QUICKSPINS: Baby Keem – The melodic blue

Baby Keem has only just begun

Californian rapper Baby Keem is one of hip hop’s most prominent rising figures. After an appearance in XXL freshman in 2020, he was ready to take on the world in 2021. Keem has been in the spotlight for the past two weeks, releasing two singles with Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar, the latter being Keem’s cousin. He also appeared on the song “Praise God” on Kanye West’s Donda.

The melodic blue marks Keem’s debut studio album and shows just how talented and creative the 20-year-old musician is – he’s credited for 14 of the album’s 16 tracks. Throughout the album, Keem isn’t afraid to completely change the mood of a song by incorporating rhythm changes across multiple tracks. While this can be interesting and offers a fresh take on some songs, it sometimes feels a bit out of place and in some cases is poorly executed. The opening track “trademark usa” suffers from this ambition following a questionable change in the middle of the song, which cuts off all the momentum it had gained in the first part.

Keem’s greatest quality throughout the record is his versatility and willingness to experiment. He’s not afraid to stray from his usual energetic baby voice with more subdued, self-tuned ballads like on the songs “Scars” and “Problems”, making them some of the most entertaining songs on the block. ‘album. The track, “South Africa,” has by far the most infectious chorus on the album, which is on par with the closing track, “16,” which sees Keem singing a catchy hook in a beautiful way on a loop. drums influenced by the 80s.

The melodic blue may be a slight change of pace from his previous mixtapes when it comes to experimenting with new ideas, but he still has his fair share of abrasive bangers, like on the songs “Family Ties” and “Brothers De.” range ”, both featuring the legendary MC Kendrick Lamar.

Praise is due to Baby Keem for not being afraid to experiment with all kinds of new sounds, but in some places it can hurt this record. He tries so hard to be different from his peers that sometimes some of his ideas are not fully polished. The fact that this output is everywhere and that it could be more targeted slows down the quality of the disc a bit.

Globally, The melodic blue is ambitious for a debut album and that proves without a doubt that Baby Keem has all the potential in the world to release a classic album one day.

Test track: “family ties”

Rating: 6/10