Keef Griffin (better known as The Bum Keef G or Keef G) is a rapper.

^[1]His musical themes centralize around concepts of bringing people together.

^[8]

He works closely with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, including Krayzie Bone, who worked on Keef G's first album Krayzie Bone Presents The Bum Keef G in 2009.

^[3]

Griffin was born in Compton and grew up in West Covina, California.

He developed a love for music at an early age, as his mother sang professionally with gospel singer James Cleveland.

^[8]

Keef G gained inspiration from his mother's music and found his voice through poetry.

He eventually transitioned to rap after listening to artists who had positive messages in their music; 2Pac was one of his major influences growing up.

^[8]

Keef attended Nogales High School.

^[2]

After graduating high school, Griffin befriended a local California rapper whose older brother - Cli-N-Tel - was a pioneer of West Coast Rap and a member of the rap group World Class Wreckin' Cru.

^{[8] [9]}Keef learned that Cli-N-Tel was taking his brother on tour with him, rapping with prominent rap figures like [[LINK|lang_en|Dr._Dre|Dr.

Dre]] and N.W.A

's DJ Yella. ^[9]

This inspired Keef G to write songs with his friend.

They eventually recorded a demo mixtape together, which ended up in the hands of rapper Candyman.

After listening to their demo, Candyman asked the duo to contribute to his album, *I Thought U Knew *. ^[8]

After being recognized in the rap scene, Keef G's friends encouraged him to seek out Mario “Chocolate” Johnson, an up and coming rap producer that was starting a rap label.

The two met and Chocolate invited him to his studio to hear Keef's material, which led to Keef going on tour with the likes of Spice 1, Above the Law, and Kokane.

^[8]

Upon returning from touring, Keef G became a member of the rap group PONOMO, consisting of himself, Chocolate, Slim the Mobster (Chocolate's nephew), and former Jive Records rapper P2 (rapper).

The group recorded a project entitled All Praises Due, which attracted interest from more music labels.

The group would eventually land at Heartless Records, where Keef met and befriended two former members of 2Pac's group The Outlawz: Assu and Kamont.

^[8]

In 2000, after Heartless Records disbanded, The Bum signed with Krayzie Bone's Thugline Records.

He appeared on numerous Krayzie Bone albums before releasing his first album Krayzie Bone Presents The Bum Keef G.

^[3]

The Bum continues to make music and donates both money and time to worthy causes, particularly to organizations that support homeless teens in need; two of these organizations include The Girls Republic and Against The Odds.

^[8]