Long before he was known as rap star Baby Keem, Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr. lived behind the Cashman Center, in the apartments on East Harris Avenue.
He and the neighbor kids commingled on a little playground at the front of the complex. Young Keem often climbed the monkey bars, craning to get a look at the Las Vegas 51s, the minor league team playing at Cashman Field.
“I used to stand on my tippy-toes to try and see the game,” Keem says. “I would hear the announcer, because I never could get in. So I would stand on the monkey bars and watch.”
Keem is returning to his hometown Friday night, headlining at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan.
The 25-year-old rap star will have no problem getting into this venue.
Keem is bringing “The Ca$ino Tour” to the Strip in support of his February record release. The “Ca$ino” album and tour reignite momentum from Keem’s stunning 2022 Grammy Awards victory for Best Rap Performance for “Family Ties,” a collaboration with his cousin Kendrick Lamar.
In a moment of destiny, Keem accepted the award at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the first and only Grammys show ever staged in Las Vegas. Ludacris, whom Keem idolized as a child, announced the award and handed him the trophy.
“For me, it was like, ‘Was this moment written in the stars?’ That’s one of the moments that helped define that this was sort of written for me,” he says. “I feel like my career going well is meant to be, right? It helps me be patient, it helps me in a lot of other facets of my life, especially when things seem not to be going well.”
‘Different type of wisdom’
“Ca$ino” was an immediate hit, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts and No. 4 on the general Billboard 200 charts. Ten of the 11 songs debuted on the Hot 100 singles charts.
“Ca$ino” is clearly inspired by Keem’s upbringing in Las Vegas. The title song, the album’s second track, opens with the crank of a lever on an old-school slot machine. With a young Baby Keem staring out from the cover, the album is issued with a parental advisory for explicit lyrics. The artist is shown as a child, but these tracks are not for kids.
Using any and all verbiage at his disposal, the rapper flies through autobiographical lyrics: frank references to being unafraid to bet on yourself (“I Am Not a Lyricist”), not being interested in building a career with “Lego blocks” like other rappers (“Circus Circus Free$tyle”), and asking why other artists need to wear chains with their names on them to be recognized (“House Money”).
It’s clear from the language and stark imagery that Keem grew wise at a young age. He recalls taking long walks, engaged in long talks, with his grandmother, Sharon. She raised him after his mother, who had struggled with substance abuse, moved to Las Vegas from his birthplace of Carson, California, when Keem was 2½.
For me, it was like, ‘Was this moment written in the stars?’ That’s one of the moments that helped define that this was sort of written for me. I feel like my career going well is meant to be, right? It helps me be patient, it helps me in a lot of other facets of my life, especially when things seem not to be going well.
Sharon, a substitute grade-school teacher, and the child walked “where you can see all the grimy things,” as Keem says.
“We went from around Eastern and Fremont, and then back home, every night,” the rapper recalls. “We would stop to collect cans. We were those people. Through those walks, you get to see many dangers in the world.”
The wisdom came from the environment and the conversation.
“Just walking around with an older person all the time kind of gives you a different type of wisdom, you know, or a different type of thinking at that point,” Keem says. “Me and her were like best friends, right? So she’s like, problem-solving, and I’m like an 8-year-old, giving feedback.”
Sharon died a year ago, living long enough to celebrate her grandson’s Grammy triumph.
‘These are my cards’
Keem seems to live and breathe Vegas still.
The first live entertainment he can remember was on the stages of the Fremont Street Experience, walking the promenade with his family. He says he was “lucky enough to get wristbands” to the Day N Vegas hip-hop and R&B festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.
“But at the time, I was not a big fan of live performances,” says the artist currently headlining a world tour, “which is kind of funny now.”
A favorite memory was at Cashman Field, coincidentally, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a speech at the ballpark.
“I met him, and gave him a high-five,” Keem says.
You almost need a map of the Las Vegas Valley to follow Keem’s younger years. He attended Tate, Jeffers, Hewetson and Beckley elementary schools and Fertitta, Molasky (twice enrolled) and Orr middle schools.
