Keem has the world in the palm of his hands this week.
Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar released their single “family ties” at midnight on Aug. 27, sharing the spotlight in remarkable fashion.
Accompanied with impressive cinematography in the music video that’s garnered over 1 million views overnight, Keem and K. Dot have put the world on notice that their label, pgLang, is here to stay.
“family ties” sees Baby Keem masterfully execute his verse over its four-minute run time, spitting over three beat switch-ups and an overall triumphant instrumental. Halfway through the song, Kendrick takes center stage to “smoke on your top 5” with Kanye name drops, pgLang promotion, pandemic bars and amusing vocal inflections.
Listen to Baby Keem and Kendrick’s momentous new single “family ties” below!
Baby Keem continues to ascend to new heights, slowly becoming one of hip-hop’s bonafide superstars. With hype growing for his upcoming album The Melodic Blue, Keem’s been selling out shows, drawing crowds and teasing new music at every turn.
Now, fans are finally getting some new sounds. On Monday (Aug. 23), he took to Twitter to announce he would release his new single “family ties” at 9 pm PST on Aug. 26.
family ties
— baby keem (@babykeem) August 23, 2021
Thursday // 9pm PST pic.twitter.com/jipSllQHC6
This, however, is not just any run-of-the-mill single release. The cover art for the single shows a family photo from Keem’s youth, with all his relatives’ faces blacked out except his and his cousin, Kendrick Lamar‘s. This led fans to believe that Kendrick could potentially be featured on the song, which would align with the fact that Baby Keem has been previewing a song with Lamar at his recent live shows.
Baby Keem performed his song with Kendrick Lamar, ‘Vent’ today at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 🍋 pic.twitter.com/0gODKD66eZ
— OnThinIce (@OnnThinlce) August 22, 2021
It is unsure whether or not the song he has been playing is “family ties” or “Vert,” which fans have been speculating is the name of it. Either way, this would be a momentous release for the newcomer. Lamar’s name has been circulating as of late since announcing his final album last week — ending his four-year hiatus and subsequent departure from his label Top Dawg Entertainment.
#KendrickLamar puts out a heartfelt message saying his next #TDE album will be his last. Respect to the most high. #OGM
— Our Generation Music (@OGMusicCo) August 20, 2021
+ read more: https://t.co/c0HI1Yj9Ex pic.twitter.com/pQbzK1JbTy
Fans speculate this departure would be for pgLang, the company/record label Kendrick founded in March 2020, which features artists such as Baby Keem and British singer Jorja Smith.
So, not only would this be a groundbreaking week for Lamar and pgLang, but Keem could also be potentially landing on Kanye West‘s highly-anticipated tenth studio album DONDA, which allegedly will release after his fourth album listening party in Chicago on Thursday (Aug 26). The previous three listening parties all featured a song by West with Baby Keem and Travis Scott.
Ye
— baby keem (@babykeem) July 23, 2021
an Idol, an Icon.
Forever grateful for the experience of a lifetime.
With this in mind, 2021 will undoubtably be a milestone year for Keem — with or without Kendrick and Kanye — as he looks to release his debut album The Melodic Blue before this year’s end.
The Melodic Blue !!!
— baby keem (@babykeem) August 16, 2021
To begin the rollout for his upcoming album, “family ties” by Baby Keem will release on Friday (Aug. 27), a day which could also be major for some of hip-hop’s greatest of all time.