March 4, 2026 | Isaac Garcia | Sports Editor
After releasing his sophomore album, “The Melodic Blue,” in 2021 and a subsequent deluxe edition of the album in 2022 following the record-breaking “The Big Steppers Tour,” where he opened for his cousin Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem essentially disappeared from the public eye. While that long of a break might be a commercial death sentence for artists as early in their career as Baby Keem, his output has already cultivated a strong fan base, and his album “Ca$ino,” released on Feb. 20, consistently delivers from front to back and is the strongest he’s ever been lyrically.
The album opens with “No Security,” where Keem gets personal about family struggles and guilt with lines like, “Uncle Andre just passed, I can’t help but bear blame / Wish I got him help when the resources came.” On the title track, “Ca$ino,” the beat sounds like something from a video game, and Keem slides over it flawlessly with a flow that somehow sounds desperate and effortless at the same time. The beat switches halfway through to a slower, but still hard-hitting beat, where Keem maintains an aggressive energy. “Birds & the Bees” has easily one of the catchiest hooks I’ve heard recently, and I’ve had so much fun listening to it since the album came out. After a run that includes the relaxed “Good Flirts (feat. Kendrick Lamar and Momo Boyd)” and the abrasive “House Money,” Keem comes back down to earth with “I am not a Lyricist,” which ironically is one of the best lyrical performances of his career, diving deeper into some of the personal issues he rapped about on the album’s opener. “Highway 95 pt. 2” is an incredible sequel to one of my favorite Keem songs. On this song, he tells the story of his traumatic childhood, growing up around drug abuse and legal troubles. His performance is both powerful and depressing, and it’s difficult to find a single line that truly encapsulates the emotional nature of the song.
“Dramatic Girl (feat. Che Ecru)” is the most different from the rest of the album and contains a more alternative sound, and is easily my favorite of Keem’s attempts at making music in that kind of genre. Even for people who aren’t typically fans of Keem or of hip hop in general, I highly recommend giving this song a listen.
The album concludes with “No Blame,” a song dedicated to his mother, who he’s mentioned struggling with addiction among other things multiple times in his music. Again, every line is heart-wrenching as Keem talks about the problems they went through as a family. I don’t think any words outside of the song fully encapsulate quite how strong the lyrics are. In one line, he says, “I was seven years old, waiting on you in pajamas / You said you would come home, should’ve never made that promise.” Ultimately, he explains that he understands the trauma his mother was dealing with herself and that he doesn’t blame her, ending the album on an extremely emotional note.
This album is, to me, without a doubt, the best Keem has made so far. It has high-quality production, catchy hooks and sharp verses with a combination of both fun and emotional tracks. There are a couple of moments I could do without, but I’ll still listen to them when I go through the album for the millionth time. It’s been a stacked year for music, and while it’s still early, this is the album of the year for me so far, with Brent Faiyaz’s album “Icon” being a close second.
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact the author at howlsports@mail.wou.edu
