For a 17-year-old YouTube champ with a co-sign from Kanye West (who refashioned the Chicago rapper's viral hit "I Don't Like" for radio), Chief Keef is weirdly lacking in irony. Beyond "I Don't Like," which inverts the Facebook thumbs-up for snitches and shitty weed, his label debut hops from one homely declaration to the next, whether it's "Hate Bein' Sober" (with a bemused 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa) or "Laughin' to the Bank," with its hollow "ha ha ha" punctuation. Rapping with his affectless slur and bricklayer's tempo over rolling, mid-speed beats, Keef (who was criticized for mocking a murder victim, his rival, on Twitter) seems unshakably confident but profoundly directionless. The effect is mesmerizing, and a little scary.

Listen to 'Finally Rich':

“More Than a Feeling”

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was as surprised by anyone when he sent his unsolicited demo to record labels and got back a positive response. Scholz said, “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody knew who we were, so I wouldn’t even say we were struggling. It was groveling.” Part of the credit for the interest must go to the anthemic rock number "More Than a Feeling." Inspired by the Left Banke's 1966 hit "Walk Away Renee," Scholz worked on the song for five years in his basement studio before it was released on this album.