-Originally published 8/29/20
First surfacing in 2018, Kid Laroi just celebrated his 17th birthday and the release of his first full-length project. Laroi (Charlton Howard) hails from Waterloo, Australia and came under the mentorship of the late Juice Wrld during Juice’s time touring in Australia. A string of single releases highlighted by “Diva” (featuring Lil Tecca) and “Addison Rae” after the famous tic-tocker, first made him pop. He did get involved in the live streaming concert trend during quarantine where threw together a 15-minute show from his backyard putting his limited catalog (at the time) on display.
Laori has a sound that’s shades of his mentor, Juice, and a similar rap/singing/pop rap sound. He has solid vocals, most recently showcased during a live performance of “Tell Me Why” on Genius’s youtube channel. He has a distinct voice that comes across very raw, emotional, and genuine considering the conflicted content of some of his tracks. His choruses are often catchy and relatable which, they should be considering they’ve been written by a 17-year-old.
Fuck Love was released in July 2020 as Kid Laroi’s first full length project. The project included “Go” with a feature for Juice WRLD, “Tell Me Why” (written in Juice’s passing) and hits including “Selfish”, “Wrong” (feat. Lil Mosey) and “Need You Most (So Sick)” that features a sample from Ne-Yo’s 2006 hit So Sick. The project has skits interwoven to pull the project together which I find annoying, but the musical tracks from start to finish and excellent. The music video for “Not Fair” should be up for music video of the year with its stellar visuals. Very rarely are music videos worth watching anymore, but “Not Fair” is a repayable track with a feature from Corbin, an underground artist, and the music video depicts giant monsters, cult-like characters, a sinister (if not inviting) forest and a plot that plays out like a horror movie. A++ entertainment.
Laori has a unique sound and space to grown. He’s linked up with Cole Bennett and his Lyrical Lemonade enterprise for several music videos. His album hit #8 on Billboards top-100 and he connected with other artists like Trippie Red and Polo G although no music collaboration have been dropped with either to date. His voice is unique and he seems to just let loose and create the kind of music that he likes. Additional “leaks” can be found online as well. One of the highlights is “Wonderwall Remix” that uses and plays on the Oasis track of the same name. If you like this sound, keep your eyes peeled, Kid Laori’s future is bright.