Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (born 17 August 2003), better-known as The Kid LAROI, is an Australian rapper and singer, whose work blends emo rap with mainstream pop. He is Aboriginal Australian, being part of the Gamilaraay (or Kamilaroi) people, with his heritage inspiring his artistic name.
Originally gaining attention in the late 2010s as the teenage protege of the late Juice WRLD (with whom he shared a label and management team), he started gaining mainstream pop success in 2020-21 with hits such as "Go" (with Juice WRLD), "So Done" and "Without You". In the summer of 2021, he released his biggest hit, "Stay", a duet with Justin Bieber that went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained there for over a year.
Discography
- 14 and a Dream (2018) (mixtape)
- Fuck Love (2020) (mixtape)
- Fuck Love (Savage) (2020) (mixtape)
- Fuck Love 3: Over You (2021) (mixtape)
His work includes the following tropes:
- Boastful Rap: Many of his songs.
- Break-Up Song: Several of his most popular songs, including "Without You", "So Done" and "Need You Most".
- Celebrity Song: "Addison Rae", named for the TikTok star.
- Cover Version: "Reminds Me of You" is an example of this combined with a Celebrity Elegy, being a cover of Kim Petras' "Remind Me", but featuring Juice WRLD's verse from the original song.
- He covered Drake's "Shot for Me" in 2021 for Spotify.
- The Cover Changes the Meaning: "Reminds Me of You", his cover of Kim Petras' "Remind Me", turns an "anti-Valentine's Day breakup song" into a Celebrity Elegy for his late mentor Juice WRLD.
- The Mentor: The late Juice WRLD.
- Sampling:
- "Need You Most" samples "So Sick" by Ne-Yo
- "Still Chose You" samples "By Any Means" by Jorja Smith
