Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr. (born October 22, 2000), known professionally as Baby Keem, is an American rapper and record producer. He initially gained major recognition following the release of his single "

Orange Soda Orange soft drinks (called orange pop or orange soda in certain regions of the United States and Canada, orangeade in the UK, or the genericized trademark Orangina in France) are carbonated orange drinks. Non-carbonated orange drinks, i.e. the ...

", from his second mixtape ''Die for My Bitch'' (2019). He would later collaborate with

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

on the song " Praise God", which reached the

top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart and was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

in April 2022. His debut studio album ''

The Melodic Blue ''The Melodic Blue'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and record producer Baby Keem. It was released on September 10, 2021, by PGLang and Columbia Records, with Keem serving as the executive producer. The standard version of the al ...

'', was released in September 2021 by

pgLang PGLang (stylized as pgLang, an acronym for Program Language) is an American multi-disciplinary creative collective founded by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free. Launched on March 5, 2020, the collective houses a record label, a production company, a ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The album debuted at number five on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The single "

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...

" with his cousin

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

became his second top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and received the

Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

. The album also included the songs " Durag Activity" alongside Travis Scott, and "

Range Brothers "Range Brothers" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American rappers Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar. The song was released on September 10, 2021 by Columbia Records and pgLang as the fourth track off of the former's debut album, ''The Melo ...

" with Lamar.

Early life

He was born

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

. Prior to beginning his rapping career, Hykeem spent his early life (as early as 4 years old) in music studios watching his Aunts & Uncles "

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

" CD's using the famous platform

LimeWire LimeWire was a free software, free peer-to-peer file sharing client for Microsoft Windows, Windows, MacOS, Linux and Solaris OS, Solaris. Created by Mark Gorton in 2000, it was most prominently a tool used for the download and distribution of O ...

, which was the most common source of free music listening back in the early 2000's. Just a few years later, he shared his memories of hearing

's album "

808s & Heartbreak ''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studi ...

" on the radio while living in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

during the Winter of 2008. This sparked his interest for music even more, which spurred his music research the following year. Keem looked up to artists such as Ye,

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

, along with others. Keem became a small, yet prominent YouTuber who was involved in the

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...

Survival Games mini-game scene during the early 2010's. Keem's Minecraft account was under the in game name "hykeemc" and his

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

account went by the alias "AllMightyModz". Keem was known for being a highly skilled player on The Hive and MCGamer Network servers, amassing more than 1,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel because of his prowess. Keem would frequently hold

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

calls where his fans could play along with him. Today, Keem's channel is inactive, however, the links on his channel direct you to Keem's current

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

account. It wasn't until 2014 that Hykeem decided to start pursuing his own musical career.

Musical career

Keem has both songwriting and production credits on his cousin

's project, '' Black Panther: The Album'', TDE member

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

's '' Redemption'',

Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...

's ''

Crash Talk ''Crash Talk'' (stylized as ''CrasH Talk'') is the fifth studio album by American rapper Schoolboy Q, released on April 26, 2019, through Top Dawg Entertainment and distributed by Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Trav ...

'', and the song "Nile" from Disney's '' The Lion King: The Gift''. Keem worked with record producer

Cardo A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street ...

, on his two mixtapes, ''The Sound of a Bad Habit'' (2018) and ''Die for My Bitch'' (2019). In March 2020, Keem was featured in the visual mission statement for Kendrick Lamar and

Dave Free David Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker, record executive, and former record producer. He is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar, with whom he founded the ...

