Sidney MaddenДЄWAL Digital Limited (Kobalt) on YouTube Little Simz, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert* Keem commands attention over triumphant horns on 'family ties,' spitting so exasperatedly, it's as if he's physically leaping over the trappings of his protГ©gГ© status and rap royalty lineage: 'Avoiding the trends and duckin' the hoes / I'm duckin' the loonies that come with the shows / I'm grateful to Man-Man, he opened up doors / A bunk on the tour bus to come and compose.' Trading bars with Kendrick over three beat changes in four minutes, Keem passes the litmus test for compelling delivery and wordplay on a track that's since earned the rising talent his first Grammy nominations in the categories of best rap performance and best rap song, alongside a best new artist nod. While TikTok-era consumerism now trims songs to mere seconds or flips them for comedic relief, two-phone Keem comes through with so much strangely intriguing, flow-switching presence on each track that it challenges the audience to lean forward, do some extra research and listen closer. Decadently experimental compared to his breakout mixtape, DIE FOR MY BITCH, Keem's 2021 debut album The Melodic Blue finds the 21-year-old rapper officially staking his claim to define next-gen rap stardom. Luckily for Baby Keem, he's been laying the groundwork for this moment for years.

When you're the baby cousin of Kendrick Lamar, arguably the best MC of his generation, and you're trying to make your own name in the rap game, the stakes of show and prove go up exponentially. SME courtesy of Columbia Records on YouTube Baby Keem, The Melodic Blue*

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