Following the release of his new Netflix film Concrete Cowboy co-starring Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin stopped by Fallon to tease his music career and Stranger Things Season 4. He’s been busy with the highly anticipated return of the nostalgic horror series, which still doesn’t have a concrete premiere date, but he’s also found time to kickstart a music career.
“Yeah, I’m excited, I’m trying to drop some this year,” McLaughlin said when asked whether he’s been working on music. He said his material is inspired by R&B and neo-soul, with a little bit of Afrobeat in there, too. “[It’s] a whole bunch of stuff, man.”
Often when McLaughlin tells people he makes music, they assume he’s a rapper. “It’s funny, a lot of people when they ask me do I do music, they think I’m a rapper,” he told the Tonight Show host. “I tell them ‘yeah,’ and then I make up a name. … It’s a total lie, I’m not a rapper, I can’t rap for my life.”
McLaughlin is far from the only Stranger Things cast member to dabble in music. Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) performs in a band as well as musicals on Broadway, Finn Wolfhard (Mike) has his group Calpurnia, Joe Keery (Steve) has dropped a series of solo singles and previously was part of Chicago rock band Post Animal, and Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) was in a series of bands before he turned to acting.
Elsewhere in the Fallon interview, Caleb was asked about the future of Stranger Things. He confirmed what Matarazzo previously said about Season 4 being “the scariest” one yet. “I feel like every season gets scarier and more gritty,” McLaughlin remarked.
With Caleb—set to turn 20 this fall—and his co-stars growing up in front of the camera, he also addressed concerns about him being too old to play a young teen.
“Everyone is like, ‘Wow you look so old and your voice is deep. You got a beard! I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s just facial hair. Don’t worry,’” he explained. “I’ve always played young my whole life. Like, people don’t realize in Season 1, I [was] 14. And I was supposed to play like an 11-year-old so I’m used to it.”
Watch the full interview above.
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