Baby Keem is eyeing a joint album with Kendrick Lamar.
Ahead of next month’s Grammys, the first-time nominee spoke with Grammy.com about a potential joint project with his cousin. While fans hold out hope for the dream pairing, Keem says there’s a 50 percent chance that it could become a reality.
“That’s a good question. It’s like it’s 50-50,” he said when asked about the likelihood of a full Keem/Kendrick collab project. “It could happen and it couldn’t, I don’t know. It just really depends on a lot of factors that I don’t have control over. So, it’s just what the world wants. The world wants it, then it can have it.”
The pgLang affiliates worked together on tracks for Keem’s debut album The Melodic Blue, including “Range Brothers” and “Family Ties,” which is nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance at the Grammys. Keem also received a nomination for Best New Artist nod and scored an Album of the Year nod for his work on Kanye West’s DONDA.
In a previous interview with Apple Music, the 21-year-old opened up about his tight-knit bond with Kendrick, saying it “goes beyond music.” “Whenever I need anything regarding, like, life, and if I need some wisdom, then that’s who I go to,” he said. “That’s one of the first people I look towards, him and Dave Free.”
These days, Keem finds himself digging in the crates and listening to old music from Kendrick, Kanye, Outkast, and Frank Ocean, who is at the top of his wish list of collaborators.
“I find myself going back to a lot of old music. A lot of old Kanye and Outkast, obviously,” he said. “But those are just songs — album-wise, I really go back and dig. Like I said before, Frank. Even my cousin’s old albums. I think it’s important to have your own individuality, but also be able to reference art from the past.”