\n<\/p>\n
\n\tEarlier this month, Hykeem \u201cBaby Keem<\/a>\u201d Carter uploaded a trilogy of short documentaries to promote his second album, Ca$ino<\/a><\/em>. Titled Booman<\/em> after his childhood nickname and packed with video footage taken by an aunt, LaConnie Govan, the series is an unexpectedly trenchant and raw glimpse at Baby Keem\u2019s early life \u2014 being born in Los Angeles to a wayward mother, moving to Las Vegas with his grandmother and aunts, and finding solace in making beats and, eventually, rapping. The trilogy, which is co-directed by Govan and Alexandre Moors, notes the symmetry between Keem as a baby, bouncing happily in a car to Ludacris\u2019s 2002 hit \u201cMove Bitch,\u201d and Keem at the 2022 Grammy Awards<\/a>, where he accepted a Best Rap<\/a> Performance trophy from Ludacris himself for \u201cFamily Ties,\u201d the sparkling single he made with his cousin Kendrick Lamar<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tLamar is in the Booman <\/em>series, too. However, he feels like a tangential presence who doesn\u2019t distract from the focus on Keem\u2019s childhood environment and how it nurtured him. In the past, many fans viewed Keem as a familial prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Lamar\u2019s, someone whose major-label debut, 2021\u2019s The Melodic Blue<\/a><\/em>, possessed a youthful verve lacking from the superstar\u2019s intensely thoughtful and controversial Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers<\/a><\/em>. Both the Booman <\/em>docs and Ca$ino <\/em>make clear that while Keem remains signed to Lamar\u2019s pgLang imprint, he\u2019s ready to tell his own stories now.<\/p>\n \n\tThe three Booman<\/em> episodes, which collectively total around 34 minutes, end on a redemptive note with Keem finding success in the music industry. Meanwhile, Ca$ino <\/em>begins and ends in anguish. As harsh as the images onscreen may appear, they can\u2019t compare to how Keem expresses his emotions on these tracks. \u201cI\u2019m not a lyricist\/I\u2019m just a bastard child, here to experiment,\u201d he raps on \u201cI Am Not a Lyricist\u201d in a cadence reminiscent of Andr\u00e9 3000. \u201cI am not here to play off words, truly here for my voice to be heard.\u201d On Ca$ino<\/em>, he shares the boards with several others, including Danja (famed for his work alongside Timbaland on 2000s hits like 50 Cent\u2019s \u201cAyo Technology\u201d), Cardo Got Wings, and Scott Bridgeway. Yet it\u2019s clear that Keem thinks like a producer and is more interested in exploring musical ideas than carving out a distinctly unwavering personality.<\/p>\n