The Kid Laroi’s ‘F*CK LOVE’: At the age of 16, most of us were likely worrying about our next biology exam, getting our driver’s license, or tweeting “like for tbh :).” However, for The Kid Laroi, the universal commonalities of the average teen were far too mundane.
At 16, the rapper from down under spent his year touring with Juice WRLD, signing with a record label, charting on the Billboard Hot 100, and working with some of the hottest names in hip-hop. Racking up an impressive portfolio at such a young age, The Kid Laroi is set to be one of the biggest artists in the world one day, of any genre.
The Kid Laroi doesn’t have any full-length projects to date and has released a total of eight songs on streaming platforms at this point. But, what Laroi lacks in content, he makes for in talent. After dropping his first major single “Let Her Go” last December, Laroi garnered enough attention to attract some notable features for his upcoming singles. The next track to drop, “Diva,” racked up over 60 million streams and featured Lil Tecca, who at the age of 17 had one of the most popular songs of 2019 with “Ransom.”
The vibrance of Laroi’s hook on “Diva”, along with his ability to go bar-for-bar with Tecca on the back end of the song, makes for a truly special performance. His next singles were “Addison Rae” (based on the Tik-Tok star and Hype House member), which he created on a whim, and “Fade Away” with Lil Tjay. “TELL ME WHY,” a single for the album, sees Kid Laroi dive into a spirited, yet somber song about heartbreak that gives off heavy Post Malone vibes. It’s a great indicator of the mood the record would eventually portray, even though it strays away from the more upbeat instrumentation that Laroi previously thrived with.
On June 12, he released “GO” featuring his idol and mentor, Juice WRLD, as a single for his forthcoming album. The verse Juice WRLD supplied was his birthday gift for Laroi’s sixteenth, and completes his most impressive, catchy release to date. It was Kid Laroi’s first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at #52. In July, he was featured on Juice WRLD’s posthumous album on “Hate the Other Side” with Polo G and Marshmello. Alongside these well-established musicians, Kid Laroi held his own and closed out the track with a passionate verse.
Ahead of F*CK LOVE’s release, Laroi had earned over 100 million streams in the United States alone, a country he is not even from. Though early in his career, Kid Laroi’s gained some worthy recognition – and he isn’t afraid to acknowledge it. His opening verse in Bankrol Hayden’s song “Costa Rica” describes this best, as he sings, “walk in like I’m in this bitch, sixteen with a forty piece on my wrist.”
F*CK LOVE reigns in at a short 31 minutes, but includes 12 songs and 3 skits. The skits are typical of any R&B/hip-hop album with motifs of love and heartbreak, in that they’re the typical phone calls or voicemails with a love interest. But, if the project could be described in one word, it would be dramatic.
The opening skit is a voicemail of a girl yelling at Laroi for not showing her attention unless it’s for a hook-up. This leads into the track “MAYBE,” the first of the many songs where Laroi utilizes his sassiness and his ability to seamlessly change the pitch in his voice on the hook. And while there is not much in the way of thematics besides the entire album being a temper tantrum from a lovestruck sixteen year old Kid Laroi, the majority of songs are made up of choruses that sound better with every listen.
This especially holds true in the following track “WRONG,” and the penultimate song “NEED YOU MOST (So Sick).” These two showcase Laroi’s ability to put together long, elaborate hooks that remain captivating over an extended period of time. Instead of having a bridge and a hook, it’s as if Laroi composed two parts to these hooks, and the 2-in-1 is doubly appealing.
Kid Laroi teased fans on his Instagram where he showcases working with relevant rappers/singers such as Dominic Fike and Trippie Redd, which alluded to potentially solid features on the album. However, besides Juice WRLD, the only two features are Corbin and Lil Mosey, who both give lackluster performances, with Mosey repeating literally half of his bars from his hit song released earlier this year, “Blueberry Faygo.”
Though there are not many unique ideas in terms of song structure on this project, the tracks are short, to the point, and don’t overstay their welcome. Without counting skits, the project is 29 minutes long, and almost 13 of those minutes are dedicated to the tracks’ hooks.
Kid Laroi referred to F*CK LOVE as a mixtape, and it certainly did it’s job in letting him further exemplify his talent for creating catchy bops and reaching a wider audience. But, when it comes time for an actual commercial album, Laroi would be wise to throw in some more up-tempo lively production reminiscent of the atmosphere he thrived in on fan-favorites “Diva,” “Hate the Other Side,” and “Go.” Still, at his age, Laroi is many steps ahead of his contemporaries in achieving mainstream success while experimenting with different sounds.
The album reached #8 on the Billboard 200 chart selling 40,000 units. Keep an eye out for The Kid Laroi, because his star will only continue to grow.
After Reading ‘ ‘F*CK LOVE’ is The Kid Laroi’s first step towards superstardom’. You can also Checkout Related and Latest Articles:
