The Vegas rapper/producer won a grammy months before releasing his debut mixtape. Now he’s back to show exactly why that grammy won’t be his last.

Hykeem Carter (AKA Baby Keem) is hip-hop’s most exciting young voice. The young Las Vegas artist has been deeply rooted in the industry since long before any of his own solo music was released. He is particularly connected to powerhouse label TDE as he got his big break when he landed a spot producing tracks on Kendrick Lamar’s 2018 Black Panther movie soundtrack. Since then he won a grammy for producing tracks on Jay Rock’s Redemption, produced hit songs like ScHoolboy Q’s “Numb Numb Juice”, and created a large buzz for his own solo music.

In October of 2018, Keem released his well-received debut mixtape The Sound of Bad Habit. The tape boasted impressive songs like “Baby Keem”, “Gang Activities”, and “Miss Charlotte” which all point to early signs of stardom. The tape showcases Keem’s stylistic diversity as well as his unique dialect and vocabulary. Anyone who heard Sound of a Bad Habit spent nine months in intense anticipation for the promising projects follow up.

While Keem and his manager, Brock Korsan, both teased album snip-bits on their Instagram for months during the conception of the album, the official rollout for Die For My Bitch began on June 11th with the release of his absolutely addicting single “INVENTED IT”. The upbeat, infectious cut only lasts a minute and a half and will have you hitting replay for hours. The hook boasts his unique vocabulary that takes some deciphering (“Big protein I’m smoking lonely for the culture/No Ted Talk I’m stepping on a little roach”) leading to the consumption of Baby Keem’s music being somewhat reminiscent of that of fellow LA artist Drakeo The Ruler.

A month later Keem released the album’s second single, “FRANCE FREESTYLE”. The cut is gritty, tough as nails, and couldn’t sound less like the radio-friendly “INVENTED IT”. The menacing song hits every beat and should be added to weight-lifting playlists across the country.

A week later on Hykeem released the final single off Die For My Bitch, “ORANGE SODA”. The song’s title is one way that Keem refers to the women in his life yet again shining a light on his uncommon way of talking.

On July 19th Baby Keem independently released Die For My Bitch. The mixtape is 14 tracks long, runs for 34 minutes, and has no featured artists.

The album starts with a voicemail from an unnamed girl who is furious with Keem and tells him to call her back immediately. This voicemail is a reoccurring theme throughout the project although the mystery women’s tone changes from angry to desperate as the tape progresses. After the short voicemail commences the beat hits and it hits hard. “STATS” is an excellent attention-getter and introduces new fans to Keem’s intentionally-provocative rapping and his unmatched confidence (“Baby Keem just humbled a model”). Halfway through the song, there is a soulful ten-second interlude that alerts us that Keem is far more than your standard trap rapper. This interlude is interrupted by Keem’s slicing ad-libs as we are instantly transported back to chaos.

On the second track “HONEST” Keem makes it known that he is far from one dimensional as he turns the intensity down for the emotional cut about returning to your ex when things aren’t going so well. Keem’s brutal honesty is on display throughout the whole tape but is especially present on this track (“You’re not who I love, I just need to pass the time”). In the second verse, Keem sings “Baby Keem, shit I’m chosen” and even though we’re only six minutes into the tape, it’s hard to not believe him.

After we hear two of the afro mentioned singles (“INVENTED IT” & “FRANCE FREESTYLE”) we are transported to the beautiful soundscape that is “BULLIES”. The team of producers that worked on this track masterfully created an instrumental that is layered with swirling synths and harmonies that make this track feel like it exists in its own world. Keem’s hook on this track is one of the most addicting stanzas on the album making chill cut an early favorite.

The ninth cut “TOP RAMEN” is undeniably peculiar and gets better with every listen. Keem flexes his whisper-rap flow over a minimalistic instrumental leading to the same awesome effect that Chicago rapper Valee has mastered.

“TOP RAMEN” is instantly followed by the most dramatic deviation on the album “MY EX”. On this track, Baby Keem is no longer a rapper but rather a rock star singing over a punk-inspired acoustic guitar chord progression. Keem spits facts that anyone who has had a bad breakup can relate to while simultaneously ruining any shot he ever had at a partnership with Trojan (“And I want to see you naked but I hate safe sex”).

The last song on the album is a sure-hit if it gets the exposure it deserves. On the pulsing banger “APOLOGIZE”, Keem effortlessly fuses the creative and sophisticated soundscape of a song like “Wolves” by Kanye West with the catchiness and addicting nature of a Juice WRLD hook. “APOLOGIZE” is such an excellent song because of the conflicting emotions Keem feels and how effectively he articulates these emotions. This song belongs on every hip-hop radio station in America and I believe it’s only a matter of time before it gets there.

Baby Keem’s Die For My Bitch was highly anticipated by fans and artists alike and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The LA artist showed significant growth since his last project highlighting his aggressive rise to inevitable stardom. The tape sacrifices unity and cohesion to instead display Keem’s wide variety of sounds and styles that he is proficient in, a great decision for an upcoming rapper looking to catch the attention of unfamiliar fans. Die For My Bitch is thoroughly entertaining, giving fans fourteen new bangers as we begin the painful wait for his debut album.