The Kid LAROI cannot be stopped.

Every track he puts his name to gets millions of streams. Hes achieved TikTok infamy and rubbed shoulders with Drake. One of Australias biggest rap exports, he now lives in L.A., with a rap sheet that most kids dream of. And hes managed it all at just 16 years old.

Ever since meeting LAROI in 2018, when he was 14 with a dream and a finalist for Unearthed High, hes seemed destined for bigger things. Even now, with his first full-length release F*CK LOVE, you get the impression hes already thinking about the next milestone on the horizon.

F*CK LOVE is billed as a mixtape, but its good enough to be a debut album.

The production is top-shelf, the hooks are sharp, the guests are flashy. His vocal delivery has improved, too, sounding as commanding through AutoTuned crooning as he does dropping raw bars.

Six months ago, I didnt even know this project was going to be a thing. I only decided two or three months ago it was going to be a full official [release] and I started piecing the songs together LAROI revealed to triple js Richard Kingsmill.

Clocking in at a concise half-hour, the mixtape is filled with the kind of chart-ready melodic emo-rap that Lil Uzi Vert or Post Malone would be proud of. Trap beats anchor clouds of pealing piano and delicate guitar plucks. Its very much operating in the same musical atmosphere as LAROIs late mentor and friend, Juice WRLD.

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In fact, Juice presides over the projects centrepiece, the one-two of GO and TELL ME WHY. The former is a collab featuring The Kids big bro, the latter is a heartbreaking ode to the gone-too-soon rapper.

Already doing titanic numbers (54 million streams and counting), the pairing is destined to be F*CK LOVEs most talked-about moment, but its also its most significant.

Combined, the transition from GO into TELL ME WHY feels like the passing of the torch from one star to the next. From Juice, now immortalised with the biggest posthumous album in 20 years, to The Kid LAROI, whos seized every opportunity thats come his way.

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Freestyling since the age of 9, LAROI real name Charlton Howard has First Nations heritage and was partly raised in Broken Hill before moving with his family to South Sydney. He was just 13 when he first hit a studio and began uploading tracks to Unearthed and Soundcloud.

Travelling from Redfern to Glebe to attend school four days a week, he juggled studies with spots at triple js One Night Stand and Listen Out festival, and studio time with B Wise and Manu Crooks.

Chicago music mogul Lil Bibby spotted LAROIs talent early on and quickly signed him to his label, Grade A Productions, alongside Juice WRLD. Bibby had the young gun open for Juices Australian tour in November, which turned out to be his final shows before he tragically died age 21.

Its still weird to think about that, LAROI told Kingsmill. Its still fresh on everyones mind. I would hope that Im making him proud and everyone down here loves and misses him still. Its still pretty unreal.

When the 16-year-old first relocated to Los Angeles, he lived with Juice WRLD and his entourage for three months before his mother and little brother could make the trip over. It was essentially a musical apprenticeship.

He would be in the studio obviously every day recording f**king a million songs, and I would go in there and just watch him and watch how he was doing shit, LAROI recently told Zane Lowe on Beats 1.

Though he clearly has one foot firmly planted in the American market, he hasnt abandoned his roots.

F*CK LOVE has beats from Grammy-nominated Sydney producer Khaled Rohaim and long-time collaborator Haan.

Brisbane artist JOY. sings and produces on the closing track SELFISH, and a mural by famed street artist Scottie Marsh has popped up in Waterloo, where LAROI used to kick it before moving Stateside.

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Unlike your average mixtape, F*CK LOVE has a strong narrative arc, documenting the hurt, heartache, and resolution of a disintegrating romance. The story kicks off in dramatic fashion, with a groggy LAROI waking up to his ex yelling down the phone at him on BOOTY CALL - the first of four skits that frame the release.

Its from a real conversation I had with a girl, LAROI told Kingsmill. I had her on speakerphone. My friend was in the room and thought itd be funny and pull out his phone and start recording her yelling at me. Afterwards we were listening to it back and I was like Oh my god, this needs to start the project!

Of course, it was kind of weird getting her consent to be on the record. I told her, Look, if youre comfortable Id like you to record some more. Thats how the other three skits came about Luckily, she said yes. Shout-outs to her.

She mightve agreed because The Kid LAROI makes himself the villain in the relationship as much as her, bringing depth to an otherwise simple, well-trodden tale of love lost. In the Drake-shaded SAME THING, he criticises his partner for lying, cheating, and playing games with him, before acknowledging hes not perfect either. I cant be mad, I do the same thing, he sings.

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He runs the spectrum from anger and confusion - on earlier tracks like MAYBE and the hazy RnB of NOT FAIR to the regret and self-reflection of NEED YOU MOST and RUNNING (back to you).

Its like the saying You dont know what you got til its gone. You miss something more when you dont have it, LAROI explained. Im still learning Im super-young. I dont have a lot of time to be thinking about love.

How does a 16-year-old up-and-comer even have time to commit to romance? He doesnt. And thats what makes the anguish and turbulence at the centre of these songs authentic.

He might differ sonically, but like fellow prodigies Billie Eilish, Ruel, and Lorde before him, a big part of The Kid LAROIs appeal is how he expresses teenage angst with an emotional maturity beyond his years. He may not be able to legally vote or go to a bar, but he can convince you with his howls and tremors that the hurt and confusion hes feeling is genuine.

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Hes never gone deep into detail about it, but The Kid LAROI had a tough upbringing, including his uncles passing and being homeless for a time.

Its been an interesting life. I feel like Im 40 years old at the age of 16, he told Kingsmill. But he feels grateful for his success, hustling hard to get to where he is now.

Me and my manager were talking about this He said Could you imagine if this didnt happen, where youd be? I cannot even imagine what wouldve happened by now. It feels like everything worked out how it shouldve worked out.

Thats an understatement. LAROI has swung for nothing less than the same ball park as the biggest heavy-hitters in the emo-rap game, and F*CK LOVE marks the point hes officially graduated from the ranks of rookie to pro.

Its probably no surprise hes released a mixtape of tortured songs about failing relationships, because romance - like everything in his life so far has taken a backseat as he ambitiously drives towards achieving his musical goals.

Anybody wherever Ive ever been in my life, one thing they can always say good or bad, I was always doing music and I always wanted to be a rapper, he said.

There were times where I thought, Damn, what if this doesnt work out? This seems really out of reach. I dont know if this is going to be possible. But its sticking to it. I guess its fate or whatever. Fate mixed with hard work and dedication, obviously, it didnt just fall in place.

What if youd shown the LAROI of three years ago all hed achieved now. Would he have believed it?

Yes and no I wouldve believed Id still be doing music, whether I was successful or not, he replied. But in terms of how quick everythings been moving and all the success? I definitely would not believe it.

But I definitely thought I was going to be a little further, he added, showing just how ambitious he truly is. With a debut album already in the works right now, LAROI is clearly in it for the long game. Cant stop. Wont stop.

F*CK LOVE is out now via Sony Music Australia.

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The Kid LAROI is already a big deal. But the best is yet to come - ABC News