Photo: Emmert, Jenalee (uploader)
The Kid Laroi with special guest, Jeremy Zucker
Friday, April 7
Alliant Energy Center - Madison, WI
The Kid Laroi
It’s not every day you meet a newly 19-year-old with the confidence to set his sights on rap royalty and the audacity to actually attempt it. Factor in that he’s from Australia, and The Kid LAROI’s rapid ascent seems even more unlikely. But, after just one #1 major label debut, a couple platinum records, and millions of streams across platforms, the rapper, born Charlton, is proving that for an incoming generation filled with promising talent, yesterday’s borders aren’t today’s barriers, and anyone can make it in America as a musician.
Born and raised in Sydney (aside from a short stint in the countryside), LAROI was raised by his mother and his uncle in a gritty environment. When they weren’t at The Fact Tree, a local youth center where they played video games and pool, LAROI and his friends were on the streets.
“We used to just mess around,” he admits, describing his childhood unromantically. Meanwhile, the grown-ups did what they had to, outside the confines of the law, to provide for LAROI.
LAROI grew up consuming one of America’s most adored exports, listening to hip-hop and R&B icons like Tupac, Erykah Badu, The Fugees, Lil Wayne and Kanye West. He’s wanted to make music since he can remember, hoping to claim a spot within this specifically American legacy. LAROI started out writing raps as a kid, filling notebooks with rhymes and finessing his skill as a lyricist. But it wasn’t until he started uploading freestyle videos online that he began to find an audience for his stories and record his work. “A guy reached out to me on Facebook saying I could use his studio for free—he gave me a bunch of studio time, I made a whole bunch of songs and just posted them up on Soundcloud,” he remembers. Following the tragic murder of his uncle in 2015, LAROI and his mother struggled. They moved into project housing and below the poverty line. LAROI honed in on his music.
Not unusual for a 19-year-old, LAROI’s lyrics can be unrefined and audacious. The 2020 song “Without You” (the music video boasts over 71 million views), best demonstrates LAROI’s penchant for raw, at times crude, love stories. But his ear for infectious beats and melodic, gracefully structured hooks gained him the attention of the industry and acclaim from music’s most exciting voices. After competing in a Triple J Radio competition in 2016, he earned respect from industry execs, whose support led him to performances on stages alongside the late JuiceWRLD, whom he considered a close friend and mentor, THEY and more. In 2018, he recorded his debut EP 14 With A Dream, executive produced by frequent collaborator Miracle, and watched standout, “Blessings,” take off. A well-timed freestyle over Drake’s Tay Keith-produced “Nonstop,” added fuel to LAROI’s trailblazing fire.
“It’s really what I’ve always imagined... I always knew it was bigger than that,” LAROI says about his crossover success and finding an audience outside of Australia. With the newfound success from his most recent EP “F*CK LOVE 3 (OVER YOU),” which also debuted #1 on the Billboard 200, this is just the beginning for LAROI. After spending 6 of its 17 weeks at no.1 on the Hot 100, the smash hit, “Stay,” is just a glimpse of what The Kid LAROI has coming.
“I love everything I make. I take music super seriously, and I look at it as art,” says the teenage rap phenomenon. With an undeniable belief in his potential and the fast-paced track record to prove it, LAROI, unexpected as his story is, is making it increasingly easy for the rest of the world to believe in him too.
Jeremy Zucker
Jeremy Zucker’s music unfolds like the kinds of stories you share with your best friends. It’s that intimate, detailed, personal, and meaningful. This approach has cemented the New Jersey-born singer, songwriter, and producer as a quietly impactful voice in mainstream music. Since emerging in 2015, he has amassed a staggering 10 billion global streams and sold 4 million albums. His catalog consists of definitive anthems, such as Platinum-Certified records “you were good to me” with Chelsea Cutler, “all the kids are depressed” and the breakout “comethru,” which The FADER hailed as “the intoxicating crush anthem that’s become his calling card,” as well as Gold-Certified records “talk is overrated” feat. blackbear and “better off.”
After releasing consistent EPs in 2018 and 2019, his full-length debut,” love is not dying,” bowed in the Top 25 of the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart and garnered widespread praise in 2020. Not to mention, he’s received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, PAPER Magazine, Wonderland, and more. Along the way, he graced the stages of festivals such as Lollapalooza, Governors Ball, Reading & Leeds, Firefly, and more, in addition to making appearances on television shows, including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Show with James Corden, and TODAY Show, to name a few. His second full-length album, CRUSHER, arrived in 2021 to widespread acclaim and paved the way for his biggest tour thus far, “MORE NOISE !!!!!,” selling out dates in North America, Europe, UK, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.