The Kid Laroi, also known professionally as Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (born August 17, 2003), is an Australian rapper, singer, and composer. His acquaintance and relationship with American rapper Juice Wrld, who was on tour in Australia at the time, led to his initial rise to fame. Prior to entering into a business arrangement with Lil Bibby’s Grade A Productions and Columbia Records, he developed a local fanbase. In 2020, he received more notoriety when he collaborated with Juice Wrld on the song “Go,” which peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100. He became the youngest Australian solo artist to ever reach the top of the chart with his debut mixtape, F*ck Love (2020), which also debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. Additionally, Howard’s songs “Without You,” “Stay,” and its remix featuring Justin Bieber all debuted in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, with “Stay” spending seven separate weeks at the top. Laroi asserts that he doesn’t belong to any certain genre and that he enjoys writing both rap and pop songs.
On his mother’s phone, Howard first began to record raps over tracks, which he then uploaded to SoundCloud. Howard revealed that “FC6” was the first rap name he gave himself in an interview with Triple J. In 2015, DJ Marcus Jr. (aka LadyKiller), an Adelaide rapper who served as his mentor and supporter, and Howard founded the group “Dream$Team.” Together, the two recorded songs and played for local crowds as DJ Marcus Jr. assisted him with marketing, recording, and creating hype. At a Sydney recording studio, Howard met producer Khaled Rohaim, with whom he is presently working. Rohaim was moved by Howard’s skill and his challenging living circumstances, so he would pick him up from the numerous Sydney homes where he would reside so they could share meals and record at his rented studio in North Strathfield. Howard received some songwriting assignments from Rohaim. In one occasion, he composed a song with A Boogie, and Howard sneaked into the studio to see him. They later collaborated on a song. 2017 saw the signing of Howard to a development contract with Sony Music Australia. He co-hosted the Fernside Festival that year, which was organized by Weave Youth and Community Services.