's company,

. In August 2020, it was revealed Baby Keem was included on '' XXL''s 2020 Freshman Class. On September 18, 2020, Keem returned with the release of two new songs, "Hooligan", and "Sons & Critics Freestyle". He then released "No Sense", on March 5, 2021. On April 30, Keem released " Durag Activity" with Travis Scott. The song was followed by another collaboration with Keem's cousin Kendrick Lamar, titled "

", which was released on August 27, 2021. These songs are featured on Keem's debut studio album ''

'', which was released on September 10, 2021. The album also included the single "Issues", which Keem performed on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'', a collaboration with

Don Toliver Caleb Zackery "Don" Toliver ( ; born June 12, 1994) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He released his first major label mixtape, ''Donny Womack'', in August 2018. He is known for his singles "No Idea (song), No Idea" and "After Party ...

titled "Cocoa", as well as previously teased tracks "Vent" and "

". Keem also made an appearance on Kanye West's tenth studio album ''

Donda ''Donda'' is the tenth studio album by American rapper Kanye West, released through GOOD Music on August 29, 2021, with distribution handled by Def Jam Recordings, his last release with the label. West recorded much of the material at multiple ...

'', on the song " Praise God", alongside Travis Scott. On April 3, 2022, Keem won a Grammy for

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

for "Family Ties", along with Kendrick Lamar. On October 28, 2022, Keem released the deluxe edition of ''The Melodic Blue.''

Artistry

Influences

In a 2019 interview, Keem cited American musician Kid Cudi, as a major influence: "I was inspired by Cudi's cadences and shit like that. Kid Cudi's one of my favorite artists." In a 2021 interview with ''Billboard'', Keem reportedly identified as part of the Mike WiLL Made-It and

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer, record executive, beatmaker, and DJ. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap. ...

generation, saying he derives inspiration from the two producers, as well as from Kanye West.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

EPs

Singles

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

Music videos

Tours

Headlining

* ''Die For My Bitch'' Tour (2019) * ''The Melodic Blue'' Tour (2021-2022)

Supporting

- The Big Steppers Tour (2022)

Production credits

2018

Various artists - '' Black Panther: The Album'' *10. "Redemption Interlude" (performed by

Zacari Zacari Moses Pacaldo I, known mononymously as Zacari, is an American singer and songwriter. He is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and released his EP ''Run Wild Run Free'' on March 15, 2019. Early life Zacari Moses Pacaldo was raised by a hig ...

) (additional production)

- '' Redemption'' *03. "Knock It Off" *05. "Rotation 112th"

2019

ScHoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...

- ''

CrasH Talk ''Crash Talk'' (stylized as ''CrasH Talk'') is the fifth studio album by American rapper Schoolboy Q, released on April 26, 2019, through Top Dawg Entertainment and distributed by Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Trav ...

'' *04. "

Numb Numb Juice "Numb Numb Juice" is a song by American rapper Schoolboy Q, released on March 13, 2019 as the lead single from his fifth studio album ''Crash Talk'', by Top Dawg and Interscope Records. The song was produced by Baby Keem, DJ Fu and Nez & Rio. B ...

" (additional production) *06. "Lies" (featuring

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

and YG) (additional production) Various artists - '' The Lion King: The Gift'' *10. "NILE" (performed by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

and

) (additional production)

2022

Offset Offset or Off-Set may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Off-Set", a song by T.I. and Young Thug from the '' Furious 7: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' * ''Offset'' (EP), a 2018 EP by singer Kim Chung-ha * ''Offset'' (film), a 200 ...

- ''Blame it on Set'' * "54321"

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="4",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, Himself ,

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

, , rowspan="4", , - , ''

'' (as featured artist) , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", "

" ,

, , - ,

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...

, BET Awards ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="7", 2022 , rowspan="2", "

" , Video of the Year , , rowspan="7", , - , Best Collaboration , , - , Himself ,

, Billboard Music Awards ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="4", 2022 , " Praise God" , Top Gospel Song , , rowspan="4", , - , " Praise God" , Top Christian Song , NME Awards ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="3", 2022 , "

" , Best Collaboration , , rowspan="3", XXL Awards ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="4", 2022 , rowspan="2", "

" , Song of the Year , , rowspan="4", , - , Video of the Year ,

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keem, Baby Living people 21st-century American rappers American hip hop record producers Rappers from Nevada West Coast hip hop musicians 2000 births American hip hop singers African-American male singer-songwriters African-American male rappers African-American record producers 21st-century African-American male singers Singer-songwriters from Nevada Grammy Award winners for rap music Trap musicians Alternative hip hop musicians PGLang artists People from Carson, California