Album review: Baby Keem’s ‘Ca$ino’ hits the jackpot
Collage by Easton Clark, Photo Editor
Pain is an unfortunately powerful catalyst for great art. And Baby Keem sat with his trauma for the past five years. Stewing. Brewing. Creating a beautiful, genre-bending album.
“Ca$ino” is unique. Opposed to Keem’s breakout album “The Melodic Blue” (TMB), this project feels like it was made for the artist. We all get to consume it, but if nobody listened it would still have served its purpose.
It’s rare for an artist coming off a successful album to take such a long break. But, just like his cousin Kendrick Lamar, he used that time to process his life experiences. His relationship with his mother. His strenuous upbringing. His grandma’s death.
But even if you can’t feel a connection to Keem’s story, you can feel a connection to his sound. Songs like “Birds & the Bees” and “Highway 95 pt. 2” channel into a rare flow. It isn’t something that typical rappers can find. In the most oxymoronic way, it has both a sharp edge and feels smooth when it hits the ears.
No two songs sound alike on “Ca$ino”; it lacks repetitiveness. After a few listens to “TMB,” I was ready to move on. There are many great tracks on that project, but Keem’s latest is impossible to turn off. Eight listens in and I’m ready for more.
It mixes that uniqueness with a subtle theme throughout — both thematic and in the underlying sounds. Slot machine noises permeate the album. Beautiful vocals back up Keem’s rapping. It just works.
But this isn’t completely different from “TMB.” Keem taps into what made him famous. He comes in with that fast-paced, higher-pitched rap late in the track “Circus Circus Free$tyle” that we heard previously on songs such as “trademark usa.” Just like “16,” Keem finds his surprisingly lovely singing voice during “Dramatic Girl.”
He also has some more absurdist and comedic lines in the album. Saying that he’s a caveman, Keem pulls out the lyric “Booga-wooga-ooga-ooga-waga-waga-wah.” It is a style we’ve seen on songs with Lamar like “range brothers.”
Keem doesn’t lean on Lamar as much this time, however, and it’s what makes “Ca$ino” his best album yet. It is a project for him, by him and about him. It has personal themes with personal sounds. He is coming into himself in the best way possible.
This isn’t your typical hip hop album. You can’t really nail it down to any specific style. Even clicking through similar recommended tracks on Spotify, I couldn’t find anything that felt the same as Keem. It’s an enigma. There is no precedent for this album.
Sure, some songs have elements of other hip hop greats. “I am not a Lyricist” feels Mac Miller-esque at times. The title track is the type of beat-dropping, hype rap we’ve come to know Keem for. “$ex Appeal” could play at any club, and I’m hoping some TikTok DJ gets their hands on it. But we rarely see these sounds mixed together on one project so well.
The featured artists all play their part competently. Lamar finds his way into the mix. Momo Boyd and Che Ecru add gorgeous vocals. Too $hort is the perfect hype man. Zero complaints.
“No Security” and “No Blame” are the perfect start and end point for Keem’s exploration of he and his mother’s relationship. She caused him pain, but he also sees how her own pain manifested. He doesn’t blame her. He knows humans are complex. This is shown perfectly when he says, “I don't blame you, mama / You was walkin' the streets alone, you couldn't shake the trauma.”
My only problem with this album is that it ends too soon. Just 36 minutes isn’t enough. Keem does so much with 11 songs. He tells a story. I just want a few more pages.
But perhaps the brevity is part of the artistry. Quality over quantity. Whatever the case, Keem makes it work to the tune of a nearly perfect album.
Best song: “Highway 95 pt. 2”
