Em 2 is available now on Apple Music and across music streaming platforms.