“I moved around a lot as a kid,” Keem says, letting out a laugh at the understatement.
He was an advanced math student, studying at the fifth-grade level in Grade 3. He eventually lost interest. “I fell behind, and went full English mode,” he says.
Keem attended Cimarron-Memorial High until his senior year, when he homeschooled himself. By then, he was gripped by a passion for music. His first fully realized song was about a girl from high school, in his freshman year.
“I just sung on it, I dropped it, and I went to school the next day. And at that time, there wasn’t really many kids making music like I was,” Keem recalls. “So, even if the song sucked, it didn’t matter, because people were just impressed by, like, the ability to even have the courage to do something like that.”
At the time, Keem was inspired by his uncle Gerrell, a rapper known as Khaotic Lyricist, who became a confidant and mentor. But at 15, Keem’s life was turned upside down when Gerrell was hit by a truck and killed.
“I think the type of thinking, having that unwavering self-confidence, comes from him,” Keem says. “Being like, ‘Yo, these are my standards. These are my cards. This is what I want to be, and I’m gonna be it. Even if I don’t succeed, I’m gonna try it.’ I just take his mentality with me every single day.”
Family ties
In an account from a New York Times profile, Keem’s prepared eulogy of his uncle dovetailed into a personal account of basketball games with his uncle. He glanced at his mom’s cousin Lamar in attendance. The two had not seen each other in years but reconnected through the grief of that day.
One of the most acclaimed artists of his generation, Lamar saw promise in Keem, sending beats and recordings of the teenager rapping to his business partner Dave Free, but not disclosing the family ties. The chain of events led Keem to develop his potential as a recording artist in L.A., even while finishing high school Las Vegas.
“By my second semester of high school, I had already moved to L.A. I had my own apartment,” Keem says. “I grew up fast. But I had to make sure to finish high school, and I signed myself up for homeschooling in Las Vegas. I forget the name of the place … but my grandma put me through all that, all the way from kindergarten to where I was then. I felt like I owed her that diploma.”
Three years after Gerrell’s death, Keem became known for his work on “Black Panther: The Album” by Lamar, followed in 2019 by “The Lion King: The Gift” by Beyoncé. Stepping out as lead artist, he issued the hit “Orange Soda,” off the five-single mixtape “Die For my B----.”
Keem then signed with Lamar’s creative agency, pgLang. In partnership with Columbia Records, Keem released his debut studio album, “The Melodic Blue,” in 2021. The album reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Along with Lamar’s contributions, Travis Scott is featured on the track “Durag Activity.”
“Ca$ino” followed, produced primarily by Keem. Guest artists include fellow rap star Too Short and Momo Boyd of soft-rock band Infinity Song.
I grew up fast. But I had to make sure to finish high school, and I signed myself up for homeschooling in Las Vegas. I forget the name of the place … but my grandma put me through all that, all the way from kindergarten to where I was then. I felt like I owed her that diploma.
Keem has considered future collaborations for his next release and beyond.
“I think now I’m at the age where I want to just expand and work with the people who I love, and have love for their music,” Keem says. “I’ll give a name: Right now, recently, in my head is probably The Weeknd. He’s somebody I would like to make music with. He has that amazing-ass voice. I think if we came together, whether it’s me as a producer, or as a feature artist, whatever we do, I think has the potential to be extremely amazing.”
‘My life was Vegas’
Keem’s stage show at The Chelsea is produced with a Las Vegas story arc.
“We give people a glimpse of what it was like to walk down a street or a back alley in Vegas,” he says, drawing from those walks with Grandma Sharon.”That’s kind of the story that we’re trying to tell here. And we’re also telling a little showgirl story, where this girl is kind of in this loop of Vegas where she gets on stage, and then she gets dressed, and then she does her thing throughout the show. I want people to see what that experience looks like.”
Keem might not have been born in Las Vegas. But he considers himself a native.
“From ages 2½ to 17 or 18, my life was Vegas,” Keem says. “Growing up, I didn’t know anything other than Vegas.”
Contact John Katsilometes at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
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