Keem has been producing music for years, and at this point he has a pretty unique and recognizable style in terms of rap flows, visuals, songwriting, and even production, much of which he does himself. -even.
Not only that, but he is also starting to experience real commercial success, although some are still not convinced of his talent. Where did Baby Keem come from, how did he develop his sound, and where is he headed?
Let’s understand Baby Keem.
His real name is Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr., and he was born in October 2000 in Carson, California, which is right next to Compton. But for the most part, he lived in Las Vegas during his childhood. He found the city boring, dry and small, and he couldn't wait to return to California to explore art on his own terms. According to him, Vegas is nothing, no music scene. So, he moved back to California as a teenager because he wanted to pursue his dream of making music. He borrowed $300 from his grandmother to buy basic recording equipment to learn, and soon after, he released a trilogy of EPs under his real name in late 2017 and early 2018.
It's quite difficult to find information about these projects online since they are not available for streaming, but they are on YouTube.
Keem's music, even in its early days, is actually good. If you think he shows off his influences too much now, you'd probably be horrified at how similar his music sounded to other artists a few years ago. But personally, it doesn't bother me, especially considering he was only 16 or 17 when he was recording. After this series of EPs, Keem managed to sign with Sony and began releasing mixtape projects that seemed to be designed for the Gen Z listener, and they were pretty good. He completely changed his sound, adopting a much choppier flow and a higher-pitched voice. His production has become less typical, much more recognizable. It seems Keem's vision has only grown stronger with these projects. They really sound like him, not like anyone else.
These mixtapes did very well, the second, "Die for My Bitch", even produced a few hits and ranked in the Billboard 200. Keem always reminds me a little of Playboi Carti, but like he saw a therapist and read a book from time to time. What I mean by that is that Keem has that split trendy baby voice, choppy flow, and repetitive bars that make rappers like Carti and Pi'erre Bourne so popular in our generation. But at the same time, Keem says more.
If I had to sum up Baby Keem, I would probably say he is a creative, expressive, alternative trap rapper. Many artists of this generation are downright monotonous, their songwriting can be one-dimensional, their production basic, their flows can be stagnant, but nothing about Keem's music is ever uninspired or lazy. He has great energy that never gets boring. His songwriting is funny, emotional, autobiographical. His production is unique because he does it himself. His flows and vocals are perfectly fine-tuned to his sound. Even though he looks like many of his peers, it's still him, you can still immediately tell it's Baby Keem.
“Die for My Bitch” was very well received, it went under the radar a bit as not many major publications gave it attention, but it did very well on streaming. His popularity exploded when he appeared on "Family Ties" with Kendrick Lamar, who is his cousin. This song was a huge hit, and it continued to soar from there. He released his debut studio album, "The Melodic Blue", in September 2021. The album was a huge success, reaching number 5 on the Billboard 200 and receiving rave reviews from many critics. He has been praised for his songwriting, unique production and innovative flow.
A new Baby Keem album could be on the way: "Child with Wolves"
He shared on Instagram Stories "Child with Wolves," reiterating a previous tweet he made earlier this year with the same title. Keem is seen backstage at a live event, wearing a white T-shirt, black pants and silver jewelry, with the added caption: "Living with imperfections, back to you all very soon. luv. "
Keem's last full-length effort was his 2021 debut album, "The Melodic Blue," which won the GRAMMY for best rap performance for "family ties," which featured his cousin and pgLang founder Kendrick Lamar . Following the release of his album, Keem released the independent single "The Hillbillies" featuring Lamar, appeared on Ye's "Donda 2" and K-Dot's "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers".
