The Kid LAROI
"...[my fans] mean the world to me (which is why I call them my family), and it's something I’m grateful for that I’ll never take for granted."
The Kid LAROI is only 16-years-old and is one of the youngest and most exciting new artists to come out of Australia. Boasting over 200 million+ streams for his tracks worldwide to date, Laroi relocated to Los Angeles from Sydney, and he has toured US starts such as Lil Tjay, performed at Triple J’s One Night Stand and made his debut US performance last May at the Rolling Loud Festival 2019 in Miami. Gaining worldwide recognition from the medium of TikTok, he is now climbing his way up the UK charts with his recent single ‘Go’ featuring late friend and mentor Juice WRLD (who he also toured with). The track followed singles ‘Fade Away’ featuring Lil Tjay, his huge TikTok track ‘Addison Rae’ (named after a TikTok sensation of the same name who has one of the highest TikTok audiences in the world) and hit single ‘Diva’ featuring Lil Tecca. We caught up with the star ahead of his album ‘F*ck Love’, OUT TODAY. Read the feature below…
Words by Danielle Temeng
EQ: Who or what inspired you to get into music?
TKL: I kind of inspired myself honestly. I remember when I was little I used to take my mom’s phone and just record on songs on it and upload them to social media. And from there I transitioned to a studio and the rest was history so to speak.
EQ: You’ve accumulated some crazy numbers online (over 200M streams in total)! What would you say has been the one thing that has surprised you (good or bad) about fame and the industry?
TKL: The loyalty of my fans. They mean the world to me (which is why I call them my family) and it’s something I’m grateful for that I’ll never take for granted.
EQ: You gained recognition and notability on TikTok, when was the moment you thought to yourself “wow, this is really happening”.
…and what advice would you give to other young artists hoping to follow in your footsteps?
TKL: The “wow this is really happening” feeling never really goes away. For an artist trying to follow in my footstep, I would say just stay honest and true to yourself. You can’t lose if you’re honest with yourself.
EQ: You were lucky enough to consider Juice Wrld a close friend, mentor, and big brother figure. What’s one thing you’d say you learnt about being an artist and person of influence from him?
TKL: Aw man he taught me so many things. I learned to always stay true to yourself and to your fans. If you make music, you truly feel in your heart then you can’t lose – that, and his incredible work ethic.
EQ: You’ve got your mixtape ‘F*ck Love’ OUT NOW – congratulations! What was your inspiration behind this collection of work? Do you have a favourite track?
TKL: The inspiration was just life, honestly. The album is mainly about how a bad experience with someone you thought loved you can reshape your whole outlook on Love as a whole.
Instagram/@thekidlaroi
EQ: If you could collaborate with one person you haven’t yet, who would it be and why?
TKL: Drake or Kanye West because I’m such huge fans of theirs.
EQ: What have you been getting up to during lockdown, and where is the first place you headed out to when LA opened up again?
TKL: I’ve been social distancing and just working in the studio mainly. Trying to stay safe while also creating new music. I honestly don’t know the first place I go when it opens back up, I’ll probably go out to eat, to be honest.
EQ: What are the top 3 tracks on your playlist at the moment?
TKL: Right now, the whole ‘Legends Never Die’ album has been on repeat for me. Amazing piece of work from my brother Juice WRLD.
EQ: What can we expect from you the remainder of the year once your mixtape is released, any EQUATE exclusives you can give us?
TKL: You can expect me to keep working on my craft, I’m always looking to improve. Maybe a few streams here and there, maybe a few more surprises. Just gonna have to stay tuned :).
YouTube/The Kid LAROI.
Stream ‘F*ck Love’ HERE
Keep up with The Kid Laroi on socials
Instagram: @TheKidLaroi
Twitter: @TheKidLaroi
Facebook: The Kid Laroi