His debut album failed to soar. But the Kid Laroi has grander things in sight

Pop stardom is a fickle thing, as the Kid Laroi knows. Barely three years ago, the Sydney musician was a teen living a dream, his F--- Love mixtape a chart-topper in the US, hip-hop’s own home, amid the globe-conquering success of Stay, his hit with Justin Bieber.

Now, at 21, he’s tasted the alternative. With expectation high for his studio debut The First Time, released last November, the Waterloo rapper zigged, embracing a more esoteric side, when fans and critics assumed he would zag and lean into his pop smash bona fides.

Through hits and misses, the Kid Laroi is proud of sticking with his new and decidedly anti-pop approach.Credit: Adam Kargenian

“That album taught me a lot,” Laroi, real name Charlton Howard, says over Zoom from Oklahoma City, before a gig. “People may have expected me to do a full swing and just come out with a commercial pop record at that point in my career … But doing something forced and not genuine, that’s not the artist I want to be.”

Beyond Too Much, a crossover track with BTS’ Jungkook and UK star Central Cee, The First Time went decidedly anti-pop. The Kamilaroi rapper enlisted unlikely collaborators including 2010s cloud-rap producer Clams Casino and jazz pianist Robert Glasper, and tried his hand at Post Malone-ish arena rock and finger-picked acoustic ballads, beyond the emotive hip-hop that made him a star.

That it earned a tepid response, confusing critics and barely cracking the top 40 in the US, was perhaps expected. Any other young artist may have been startled by the commercial misstep, the feeling they might’ve goofed their moment. But Laroi trusted his approach. Eight months after its release, numerous tracks have bubbled across TikTok and re-entered the charts, including the spacey Nights Like This.

“What I learned through this album was that the most rewarding thing is to be able to put out a project and say you’re proud of it through anything,” says Laroi. “It didn’t get that immediate reaction, but over time it’s been crazy to see these tracks grow. I think that was a cool reminder to me that doing things I love and doing things I’m proud of is the biggest pay-off. I don’t ever want to look back at my work and be like, I’m not proud of this.”

Part of The First Time’s renewed buzz is Girls, a Y2K-era jam featured on a new deluxe edition that cements Laroi’s pop prowess and might have been the crossover boost the original release was missing.

“I was in a space where I just wanted to make something fun, something that can be played when you go out to a party or to a club or something,” Laroi says of the Neptunes-inflected hit. “I wanted to make something that wasn’t too serious – that’s how I was feeling, and I thought other people probably felt that way too; we just want to have fun, we want a good vibe.”

In Girls′ Timbaland-ish beats and skittering refrain (“Girls just wanna dance”), there’s an echo of Tate McRae’s recent hits Greedy and Exes – perhaps not coincidentally considering the Canadian pop star is Laroi’s new girlfriend (the pair went Instagram official in July). Alongside close friend Olivia Rodrigo, they form a tight-knit crew of young artists going through the same industry madness in Los Angeles.

“It’s awesome, honestly, to be able to share that with other people,” says Laroi. “The music is something we share in a work sense, but outside of that, we genuinely love hanging out with each other, and we have a genuine friendship and connection, which is sometimes hard to find in the music industry.

“The way it is here is that sometimes you do have ‘industry relationships’, or these things where it feels like, ‘Oh, am I actually friends with this person? Or are we just kind of work acquaintances?’ Being able to have people the same age as me, where everyone’s going through similar experiences in their own different ways, and where we’re able to hang out and totally forget about that and not have to think about it, it’s a special thing.”

All three will be on tour in Australia within weeks of each other – Laroi with a series of shows through November, featuring Quavo from Atlanta legends Migos and local drill pioneers OneFour – giving the star the chance to play Aussie tour guide. What will be his first stop?

“Um, it might be Clem’s Chicken,” he says of the iconic Newtown storefront that also got a shout-out in Laroi’s recent interview with YouTube star Nardwuar.

While back in Australia, Laroi will also do the keynote address at SXSW Sydney and perform the half-time act at the NRL grand final, a rare look-in for local hip-hop on a huge platform that’s usually reserved for ageing pub rock acts.

For Laroi, the honour has sentimental value: as a 14-year-old who attended Waterloo’s Fact Tree Youth Service while living in public housing, the local community centre would take him and other neighbourhood kids along to watch Rabbitohs games.

“That alone is like a really cool full-circle moment,” he says. “I’m just trying to focus on doing something special and create a really cool moment there.”

Even for someone who’s performed at Coachella, on Saturday Night Live, and at New York’s Madison Square Garden, a footy grand final means something. “Man, it’s such a personal thing, you can’t really compare it to anything,” Laroi says. “I made a joke the other day to some American friends: ‘Guys, this is like my Super Bowl!’ I needed them to understand, this is a huge deal for me.”

The Kid Laroi will perform at Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts on November 11 and Hobart’s MyState Bank Arena on November 27; and with Quavo and OneFour at Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre on November 14; Sydney’s Commbank Stadium on November 16; Perth’s RAC Arena on November 20; Adelaide’s Entertainment Centre on November 24; and Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on November 29 and 30.