BABY KEEM’s CASINO ALBUM DROPS featuring KENDRICK LAMAR

A Grammy winner drops his second album. Casino (stylized as Ca$ino) is the second studio album by American rapper Baby Keem, set for release by PGLang and Columbia Records on February 20, 2026. The streetwear market just shifted focus to another vertical. Baby Keem hasn't released a full-length album since dropping The Melodic Blue on September 10, 2021. It's been nearly 5 years since Baby Keem popped out with The Melodic Blue album. The math matters. The Melodic Blue saw 70.1 million on-demand streams in its first week, earning 53,000 total album-equivalent units in its first week. In 2023, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album features guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Too Short, Momo Boyd of Infinity Song, and Che Ecru. Family business stays profitable. "This is Kendrick Lamar — Baby Keem second cousin," Lamar begins. "His mom — that's my first cousin." The cousin connection built different when both artists share pgLang ownership. Lamar and Free formally launched PGLang on March 5, 2020, which was described as a "multilingual, artist-friendly, at service company." In a separate press release, Free clarified that PGLang "is not a record label, a movie studio, or a publishing house. This is something new." The infrastructure matters more than the music. Over the past couple of years, Lamar and Free have been establishing pgLang through music releases, design collaborations, and brand partnerships, including with Chanel and Converse. The company has partnered with Global Citizen on Move Afrika. And it's produced viral campaigns for Cash App. This connects to everything happening in [ASAP ROCKY RAY BAN METALS COLLECTION DROPS AT UNDEFEATED](/article/asap-rocky-ray-ban-metals-collection-drops-at-undefeated-1771531018561). Artist-owned companies control distribution channels now. The aesthetic of Casino echoes the vintage vibe of Las Vegas, with Keem's social media profile having been redesigned to match this style. Visual identity drives streaming numbers more than radio play. A second short documentary film, "Booman II", was released on YouTube on February 16th, just four days before the album's release. The record goes live at midnight PT, with Baby Keem set to hold a special listening party and live performance through his YouTube channel on February 19, 2026 at 8pm PT. Content strategy beats traditional rollouts. Ca$ino arrives when streaming platforms reward consistency over singles. Chart Position: Likely Top 10 debut on the Billboard 200 if streaming remains strong. Total Equivalent Units: ~50,000–80,000 range potential. The numbers predict success but miss the distribution revolution. pgLang artists own their masters and marketing. Every other label is still renting. Temperature read: Baby Keem is underrated as a business model, overrated as a solo act. Ca$ino will chart higher than his talent suggests because pgLang infrastructure is that strong. Expect 65,000 first-week units and three songs to crack streaming playlists by March.