The Kid LAROI has released his sophomore full-length BEFORE I FORGET, a project that arrives after a turbulent creative process and picks up where his 2023 debut THE FIRST TIME left off. The Australian artist broke through hard and fast, turning personal struggles into global anthems while dealing with the relentless side of fame that no young musician asks for. He essentially threw out a near-complete record to rebuild from the ground up, chasing something more honest. What he landed on across these tracks is a tight, risk-filled collection rooted in atmospheric R&B that puts emotional rawness front and center.
The sound palette stays moody and immersive, built around late-night introspection and unflinching self-reflection on doubt, breakups, and everything in between. ‘ME + YOU’ hits first with a surprisingly buoyant, soul-inflected pop edge that feels almost optimistic amid the heavier material. From there, the tone darkens: ‘JULY’ borrows from trip-hop’s slower pulse, echoing Massive Attack vibes filtered through modern R&B production. ‘COME DOWN’ drags the energy down to match its anxious lyrics, while ‘A PERFECT WORLD’ slows into a pristine ballad that could sit alongside Prince or Scritti Politti cuts. Standouts like the arena-sized ‘NEVER CAME BACK’ and the gentle piano-driven ‘MAYBE I’M WRONG’ show how far he’s willing to stretch vocally.
Only ‘I’M SO IN LOVE WITH YOU’ survived from the scrapped sessions, and the rest feels purposefully cohesive, races of Dijon and Mk.gee drift through ‘THANK GOD’, and the Coldplay nod in ‘A COLD PLAY’ slots in without forcing it. By the time the closing ‘BACK WHEN YOU WERE MINE’ fades out on quiet regret, The Kid LAROI has mapped out loss and growth in a way that feels earned. This isn’t just another release; it’s the sound of an artist resetting and coming through clearer on the other side.
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