American rapper Hykeem Carter Jr, professionally called Baby Keem, drops his second album Ca$ino tomorrow.
Following up his 2021 project The Melodic Blue, the
ensemble’s surprise announcement came on February 10. It was followed by a
YouTube release titled Booman, Casino Documentary, which featured clips of him
in the studio.
It also showcased home videos and interviews with his
family, including his frequent collaborator and cousin, Kendrick Lamar. The duo
can be heard together on songs, including the Grammy-winning tracks Family
Ties, Range Brothers and standalone single The Hillbillies.
Keem can also be heard across Kendrick’s latest Mr Morale
and The Big Steppers (2022), which intimately tackles family struggles and
generational trauma.
“I understood the hardship before he was born, just the
history of our family in general,” Kendrick said in the trailer.
“We don’t call ourselves ‘the hillbillies’ for nothing. This
is a story of a warfare environment and a warfare, psychologically, to try and
change our generational curses,” he added.
The nearly ten-minute clip ends with a snippet of a new
collaboration titled Good Flirts.
While little has been revealed about Ca$ino, the documentary
and album artwork that features a baby photo of the rapper imply a personal
focus.
A listening party is set to stream live on Baby Keem’s
YouTube channel tomorrow at 7am Bahrain time.
The 25-year-old artist gained recognition in the late 2010s
for his contributions to Marvel’s Black Panther (2018) soundtrack, and later as
a lead artist for his 2019 sleeper hit single Orange Soda, which received a
quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of
America.
