Baby Keem doesn’t just come to New York. He comes correct. He comes to perform.
And there was simply no better time than now, just about two weeks after CA$INO‘s release, and a little over a week after his intended vinyl signing event got cancelled due to the blizzard, for the rapper to return to the New York City stage for the first time in three years.
“There’s something about performing in New York City,” Keem said to the crowd at Webster Hall in the middle of his 13-track set. “You guys always bring the energy.”
Yes, you’re reading that right. Baby Keem performed at Webster Hall. If you’re unfamiliar, Webster Hall is a downtown NYC staple, known for its intimate performances and clocking in at a capacity count of just 1,500 people; to say that a musician on the brink of global superstardom showing out in the tightly packed concert hall is rare would be an understatement.
To make up for his cancelled vinyl signing, the rapper revealed plans for his surprise “One Night Only” show just 11 hours before the doors opened. He took to X on the night of Wednesday, March 3, to share that he was in NYC, and to express interest in hosting a show during his stint in town.
“tour taking too long I’m ready,” he primed his followers, before writing, “I’m in New York… I wanna see somethin,” “Circus Circus freestyle live in Ny,” and “just called in. we go try and make it happen tomorrow.”
The next morning, at exactly 9:01 a.m. EST, Keem dropped the ticket link with the caption: “figured it out pull up 2night.” At a price point of just $31 USD, tickets went quickly, selling out in a matter of minutes.
If you weren’t in the building, below are some bullet points that might make you feel like you were … or induce extreme FOMO. Read at your own risk.
He Didn’t Perform, “Good Flirts,” But He Premiered The Video
“I’m gonna show you guys a video,” Keem prefaced the “Good Flirts” intro beat with, before walking off the stage. The big-screen situated at the back of the stage transitioned from the CA$INO album art to the music video for the Momo Boyd and Kendrick Lamar-featuring cut. Keem played roughly the first half of the video, premiering it for the audience at the intimate venue. He cut it right before Kendrick’s verse started, and moved on to “Ca$ino,” before formally premiering the full “Good Flirts” music video earlier this morning.
The Rage Was In The Building
Keem did not come to play about the mosh pits, either. After kicking off the set with fan-favorite CA$INO cut “Circus Circus Freestyle,” the rapper threw it back to DIE FOR MY BITCH‘s “MOSHPIT,” which, to no one’s surprise, catalyzed quite the moshpit down in the pit. Fans thrashed into each other as they would at a Travis Scott show, and in true Keem fashion, a flag was waved. At one point, the crowd lifted one of the moshers – donning a white button-down, tie, and black suit pants, aka the textbook Keem uniform – and got him all the way to the front of the stage. The same fan found his way atop the crowd’s arms and ended up near the barricade at least two more times throughout the course of the show.
“family ties” x3
Similarly to the way he does not play about moshing, Keem does not play about “family ties.” “Do you m*therf*ckers have the energy for one more song?” he asked, before closing out the set with the high-octane headbanger. The mere intro to the track elicited the largest mosh pit of the night on the floor. But Keem was not content. He wanted them to go harder. “Hold on, hold on, hold on,” he interrupted, pausing the track about a minute in. “What the fuck, man. This shit is f*cking crazy right now. You m*therf*ckers are crazy. You m*therf*ckers need to flee to the sides if you ain’t bout that shit,” he instructed the audience. “Yeah, get this sh*t right. Get this m*therf*cking sh*t right. Now, come in if you ’bout this sh*t. Come in if you bout this sh*t. Scream that too.” The song began again. The crowd went even wilder. Is “family ties” Keem’s “FEIN”?
A Perfectly Curated Setlist
A show like this will never happen again, which called for a setlist that will never be emulated. Keem ran through a bulk of different eras of his discography, interspersing the DIE FOR MY BITCH nostalgia plays – “STATS,” MOSHPIT,” and “ORANGE SODA” – with some The Melodic Blue callbacks and, of course, the budding CA$INO classics. Since the Webster Hall show signalled the first live performance of CA$INO since Keem put on a pre-release performance at The Lot in Los Angeles the night before the record’s release, he had to pull out all of the stops. “Circus Circus Freestyle” opened the set, with “The Birds And The Bees,” “House Money,” and the title track “Ca$ino” all landing imminently after. From The Melodic Blue, Keem added “vent,” “hooligan,” “bank account” and “trademark usa” to the setlist. As the show began to wind down, fans on the floor started holding up their phones to make song requests. One requested “16.” Another “Killstreaks.” “‘sixteen’ you gotta come to the tour,” he laughed. “We not in our feelings tonight. Am I tripping?”
His Closing Remarks and Vinyl Signing
After the b2b “family ties” run, Keem was ready to call it a night – but not before he sincerely spoke to the small group of fans in attendance. “New York was like my second show ever or some sh*t like that,” he started. “I was able to come over here and do Baby’s All Right, and now I’m about to headline Gov Ball.” The crowd cheered as Keem stood in the center of the stripped-down stage speaking into the microphone. “Moments like this, where I get to see you n*ggas in a smaller, intimate thing … I feel like I can see every single one of y’all. I see y’all from top to bottom. I see all of your faces. I see so many familiar faces. Y’all are crazy. Y’all got older,” he continued with a front-row fan’s CA$INO vinyl in hand. ”I’m gonna sign this for you, bro. I’m not gonna steal it.” A humbled Keem couldn’t help but continue to reflect on his trajectory. “Eleven songs. You guys really stood on that. I believe in that because of you people right here. You allow me to do that shit and go against the grain. I get to do the music I want to do, and that’s because of you. I believe in you because you believe in me … Now play ‘family ties’ one more time.”
