Today, the buzzy young LA rapper Baby Keem releases his official debut album The Melodic Blue. Keem is the cousin of Kendrick Lamar, and The Melodic Blue is the first project from Kendrick’s new “at service company” pgLang. Two weeks ago, Kendrick, who’s been largely absent from rap for the last few years, showed up on Keem’s stomping, triumphant single “Family Ties,” and he immediately jumped back into rap’s alpha-dog race. On another song from The Melodic Blue, Kendrick is back again.
Actually, Kendrick is all over The Melodic Blue. Kendrick appears on “Vent,” and he’s credited as a co-producer on “Family Ties.” The album also features contributions from a lot of big names, including Travis Scott, James Blake, Rosalía, Don Tolliver, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, and Cardo. Keem himself produced or co-produced most of the album’s tracks. But the big marquee moment is “Range Brothers,” where Kendrick and Keem once again go wild with the back-and-forth raps. Here it is:
The whole album is worth hearing, and you can do that below.
Meanwhile, Keem has also shared the Dave Free-directed video for “Issues,” the intensely personal song that he debuted on The Tonight Show a few nights ago. In the clip, Keem rides a BMX bike through a golden-hour desert. Here it is:
The Melodic Blue is out now on pgLang/Columbia.