Baby Keem Shares New Songs With Fred again.. & James Blake
A little more than two years ago, the much-hyped Las Vegas rapper Baby Keem released The Melodic Blue, his debut album. Keem hasn’t put out another record since then, but he’s been plenty busy. Earlier this year, Keem and his cousin Kendrick Lamar released their single “The Hillbillies,” and then they debuted it live while headlining Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival. Now, Keem has more music out in the world, and he’s releasing it in association with a couple of huge British producers.
First there’s Baby Keem’s new single with Fred again.., which doesn’t actually have anything new from Baby Keem. Fred again.., who just had a huge breakout year, is a master at taking samples of already-existing music and building whole worlds out of hit. On the new song “leavemealone,” Fred again.. samples two Baby Keem tracks, “South Africa” and “Bullies,” and turns Keem’s voice into a stuttering, echoing sound effect. The track sounds huge, and you can you can hear it below.
Earlier this week, Baby Keem also released a 20-minute short-film version of The Melodic Blue on Amazon Prime. Savannah Setten directed the video, and Keem, Kendrick Lamar, and Dave Free serve as executive producers. Amandla Stenberg is one of the stars, and the film features three previously unreleased songs. The last of those songs is “White Laces,” which features James Blake and which isn’t currently available on any streaming services. If you’re a Prime member, you can watch the video here.