The Kid LAROI is undoubtedly one of the hottest names in music right now, with the 17-year-old rapper, writer and producer making serious waves in the US — even performing on Saturday Night Live with friend and collaborator Miley Cyrus.
The talented artist from Sydney’s Waterloo is definitely in demand, but he seems to be remembering his roots with the news that he will likely make an appearance on PNAU’s new record.
The Aussie dance outfit is fronted by Nick Littlemore, who told Triple J’s Drive radio show that they had been “making a record on the quiet, during COVID times.”
“Every few weeks we get another call saying ‘who’s going to be singing on it?’ The latest one is The Kid LAROI,” he said. “But we’re not sure it’s guaranteed.”
And it wouldn’t just be LAROI lending his talents to the new music, either, with the interview revealing that it would also feature the vocals of none other than Sir Elton John himself as well.
“It’s a record that we put together four different songs of [Elton John’s] over a PNAU dance groove. It’s crazy,” Littlemore explained of the project, titled Cold Heart. “I don’t know when it’s coming out, this is a world exclusive right now, I shouldn’t be talking about it.”
It would not be the first time the Aussie dance trio had used Sir Elton’s tunes to create a record, having used the British singer’s ’70s back catalogue for a remix album titled Good Morning To The Night in 2012.
Meanwhile, Sir Elton is all too aware of the impact and potential of The Kid LAROI, telling the young artist that he is going to be “one of the biggest artists in the whole wide world” during an episode of his Apple Music radio show, Rocket Hour.
“You’re already huge, but I hope you realise what’s going to happen to you in 2021. You’re going to be one of the biggest artists in the whole wide world,” John said.
LAROI later Tweeted that receiving such high praise from John had been “one of the craziest moments of my life”.
Born Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo, LAROI’s mother is Indigenous Australian and his father is French. The rapper, whose great-great-grandfather was a part of the Stolen Generation, chose his name due to being a member of Kamilaroi people.
The young artist shot to fame after a chance encounter with the late rapper Juice WRLD, who quickly enlisted LAROI as the support act for his Australian tours in 2018 and 2019. In March 2021 Laroi surpassed Kendrick Lamar for most monthly listeners on Spotify.
For their part, PNAU recently released Stranger Love featuring rising star Budjerah who is a proud Coodjinburra man from the Bundjalung nation.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.