Last time we interviewed The Kid LAROI he was still… a kid.

It was six years ago when he was a burgeoning 15-year-old rapper in the making; the hype around him was already building, but no one could have predicted what was in the works. In the space of a few years, LAROI has moved to the US, dropped a global number one single with Justin Bieber, gained millions of followers, amassed billions of streams, collab’d with Maccas and Playstation, and performed in arenas all over the world.

It’s impossible to imagine what ticking off all those achievements by the time you’ve turned 21 would do to your ego. But, as he sings on ‘BABY I’M BACK’ from THE FIRST TIME deluxe album, it seems Laroi is simultaneously aware of his accomplishments and cautious of the world that has given him his fame and fortune: “I got a couple big houses and some whips, maybe three / And I got family members that got bigger egos than me / And I got fans around the world whenever I’m overseas / And I got friends who just pretend and say they love everything.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1MSH43zUSc

Another measure of Laroi’s success and character is the calibre of supports he has lined up for his upcoming Aus tour. OneFour will be opening the shows just a couple of years after he brought them out to perform on stage for the then-banned group’s first major hometown performance, with collab king Quavo warming the stage for Laroi.

Armed with his latest chart-topper ‘GIRLS’ and the recent announcements that he’ll be performing at the NRL grand final and speaking at SXSW Sydney, his return to his homeland once again feels like a victory lap. Check out our chat with him below and head here for tickets to the shows.

Hey man, how are you?

The Kid LAROI: Good. Bit of a full circle moment this morning.

I know, I know. In that interview we did in 2018, you were on the way to a show at the Lansdowne, and I’m wondering how it compares to being back out here headlining arenas?

LAROI: Yeah, it’s crazy because I remember the feeling of that day, I think it was B Wise’s show. I just remember being so excited to just play… If I had to really think about it, I mean, it’s the same feeling, weirdly… It’s different in the sense of like, “Whoa, oh my God, holy fuck, this is huge and this is crazy.” But if I remember that feeling back then, it’s no different to the feeling that I get now, just being so excited to just fucking play and do that.

Arguably the feeling might’ve been possibly crazier back then, just because, it was one of my first performances. I just came out and did one song.

On that day Kev maybe hooked you up with some, a Nike hat that said The Kid Laroi. You’ve since gone on to do stuff with some of the biggest brands in the world like Maccas and Beats by Dre. I’m just wondering what it’s like to work with those kind of iconic companies and if Nike is still on your hit list?

LAROI: Yeah, I mean, I would love to work with Nike obviously… I think it is just surreal. It’s crazy because you keep doing a thing like that and it starts to feel normal in a weird way. But then I have these moments sometimes where I’m like, “Oh my God, what the hell? We did our own McDonald’s meal. That’s fucking insane.” It breaks my brain at times. So sometimes in the moment when everything just moves so quickly and everything moves so fast, it’s easy to forget how crazy and exciting everything is.

In past years, because everything’s moved so quick and it’s just been so much to take on and deal with, whether it be career wise or personal wise or stuff going on that I feel like I almost sometimes wasn’t as present as I would love to be during those moments. Maybe I didn’t celebrate those moments as much as I should have. This year I’ve been making an effort to really be present and take in how crazy this is and how blessed I am to be able to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTJczUoc26U

What do you do in those moments where you want to have a little bit of mental quiet? What do you do to unwind and just sit back and soak it up?

LAROI: Usually staying off my phone, weirdly. If I have a second to just be off my phone and be more “IRL vibes”, hanging out and having conversations with my friends, I think that’s where I often come up on that stuff the most. Just being more present and not as much head in the phone or head in the next thing. That’s the biggest thing about just the industry, period, we’re always worried about the next thing, or what’s the next thing we’re going to do, or what’s the next move we’re going to make. And I think it becomes very easy to get kind of jaded.

One of those next big things is the NRL grand final. How did it feel to get the call up for the footy grand final?

LAROI: I can’t lie, at first when it was brought to me, it was a feeling of excitement, but also I was so anxious and I was almost kind of like, “Oh my God,” it was such a big deal I was kind of scared of it a little bit. I was kind of like, “Oh, fuck.” Feels like so much pressure, but ultimately it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and it’s going to be crazy. Now I’m so excited. I’m so hyped.

The Rabbitohs haven’t had the best season, if you could choose between having a global #1 album or the Rabbitohs winning the premiership, which would you choose?

LAROI: That’s a crazy question. At this stage, where my head is at right now, I would definitely say Rabbitohs. Definitely Rabbitohs. That’s my final answer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9wsEOVK4cw

For sure. And going back to that interview back in 2018, I remember you saying that you would love to go global, and then “this was just the beginning.” Now you’ve gone global, what are your goals? 

LAROI: It’s interesting going through this whole life change and having all this responsibility and stuff while still growing up, being 15, 16, 17, and growing into myself and supporting people around me and so on and so forth. So I think I’ve been really busy with my life and my own personal stuff, and I think now where I’m at, and I am still obviously working on a lot of things with my personal life, with myself, but I think now I’m at a stage where I would definitely love to just be more involved in helping other people as well.

Obviously there’s a balance. I still have my own life and stuff and what I do, but I’m very passionate about helping other people as well. And just being there if young artists, especially from back home, you know what I mean. I really want to figure out a way that I can be there and offer guidance. I mean, I definitely don’t know everything. I can’t sit here and say that I know everything or whatever, I have the keys or something. But I definitely feel like I could use some of my experience to help other young people, and I think that’s a thing that I’m passionate about now that I want to pursue a little more.

Last question. I saw that you made a massive donation to the youth centre that you used to be involved with, which is incredible. But, speaking of balance, what was the last big splurge you made on yourself?

LAROI: Probably this vacation I just came back from. That was the last big purchase I guess. Taking this vacation.

I think that’s about all we’ve got time for…

We got to get up and do something when I’m down there!