Chief Keef was once on an FBI watchlist and had a bounty placed on his head while still a teenager, according to former Interscope executive Larry Jackson.
Speaking with The New York Times’ Popcast, Jackson, who now runs the music/media company gamma., revealed he was told there were serious threats to Keef’s life and freedom after Interscope signed him in 2012.
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“With Chief Keef, it wasn’t just a vision. This is the first time I’ve ever told this story, but I was getting a call from a friend of mine who was in touch with the FBI,” he said.
“He told me that this kid [Chief Keef] was on a watchlist. He also told me that there is a $50,000 hit out on this kid and you may want to do something about it.”
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Jackson continued: “That’s not the traditional, vocational perspective of an A&R executive [laughs]. He had gotten into some trouble. I personally wrote a letter to the judge. My letter was effective and persuasive, it kept him out of jail.
“I kinda stepped up in a ‘father figure’ role. So it’s so much deeper than, ‘Yeah, lemme sign this guy because everybody wants him, he has a bidding war.’ No, this was so much deeper in terms of a vision — for not just the music but for his life. And we’re still close to this day because of that.”
Chief Keef signed to the powerhouse label for $6 million in the summer of 2012 following the breakout success of his drill anthem “I Don’t Like.”
He released his debut album Finally Rich through Interscope later that year but was dropped by the company just two years later due to his legal issues at the time.
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The Chicago native, who is still just 29 years old, has been out of legal trouble for several years now.
He was last arrested in 2017 for possession of cannabis in South Dakota. He pled no contest to the charges and was later given a suspended sentence plus various fines.
As a teenager, Keef faced extensive legal problems dating back to 2011 when he arrested for heroin manufacture and distribution, and served house arrest after being tried as a minor.
As a 16-year-old, he was also involved in a shootout with police where he fired his gun at officers and they shot back but missed.
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Shortly after, he was apprehended and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm on a police officer and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. As a result, he spent four weeks in a detention center.
