It feels like a lifetime has gone since Baby Keem’s blistering debut album Die For My Bitch was released two years ago. He confirmed the rumors that he was Kendrick Lamar’s cousin, gave fans a few tunes in between months of deafening epidemic quiet, and without the help of a tour or heavy advertising, the Las Vegas native rose to the top of the hip-hop scene. Baby Keem’s climb to stardom has been equally quick and well-deserved, as evidenced by his appearances on Kanye West’s Donda and Hearts and Darts. The Melodic Blue is our next installment in a saga that has fans wondering where Keem will go next. The Melodic Blue is adorned with artistic risks that were previously attempted on Die For My Bitch, even if Baby Keem is no stranger to melody. Similar to its predecessor, The Melodic Blue features a diverse selection of hits on its playlist, ranging from “south africa” to the progressive “range brothers,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. Fans are treated to a greater amount of Keem’s reflective and emotional moments this time around, which stand in stark contrast to the upbeat mixes that permeate The Melodic Blue.
Highlight songs like “issues” and the 808-inspired “scars” establish our hero as someone with depth, a musician who can digest and transmit life’s emotional toll for others. They do more than just highlight an introspective aspect to Keem’s artistry. From brooding on sexual tension and pain on the album’s closer “16” to contemplating his difficult past on the serpentwithfeet-assisted “scapegoats,” Keem consistently demonstrates his musical variety, demonstrating that he’s more than simply a rapper capable of making kids go crazy in a mosh pit. Some of Keem’s strongest production to date may be heard on The Melodic Blue. Along with a diverse group of producers, which includes Cardo himself, Keem offers listeners avant-garde and experimental songs that I can’t wait to hear live. Lines like “Tame Impala n*ggas in the cut smokin’ pot / Prada bag shawty, used the bitch as a prop” from the off-kilter hit “Gorgeous” are amusing. Speaking of humor, Keem and Kendrick’s humorously exaggerated delivery of “range brothers” at the end is incredibly contagious. Not only is The Melodic Blue a noteworthy record for the quickly growing rapper, but it’s much more than that because to its numerous beat alterations, quotable lyrics, and intense performances. It’s proof that Keem can go anyplace he wants to go.
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