If a fan didn’t know Baby Keem’s background, they may have figured his sophomore studio album Ca$ino was a simple gambling aesthetic “era.” However, Keem – cousin of hip-hop sensation Kendrick Lamar and former NBA player Nick Young – was actually raised in Las Vegas, repping an unusual city not known for shaping musical talent as much as extracting talent. Its obsolete music scene caused him to move to LA for more opportunity, but this latest album explores the times and tensions where success was never guaranteed, and surviving was the priority. Through a mix of childhood storytelling, romantic grievances, and club-ready bangers, Baby Keem presented fans with an intricate balance of sonical production and emotional expression necessary for reviving modern-day hip-hop.
At just 25 years old, Baby Keem has achieved massive notoriety, with debut album The Melodic Blue going Platinum, producing the billion-stream hit “Family Ties,” and honing in other industry collabs like Travis Scott and Don Toliver. Instead of opting for more immediate commercial success, Baby Keem chose to create a body of work rooted in his formative, often troubled childhood.
Keem entered the stage after album intro “No Security” drifted off the speakers, paving the way for the high-octane, 146 BPM title track produced, to my surprise, by Cardo Got Wings. He specifically invited high-profile streamer ImDontai to the Houston show (note that before rap, Keem was a streamer as well), incorporating Dontai’s reaction into his stage performance of the song. The off-the-wall energy really contrasted with some of the more contemplative songs like “I am not a Lyricist” and “Highway 95 pt.2,” yet fans did not disengage or distract. The songs give meaning to his rhymes, with the latter detailing his childhood journey.
Tracks like “HONEST” and “16 anchored and united the fans in a form of nostalgia, while “ORANGE SODA” and “Family Ties” forming moshpits throughout the crowd. In particular, “HONEST” had fans going word-for-word, bar-for-bar. But it was the lesser-knowns of his latest release that impressed me most, like the rhythmic cadence of “$ex Appeal” and “Birds & the Bees.” I was concerned with the album’s replay value, and hearing them live helped me recognize how Baby Keem’s gamble paid off: by creating a concise and quality body of work, he is sustaining a passionate fanbase while paving the way for another stylistic shift. After enjoying the Ca$ino tour, I’m investing “House Money” on his future records elevating him to the top of the game.
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