Casino (Baby Keem album)

Casino (stylized as Ca$ino) is the second studio album by American rapper Baby Keem. It was released by PGLang and Columbia Records on February 20, 2026. The album features guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Too Short, Momo Boyd of Infinity Song, and Che Ecru, while Citizen Cope, CyHi, Denzel Curry, and Mamii, among others, provide additional contributions. Production on the album was primarily handled by Keem himself, along with Cardo, Danja, Ojivolta, Scott Bridgeway, Sounwave, Teo Halm, and Yara Shahidi, among others. It serves as the long-awaited follow-up to his debut album The Melodic Blue (2021).

The album has currently been supported by one single, "Good Flirts" featuring Lamar and Boyd, which was serviced to US rhythmic contemporary radio on March 6, 2026. Keem will also be embarking on the Casino Tour across the US and Europe from April to September 2026.

After previously revealing the album announcement, Baby Keem guest performed "Family Ties"—along with his cousin Kendrick Lamar—on the second concert of the Grand National Tour at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 9, 2025.^[3] In January 2026, Keem was announced as a headliner for the June 5th opening date of New York City's multi-day 2026 Governors Ball Music Festival, set to be held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park for the fourth consecutive year.^[4][5][6]

On February 10, Keem announced the release via Instagram, revealing the album cover and announcing the availability of a limited edition vinyl release.^[7] The promotional tour was also announced to start on April 15.^[8][9] Casino marks Keem's return after almost five years, following his debut studio album, The Melodic Blue (2021).^[10] Rolling Out described the time between the release of the two albums as "an eternity in modern hip-hop", considering this extended interval "a double-edged sword" for the rapper, between fan anticipation and skepticism about his return to the music scene.^[11] During his absence, Keem teased some new music after mentioning an album, titled Child with Wolves.^[12]

To accompany the album announcement, Keem shared a short documentary, Booman I, on YouTube.^[13][14] Keem is shown in the studio with his family, including his cousin Kendrick Lamar. The video was directed by Alexandre Moors and LaConnie Govan, and it was co-produced by Lamar, Dave Free, and the duo's label PGLang, along with Eerie Times, in association with Good Company.^[15] The tracklist revealed that the album would contain 12 songs, with Lamar featured on "Good Flirts".^[16]

The album cover artwork is a photo of Keem as a baby with Hypebeast interpreted this choice as "potentially pointing to a deeply personal and introspective audiovisual endeavor" that explores different themes and subjects from the previous album, writing that the themes of vulnerability and introspection are present in the associated YouTube teaser. The aesthetic of Casino echoes the vintage vibe of Las Vegas, Nevada, with Keem's social media profile having been redesigned to match this style.^[17] The second short documentary, Booman II, was released via YouTube on February 16, four days before the album's release.^[18] The third short documentary, Booman III, was released via YouTube on February 19, one day before the album's release.^[19]

On February 19, hours before the album's release, Keem held a listening party at The Lot at Formosa in West Hollywood, California, where the album was played in its entirety. He also performed some of the tracks live, with surprise guest appearances by Momo Boyd, Too Short, Desmond Johnson from RDCWorld (who is portraying a mime), and Che Ecru. The event was directed by Mike Carson.^[20][21] The music video for "Birds & the Bees", shot in Las Vegas, was directed by Jack Begert and was released on February 23. It stars Keem, alongside the mime portrayed by Desmond Johnson, and Lara Raj from Katseye (who is portraying Keem's love interest).^[22][23] The music video for "Good Flirts", directed by Renell Medrano, was released on March 5.^[24]

Casino received generally positive reviews upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received a weighted average score of 73, based off of six reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Clash gave the album a positive review, praising its themes and Keem's authenticity and writing, "It's a staunchly creative gesture, defying the pressure of the outside world for a project which thrives on internal desires, and the power of autobiography at any cost."^[26] NME's Oumar Saleh wrote, "It's a confident, cohesive return that sounds like Keem has stopped trying to prove he belongs, and started figuring out what he wants to say now that he's here."

Pitchfork was more mixed toward the album, with an editor score of 5.5 out of 10 and a reader score of 6.3 out of 10. Writing for the publication, Dylan Green described the album's lyrics as "the most reflective Keem's ever been", although he wrote that Keem's "warring pop star and rapper sensibilities" ultimately resulted in a "garbled tonal mess."^[28]

• ^{^[c]} signifies a co-producer.

• ^{^[a]} "Birds & the Bees" contains a sample of "Honey Honey", written and performed by Feist.^[21]
• ^{^[b]} "No Security" contains a sample of "You Can Have Me", written by Natalie Bergman and Martin McKinney, as performed by Bergman.^[21]
• ^{^[d]} "Good Flirts" contains an interpolation of "The Light", written by Lonnie Lynn, James Yancey, Bobby Caldwell, Ramel Werner, Norman Harris, and Bruce Malament^[21]; and a sample of "Walk on By", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, as performed by the Undisputed Truth.
• ^{^[e]} "House Money" contains a sample of "You Know the Feelin'", written and performed by Steve Wightman.
• ^{^[f]} "Sex Appeal" contains a sample of "Make a Smile for Me", written and performed by Bill Withers.
• ^{^[g]} "Highway 95 Pt. 2" contains a sample of "I Do Love You", written by Billy Stewart, as performed by GQ.
• ^{^[h]} "No Blame" contains a sample of "I Never Learnt to Share", written and performed by James Blake.

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[30]

• Baby Keem – vocals
• Gavin Finn – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11)
• James Hunt – engineering (3, 4, 6–8)
• Ray Charles Brown Jr. – engineering (4)
• S. Blake Kanicka – engineering (4)
• Johnathan Turner – engineering (5), engineering assistance (1, 2, 9, 10, 11)
• Oli Jacobs – mixing
• Cam Gilfro – mixing assistance
• Ruairi O'Flaherty – mastering
• Zach Brown – bass (1, 10)
• Shawna Higginson Peters – background vocals (4)
• Denzel Curry – background vocals (5)
• Kendrick Lamar – background vocals (5)
• Citizen Cope – background vocals (6)
• Bekon – background vocals (9)
• Mamii – background vocals (10)