Chief Keef linked up with 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa for “Hate Bein' Sober” back in 2012, but the song’s full music video never came out because Chief Keef famously neglected to show up for the shoot. 50 Cent finally rectified the situation by releasing the full “Hate Bein' Sober” video. The clip was shot in the desert outside Las Vegas and features 50 and Wiz piloting dune buggies. It’s directed by Eif Rivera, known for his work with Cardi B, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, French Montana, and 50 Cent. It notably does not feature Keef’s verse on the song.
Back in 2012, 50 Cent told Big Boy’s Neighborhood about what happened.
“He didn’t show up,” 50 said. “I called him, I talked to them on the telephone. Two, three times that day saying ‘Look, you gotta come. You don’t understand.’ You know how you get momentum and you feel like Michael Jackson for a minute? Like I’m the one right now? That environment is so hot to him right now and he felt so hot in his circle that they felt like he could actually do that. The video still ain’t shot. They saying they gonna put the song out as the CD comes out. The song is supposed to build the motivation to sell the CD. I’m like, ‘How you gonna sell records like that?’”
Despite the no-show, 50 and Wiz went ahead with the shoot, and 50 said he didn’t harbor and bad feelings.
“I’m a Chief Keef fan, I like what he is. He’s something that’s completely been created by the environment. It’s what hip-hop was initially. Hip-hop is pop music now,” he said. “His age says my son would be Chief Keef if we didn’t make it. I look at that and go, ‘I like that.’ He can blossom and grow into something better.”
50 later said that Chief Keef apologized for the incident. However, the Chicago rapper’s reputation for being difficult to work with, combined with then-mounting legal issues and disappointing album sales, led to him being dropped by Interscope in 2014 after releasing just one album.
“Hate Bein' Sober” peaked at No. 37 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but didn’t crack the Hot 100. It appeared on Keef’s debut album, Finally Rich, and remains one of his most popular songs with over 100 million streams on Spotify.
Catch up on all the lyrics to Chief Keef’s “Hate Bein' Sober” featuring 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa on Genius now.
