DIE FOR MY BITCH

the take

Still a fun listen seven years later. This album embodies youthful energy. Keem's flows still surprise--he's finding pockets in areas people wouldn't normally look for them. His lyricism is fine--good at times--but not really the focus of this album. His performances are what sell, and his ear for beats--something that he's gone on to prove to be a huge strength--is both natural and also zany. Additionally, the multi-genre experiments here go over quite well. "My Ex" and "Apologize" don't really fit sonically on this record, and yet, Keem's melodicism and clear reverence for punk rock and grunge make for some of the most compelling songs on this project. Not the most compelling, as that would be "Orange Soda," obviously, but shout outs need to be given to "Stats" and "France Freestyle" which both go hard. Ultimately, this is a strong debut album, but it's by no means perfect. As with many melodic rappers of his generation, there are sleepy moments when he leans too much into a monotone triplet flow over a trap beat that became way too tritely overused in this sort of genre. But Keem shows not just great promise, but legitimate technical chops and a great ear on this record. The energy of Die For My Bitch is it's strength, and it's just fun to spend a half hour listening to a young person leaning all the way into their youth. Lastly, I find it ironic that one of the first famous musicians to identify Keem's greatness was in fact Drake. I was going to say that I bet he regrets this based on what happened just five years later with Keem's cousin... except that, in retrospect, Drake was 100% right about Baby Keem. Funny how things work out sometimes.