šµ Just finished the livestream of Ca$ino by Baby Keem. Always dangerous to speak too soon, especially becuase Iām very biased, but gonna give broad thoughts. May talk about individual tracks after the album has time to breathe.
Baby Keem is a style-bender, which is why I love him. The Andre 3K, Kanye, and dare I say, Tyler the Creator, influences are so evident. None as palpable as Kendrick though, and I imagine the most critcism will be that he is so similar to Kenny.
I think it is a phenomenal albumā more melodic and catchy than his last, but still energetic and absolutely hype. He gets into his singing bag for real. It is going to please hip-hop fans and causal listeners. Above all, there are NO skips.
Lyrically itās not the strongest (but still leagues ahead of the zeitgeist), something Keem himself acknowledges in a song called āim not a lyricistā. The West Coast joints with producers like Too Short are my favs, I thinkā but maybe thatās the 909er in me. Iām feeling this one STRONG šŗ
Being 25 years old, I think he understands how to make a āmemeā, or moments, that feel so perfect for online culture. There are a million of them sprinkled throughout the album. That being said, Keem also digs deep into some traumas and hardships. This stuff is real art.
Lastly, I think PgLang knows they knocked it out of the park with the rollout. The livestream listening party was sick, like everything they do. I need them to expand their projects ASAP. With two great albums, Keem has successfully cemented himself as a player to be reckoned with. However, if he is going to really ascend and take over for Dot, Iām not sure that pgLang can afford to be as insular as theyāve been. I understand that they want to keep it small and family, if only to keep out the bad culture. But playing nice with others is part of the game and the album couldāve beneffited from some other great features.
Conclusion: amazing album. Happy I pre-ordered the CD. As I predicted earlier this week, it is going to be on repeat for a long while.
Oh, and Kendrickās features are frickinā fire, funny, and PLAYFUL. My GOAT for real.