''Back from the Dead'' is the second mixtape by American hip hop recording artist Chief Keef. The mixtape was produced by

Young Chop Tyree Lamar Pittman (born November 14, 1993), better known by his stage name Young Chop, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. In 2012, he gained widespread recognition within the American hip hop community for producing Chief K ...

and hosted by DJ Victoriouz and DJ Moondawg. It was released on March 12, 2012. A remastered version hosted by DJ Hustlenomics was released on March 14, 2012 on iTunes. The mixtape features guest appearances from

Lil Reese Tavares Lamont Taylor (born January 6, 1993), known professionally as Lil Reese, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. Hailing from Chicago's drill scene in the early 2010s, he is known for his collaborations with fellow rappers Chie ...

, Soulja Boy, King Louie, SD, Johnny May Cash and Yale Lucciani. " I Don't Like" featuring Lil Reese was first included on the mixtape, and was released as a single. It peaked at number 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and is included on his debut album ''

Finally Rich ''Finally Rich'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Chief Keef. It was released on December 18, 2012, by Glory Boyz Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from 50 Cent, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Reese, Rick Ro ...

''. The official remix to "I Don't Like" features

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 201 ...

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

and

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with B ...

and is included on the

GOOD Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...

collaboration album '' Cruel Summer''. As of October 31, 2014, the mixtape has been downloaded over 683,000 times on

DatPiff DatPiff is an online audio distribution platform that was launched in 2005. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The site was founded in the spring of 2005 by Marcus Frasier. It is owned by Med ...

and certified double platinum. In February 2014, Keef confirmed via Twitter that the sequel mixtape titled ''

Back from the Dead 2 ''Back from the Dead 2'' is a mixtape by Chief Keef Keith Farrelle Cozart (born August 15, 1995), better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. His music first became popular durin ...

'' was in the works with a release date set for sometime in 2014. The mixtape's cover resembles that of the film Dawn of the Dead. The sequel was released on October 31, 2014 and was completely produced by Chief Keef, other than 4 tracks produced by

, Purps On Da Beat and Ace Bankz. It also has only 2 features with

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

and Tadoe of Chief Keef's own label Glo Gang.

Reception

Critical response

Jordan Sargent at

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

said in a review, "''Back From the Dead'', his breakthrough mixtape is loud, rough, unrelenting, lurching, and undeniably the child of

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

and producer

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

's indelible '' Flockaveli''. But if you read the title more literally to mean that Keef is something like a zombie, it's maybe even more appropriate. Surrounded by beats from producer

that are stuffed with the sound of gunshots and Keef's choice ad-lib, "Bang Bang," he's close to stoic throughout, stalking expressionless through the streets."

Accolades

The mixtape was named the 11th best mixtape of 2012 by ''

''. DatPiff also poistioned

's certified gold mixtape "Don't Like" hosted by

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), professionally known as DJ Drama, is an American DJ, record executive and music promoter. He is the co-founder (with Don Cannon) of Generation Now, an Atlantic Records imprint with artists including ...

and

Don Cannon Donald Cannon (born August 2, 1979) is an American DJ, record producer, songwriter, and record executive. Cannon is a co-founder of the Atlantic Records imprint, Generation Now. He was also a member of the prominent Atlanta mixtape collective, ...

at 44th on their "50 Best Mixtapes of 2012" list. Both mixtapes were produced by Chicago producer

and included the hit single, " I Don't Like".

Other responses

In October and December 2013

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

upload a few videos on her Instagram account, in which she is listening to Keef's song "3Hunna" from the mixtape. Later, in an AMA interview she said, "I’ve been listening to a lot of Chief Keef, so I’m kinda into Chicago music right now, I was living there for a while, so we’ve been listening to a lot of his records. I’m a big fan." Keef returned the praise via Twitter shortly thereafter, stating, "I love Lady Gaga For Sayin She Listens to a lot of me and What’s so crazy I was jus Watchin Dis redcarpet shit Like damn dis Girl fine," adding, "Love You Lady Gaga."

Track listing

All tracks produced by

References

{{Authority control 2012 mixtape albums Chief Keef albums Albums produced by Young Chop