Five years after Baby Keem’s momentous album The Melodic Blue, the Cali-bred rapper returns with Ca$ino to recap life since then.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen some of y’all. And it wouldn't be fair to me to kind of just continue like nothing happened, you know?” he said in a Los Angeles listening party the night before the album dropped on Thursday (Feb. 19).
“When I made this album, like, it was originally named after my mom, you know, like I was trying to like find that pocket. But then I realized that was just unfair in a way. There's so many people that helped me become who I am today,” Keem explained.
He then pays tribute to his grandmother, who he mentions on the album’s title track, rapping: “I watched my grandma die in the house I bought.”
“My grandma passed away last year, same month. So it's … a celebration tonight for her. I wish she was able to be here, but I think she's here in spirit…I know my grandma's proud. I know my family, they're in the room. They're proud. My mom's not able to be here tonight, but I hope she's watching.”
The album, which clocks in at just 36 minutes, features Kendrick Lamar (their first collaboration since 2023’s “The Hillbillies”), West coast legend Too $hort, Momo Boyd and Che Ecru.