By Gavin Guffey, Staff Writer

Last Friday, American rapper Hykeem Carter, Jr, known professionally as Baby Keem, released his second studio album “Ca$ino,” a solid addition to his discography.

This album marks the end of a longstanding drought of sorts for Keem, which fans certainly took notice of and commented on. Following his hit album “The Melodic Blue” released on Sept. 10, 2021, Keem has been in-and-out of the music scene.

In the span of about five-and-a-half years, Keem has contributed only a few features and productions to the music world. The most notable of these is a single titled “Hillbillies” with Keem’s cousin, Kendrick Lamar, who confirmed their relationship in a previously released “Ca$ino” documentary in February 2026 before making an appearance on the album.

Other appearances from Keem prior to this album release include a feature of his own samples on Fred again…’s “leavemealone” in December 2023, and a short adlib of his signature “huh” on Tyler, The Creator’s “Like Him” off his 2024 album “Chromakopia,” which Keem helped produce.

The album, coming as no surprise considering the name “Ca$ino,” primarily describes Keem’s upbringing in Las Vegas, Nev. and the troubles that he was presented with throughout his time there. Additionally, he speaks of his mother on multiple occasions, who he lived with in Los Angeles, his birthplace, prior to moving. He even dedicated the final song of the album to her, “No Blame,” repeating the phrase “I don’t blame you mama.”

With only 11 tracks and a runtime of 36 minutes, “Ca$ino” is shorter than most albums, especially ones released by Keem’s peers so far in 2026. That said, it has a healthy combination of upbeat, positive songs and dark, twisted narratives describing Keem’s childhood. It also has casino themes sprinkled in, with slot machine noises throughout.

The album starts off with “No Security,” a beautiful track that summarizes Keem’s struggles. He revisits his time with his mother and his grandparents. There is a symbol of hope in his sad lyrics, as he says, “throwing crumbled paper at the wall, drawing blanks / I’m a genius, I was told, I’m a genius, I was chose.” He emphasizes that his music is “not for everybody,” but nonetheless says “I stay inside my laboratory, switching up the category / shaking off them battle stories, how I made my path to glory.”

Then, listeners jump into the title song, “Ca$ino,” where Keem describes his new life of fame, riches and friends in high places, contrasting from the dark story in “No Security.” This track is louder, more confident and contains the signature beat switch from Keem a tad before the halfway mark.

Following “Ca$ino” is the third track, “Birds & the Bees.” This is a more jumpy beat, paralleled by the signature high-pitched Keem voice at times. After is “Good Flirts,” the fourth very different sounding song in a row to start the album, featuring Lamar and Momo Boyd.

A Lamar feature was highly suspected by fans prior to the album’s release and was only confirmed this past Friday. Keem is often seen as Lamar’s “protégé” by fans throughout the music industry, considering their relationship as cousins and their previous hit songs “family ties,” which won “Best Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards, and “range brothers,” both on “The Melodic Blue” album.

“Good Flirts” is a nice change of pace, and a good track for the album. Keem and Boyd sound great, but it may be a reminder that Lamar should stick to his lyrical genius and focus less on experimentation.

The next song is “House Money,” where Keem returns to a more confident style similar to “Ca$ino,” responding to those who do not like him.

The final track of the album worth mentioning is the second-to-last “Dramatic girl,” featuring Che Ecru. Sampling MGMT’s 2007 song “Kids,” it is a cheery love song, where Keem experiments with higher vocals and more varied emotions.

“Ca$ino” is a front-loaded album. The first half is phenomenal and contains the perfect balance of emotions. The second half has a few tracks that are harder to get through, but overall, the album is incredible. It took a couple listens before it grew on me.

It is great to see Keem experiment on his first album since he blew up with “family ties.” He had great music before, but this is his first highly anticipated album. While it may not be what all fans expected, Keem tested all sorts of musical themes and told his own story with a more vulnerable narrative.