Baby Keem definitely has made some waves in the rap game over the past few months. In fact, he’s currently trending on TikTok with his catchy “ORANGE SODA” track. As Baby Keem makes his way through the music industry, he continues to show that he isn’t like other rappers and has accomplished a considerable amount of things (rapping, producing, and songwriting) all by the age of twenty.
Back in the day, Hykeem Carter was just a boy with a passion for rapping. Born on October 22, 2000, Carter has always been into music (beginning to craft his art at the tender age of fifteen). He was raised in Las Vegas (within a lackluster rap scene) by his grandmother until the age of eight. She is credited with buying him his first microphone and continuously supporting his music. He has a soft spot for her, considers her a second mother and even shows her love in his music.
As a teen, Keem despised Vegas, believing it to be boring and an area of stagnation. He still managed to keep his passion for music by writing consistently for years and always knowing (in the back of his mind) that he would make it as a rapper. As he began to get deeper into music, he would often whisper-rap tracks (some eventually making it to the masses). Two of his biggest inspirations growing up were Kanye West and Kid Cudi, falling in love with their style of rap and citing their albums as some of his favorites.
Baby Keem dropped his first big EP, No Name, back in May 2018. Wasting no time, he quickly pushed out Hearts & Darts in July of that same year. His mixtape, The Sound of a Bad Habit, followed in October 2018 and is more akin to the current style of trap (featuring loud beats filled with bass courtesy of CardoGotWings). Before the release of his EPs, Keem was given the opportunity to work with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE for short). Despite proudly remaining unsigned, he has songwriting production credits on Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther soundtrack, Jay Rock’s Redemption album, and ScHoolboy Q’s CrasH Talk.
As he built his credits up, Baby Keem only continued to rise in the music community, grabbing the attention of Tyler, The Creator and even working on the track “Nile” from Disney’s live-action rendition of The Lion King. His most recent project, Die For My Bitch, is definitely his biggest (as “ORANGE SODA” keeps blowing-up on the popular social media app TikTok). The music video for the track currently sits at 1.5M views on YouTube, which is impressive considering the tape dropped in July 2019. Die For My Bitch features plenty of different sounds, with each track being a whole new listening experience. “FRANCE FREESTYLE” consists of ignorant 808s complemented by a piano, while “MOSHPIT” has two parts with distinct distorted beats on both halves. “NOT MY BRO” slows everything down as it starts, quickly switching to a hard and heavy beat.
Baby Keem’s sound is especially unique; he utilizes his higher voice to showcase his range on sick beats (often loud and distorted). He also dabbles in singing (take a listen to “APOLOGIZE”) which is something that helps to set Keem apart from the rest. No one else has been able to make a high-pitched voice sound so smooth on a track (putting an emphasis on the word ‘Baby’ in his name). Baby Keem is very different, and if he continues on his current career track, he will surely work his way into the mainstream.