AlMighty So: 10 Years later
“They want the old Sosa,” but why? Well, that would be his 2013 project Almighty So, which is one of the most influential trap albums ever. At the time of its release, Chief Keef was at a point where he was the main talking point in all of hip-hop. Through his hyper-violent, aggressive, and energetic flows and melodies, he introduced the world to a new genre of hip-hop: drill. Sosa hails from the South Side of Chicago, and his raps reflect the treacherous and wild childhood he was condemned to. There was no care about what was expected of him as a now mainstream artist, and Almighty So reflects that.
His experimental and “cloudy” melodies were something never heard before. He comes with a variety of flows, notably him singing melodies with autotune on “Nice,” “Salty,” and “I Kno.” Almighty So feels like a reflection of what Chief Keef was dealing with at the time. A somewhat forced acceptance of his upbringing can be interpreted in the first half of the album. High-energy, raw trap beats are found, but there's a low-energy and monotonous nature of how he is rapping.
On the first track, “Almighty So Intro,” Chief Keef repeats the phrase “turn up” in a very static and lethargic voice. It is as if he thinks he is supposed to “turn up” but is just unhappy. It's not until the song “Blew My High” that the sentiment changes. His delivery is much more upbeat and level-headed. It feels like the first part is him trying to tell a story about how he struggles to be happy with himself and his environment, whereas the second part is about how he finds happiness instead through expressing himself in his music and drugs.
The tape’s drugged-out and cloudy nature has influenced numerous artists, namely Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lucki, and can be seen as a major precursor to the Soundcloud rap explosion. DJ Screams’ presence is felt with his psychedelic trap beats and loud adlibs throughout the project, some of which sound very familiar to mainstream current-day producer tags. The screams he employs on “Ape Shit” and “Woulda Coulda” are undoubtedly similar to ones used in Metro Boomin’s catalog. Meanwhile, with the bells on “Sucka” and “In Love With The Gwop'' parallel the ones that gave Yeat attention during his come-up.
Almighty So’s mixing may be far from perfect, but it adds to the tape’s chaotic and bubbly vibe. It is believed that Keef even did some of the mixing himself. Despite criticism upon release, over the past ten years, Almighty So has aged very well and become a classic trap album that has greatly influenced the next generation of rap.