The Kid Laroi’s name is rooted in his ancestry. The Australian singer/songwriter has become a global star thanks to his association with rapper Juice Wrld and his breakthrough hit “Stay,” a collaboration with Justin Bieber. He got his first taste of his success when his debut EP, F*uck Love, hit No. 1 in his native country, making him the youngest solo artist in Australia to achieve the feat. This translated over to the U.S. where the EP also hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The Kid achieved all of this while still in his teens.
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Meaning Behind the Name
Born as Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard in Waterloo, New South Wales, on August 17, 2003, Howard has deep roots in Australia. His mother Sloane was Aboriginal, also known as an Indigenous Australian from the mainland, while his great-grandfather was part of the Stolen Generations wherein the mixed-race children of the Australian Aboriginal were taken away from their families by the government under the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 and placed into non-Indigenous families. His grandfather was a member of the Kamilaroi community of the Aboriginal peoples, which is where the singer got the name “Laroi.”
“My great-great-grandfather was part of the stolen generation. He was taken from his Aboriginal family and placed into a white family, and he was always told that he was Spanish because of his darker skin,” the singer explained to National Indigenous Television. “So he eventually found out, when he turned 18, that he was aboriginal.”
“[Knowing] your background and where your family comes from is very important,” he shared with Billboard. “It’s super important to carry that and be proud about your heritage.”
[RELATED: Meaning Behind the Song: “Stay” by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber]
Throughout his childhood, Howard’s mother struggled with drug abuse, and the two moved to rural Australia where they lived in public housing. Despite the struggles, the mother and son remained close. Sloane relocated to Los Angeles where her son now resides.
“He also grew up in Redfern, which historically is a culturally significant site for Aboriginal people, because of the fact it’s where many of us live, and of course the location of The Block,” former freelance Indigenous affairs journalist Madeline Hayman-Reber told Red Bull in 2020. “At a time when kids from that area are consistently harassed and brutalised by police, The Kid LAROI is out repping community internationally, working alongside some of the world’s best rappers…An achievement of that magnitude is an achievement for all of the Aboriginal community. He is showing Blak kids back home that they can do anything.”
The Kid Laroi’s biggest hit to date in the U.S. is “Stay” which also has Charlie Puth as a co-writer and co-producer. The song launched the Aussie into global stardom when it topped the charts in more than 20 countries, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., marking his first No. 1 in the country. “Stay” has also been certified diamond for sales north of 10 million copies.
He also had a hit on “Without You” from F*uck Love. He released a remix featuring Miley Cyrus in 2021 that reached No. 8 on the Hot 100. The singer is currently working on his debut studio album, The First Time, that’s expected to be released in 2023.
Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for WarnerMedia
