Kid LAROI is 16 years old, but like many of the creatives we’ve been talking to recently, he’s known for a long time that he was going to be great. At 14, he released his first EP aptly titled 14 With A Dream, which features tracks like “Go Get It” which hold up even to this day. Following the success of his independently released project, he signed to Lil Bibby’s “Grade A Productions” and began to receive tutelage from the late Juice WRLD. It’s hard not to hear the similarities in their sounds, its even harder not to notice the similarities in their personalities. Just like Juice, LAROI is humble, relatable, and loved by many. We spoke to him ahead of the release of his new single “Go” which boasts a Juice WRLD feature that remind us of the early days. It’s always amazing to hear Juice’s voice, it’s even better to hear it alongside one of his best friend’s.
Although American wasn’t as popular at the time, LAROI, an Australian-native, grew up listening to the likes of the Fugees, Tupac, Erykah Badu, Kanye West and Lil Wayne, because of his mother. His love of music came early, his understanding of it came soon after.
“Ready or Not’, that was the first song that I heard that I was like ‘oh this is fire’. Something about the beat and the melodies, I don’t know I just fucked with that shit. AND the other song I would say is Tupac, “Brenda’s Got A Baby”, I don’t know why I used to love the fuck out of that song”
LAROI’s mother, who has been supportive of his dream since he first started, split from his father when he around 2 or 3 years old, it was then that they both found their love for hip hop and soul music.
“We went through a lot of shit together – and those songs – I guess that’s probably why I liked them too, ‘cause I felt like I could relate to a lot of the songs because of the shit we were going through at the time. I guess that’s why we both relate to that shit a little bit. I guess that’s probably why we gravitated towards it.”
LAROI was 10 years old when he made the decision to pursue a career in music, around the same time, his Uncle was murdered.
“In the early stages of my life, my dad was always in an out, so my uncle was a really big like male figure in my life. When he got murdered, it just made me really want to do it. Cause he would always tell me, ‘stick to rapping, don’t ever do no dumb shit’, ‘don’t become like me, don’t do the things that I do, I want you to stick to rapping’, so I was like ‘damn I wanna take it seriously now’. That was the main thing that fueled me at like 10, like ‘yeah I want to do this now’.
LAROI’s relatability and authenticity are his greatest assets. He’s confidently himself, even at just 16, he only writes about things that are true to him – and because of how much he’s been through, there’s something for everybody in his music. As LAROI eloquently puts it, he’s “heard so many different stories”, that he’s secure enough to be who he wants to be, and create what he wants to create. This was the attitude that garnered him his fanbase and support group, which include the likes of Lil Bibby and Juice WRLD, both of whom were instrumental in putting together “GO”, his latest release.
“Me and Bibby always sit down and decide on shit together, he’s super smart with stuff like that. ‘GO’ means a lot to me, and really a lot to everyone. We just felt like it was the perfect way to start the rollout for what’s coming up next. It’s just the perfect one.”
The song came about as a birthday gift from Juice WRLD. LAROI’s team took him out to Greece for his birthday, but because Juice was up all-night recording, he slept through LAROI’s dinner. LAROI didn’t sweat it, but as an apology, Juice insisted on giving his “lil bro” a “$200,000 gift”, the feature you hear now.
LAROI admits that he doesn’t care for the numbers or performance of the song, because of how much this song means to him. He just hopes people like it.
The song stays true to LAROI’s sound, which is high energy and upbeat. The concepts of love and hate are prevalent throughout the song, which not only fit LAROI’s energy, but also the energy of Juice, an energy that we hadn’t gotten to hear in a while. LAROI was right, this is exactly what we needed.
Check out the video below and show love to LAROI. Keep an eye on Sidedoor for more exclusive content with LAROI and more!