Baby Keem

Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr., better known as Baby Keem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his song "Orange Soda". The single was included on his second mixtape, Die for My Bitch, which peaked at number 98 on the Hot 100.

Over the past year, 20-year-old rapper Baby Keem has been a constant buzzword. It all started with the release of Orange Soda in 2020, and then his cousin Kendrick Lamar began to actively promote his work in his new project pgLang. The culmination for the rapper was a verse in one of Kanye West's Donda tracks, and the logical outcome of the work done was the premiere of the debut studio album the melodic blue.

“I didn’t get out of the room for a long time. I learned what kind of microphones I like and how not to feel embarrassed in front of them. I tested the technique with time... ”, the rapper said.

His debut studio album The Melodic Blue, was issued in September 2021 by Columbia Records and pgLang. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 chart. The single "Family Ties" featuring his cousin Kendrick Lamar, became his second top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and received the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance. The album also included the songs "Durag Activity" alongside Travis Scott, and "Range Brothers" with Lamar.

Interesting fact about Baby Keem He claims that for several years he has been trying to write a new track every day.

He worked on the Black Panther soundtrack album.

In the same 2018, Baby Keem began to collaborate with the TDE label, to which he sent a collection of beats for evaluation. This is what laid the foundation for his future collaboration with Kendrick Lamar.

Later, the rapper produced the track Redemption Interlude, which was included in the Black Panther soundtrack album, performed by singer Zacari.

Following this, Baby Keem also produced several tracks for Jay Rock's third studio album, Redemption. The LP debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200.

Skipping classes for studio sessions with Kendrick

In a joint conversation for i-D, Kendrick Lamar shared his memories of how Baby Keem moved from childhood Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

“Your aunt calls me somehow and asks what’s wrong. You skipped almost every school day. Letters about poor academic performance came home to my relatives, and I sat and thought: “Damn, he hangs out with me.” I felt responsible for it. …You were damn talented, but you didn't want to learn. You had to find a middle ground for you. I think we succeeded."

He also produced tracks for Schoolboy Q and for the remake of The Lion King.

In 2019, the list of people with whom Baby Keem managed to work was replenished with another "heavyweight" of the TDE label - Schoolboy Q. Together they wrote and produced Numb Numb Juice from the fifth LP of the rapper CrasH Talk.

After the release, Baby Keem took over producing the NILE soundtrack for the Disney remake of The Lion King. We will remind, the singer Beyoncé worked on the musical collection for the film.

In March 2020, Keem was featured in the visual mission statement for Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free's company, pgLang. In August 2020, it was revealed Baby Keem was included on XXL's 2020 Freshman Class.

About The Melodic Blue's debut album

The release of Baby Keem included 16 tracks.

The guest verses were, of course, Kendrick Lamar, as well as Travis Scott and Don Toliver.

The album was the most personal release of Baby Keem, who had previously tried not to raise such issues in his work.

He reads about family, the past and loneliness, and also talks about the creative path and development.

Together with the album, the rapper presented a video for the track issues, which "means a lot to him."

On April 3, 2022, Keem won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance for "Family Ties"