Chief Keef Returns: Epic Chicago Performance After 10-Year Absence 

Posted on by EDITORIAL FEATURES

Chief Keef lit up the stage on his return to Chicago at Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash, his first performance in the city in over a decade. 


The Chicago rapper hasn’t performed in the city since 2012, so the anticipation was high for his headline set. On Sunday (June 16), the crowd lit up when Chief Keef returned to the stage to close out the festival. 

The Summer Smash crowd was also treated to his first-ever hometown performance of his classic hit “Faneto.” Chief Keef also turned his set into a Father’s Day celebration, performing with his daughter while G Herbo and his young son joined them onstage. 

Chief Keef discussed his monumental return to Chicago earlier this year, admitting, “it’s gonna be like I’m a tourist when I go there” during an interview for GRAMMY.com. 

“It’s been a long, long time. It’s been like 11, 12 years since I touched the pavement in Chicago, or Illinois, period. I’m ready. I know it’s going to be a big thing. A lot of new people probably think I’m a ghost,” Chief Keef explained. 

“So a lot of people are going to be excited, just knowing I’m from there and I ain’t been there in so long. People that’s not in even Chicago — all them surrounding cities gonna show up [too], because Sosa has not been home. And they know it’s gonna be big,” he added.