The Kid Laroi completely unrecognisable in adorable primary school photo

Fans of The Kid Laroi have tracked down an adorable snap from his school days, and it paints a very different picture of the chart-smashing 18-year-old.

An adorably dorky throwback snap of teen rap sensation The Kid Laroi has surfaced on Facebook, with the primary school-aged artist looking barely recognisable as he clutches an award for public speaking.

It seems the Stay rapper’s way with words started early.

Laroi, real name Charlton Howard, is seen grinning in the school playground, his blonde hair slicked to one side, as he proudly brandishes a gold trophy for winning the “senior competition” for “his impromptu speech on school uniforms and his prepared speech on peer pressure.”

In another, he’s seen smiling with his peers, who are holding participation award certificates beside him.

The photos were shared by Broken Hill’s Sacred Heart Parish School back in 2015, when Laroi would have been roughly 11 years old.

While it’s no surprise Laroi was a whiz at public speaking at school, he looks far from the fashionable, long haired Grammy-nominee we’ve come to know.

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Shout out to primary school hairstyles.

Who didn’t rock a slicked side part?

The Kid Laroi all grown up.

Laroi, who is of Kamilaroi heritage, was born and raised in Sydney inner-west suburb Redfern by his mother and uncle, who was murdered in 2015. Laroi went on to live in Broken Hill from the age of seven with his mother, brother and grandparents.

After a short stint living in Adelaide, where he attended private school Sacred Heart College, he moved back to Sydney in 2017. It was here he began rapping at the age of 12 and caught the attention of Sydney-based producer Khaled Rohaim.

In 2019, thanks to an endorsement from late rap icon Juice Wrld, The Kid Laroi burst onto the international music scene, going on to win two ARIAs, five Billboard Music Awards, an iHeartRadio Music Award, and nominations for two Grammy Awards and three MTV Video Music Awards.

The Kid Laroi has come a long way since winning the senior public speaking competition at Sacred Heart Parish School.

Currently on his End Of The World tour in Australia, the 18-year-old gave two Sydney buskers the surprise of their life over the weekend.

Pitt Street was abuzz on Saturday when the superstar appeared in the crowd to watch 15-year-old rapper “Dylan Billion Dollars” perform with his 11-year-old brother Damien.

Viral footage captured by a fan saw the rapper, flanked by his bodyguards, congratulate the pair after their set.

“Hey Pitt Street, let me say, these two kids are up next – can we make some noise for them now?” he said to the crowd, which roared in approval.

Busker Dylan Billion Dollars was shocked to discover the Justin Bieber collaborator in his audience.

The rapper was smiling and nodding along as Dylan and his brother put on their show.

Speaking to 2GB host Ben Fordham after the incredible show of support from the hit maker, Dylan said he had no idea Laroi was in the crowd at first.

“I saw some of his producers watching me … then I looked away into the crowd because I have to keep momentum up, and then I looked back and suddenly I saw The Kid Laroi,” he said.

“My brother was like ‘Is that really him?’ I was like, ‘Who does it look like baby?’”

“Having someone as big as The Kid Laroi popping up in the city … showing love … it made my day … it made my whole life, really,” he said.

Dylan told Fordham one of the rapper’s entourage pulled out a wad of $100 notes, placing them into the hat the young up-and-comers had laid for tips.

“One of his bodyguards said ‘Make sure no one takes the money, because there’s a lot that he put in there,” he said, revealing that the tip amounted to $1000.

The Kid Laroi is currently in Adelaide, where he’s playing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre tonight, with upcoming tour dates in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Originally published as The Kid Laroi completely unrecognisable in adorable primary school photo