We called it in 2024, we are now entering the era of the ‘Rapo Baby’. Over the last couple of years, multiple children of established rappers have begun launching careers of their own: in 2023, Drake’s then six-year-old son Adonis released “My Man Freestyle”; in 2025, Ghostface Killa’s son, Sweetface Killah, rapped candidly about butting heads with his father over his sexuality; and Lil Wanye’s 16-year-old son, Lil Novi, released his own full-length mixtape last October. 

Perhaps the rapo to rule all rapos, however, is Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s 12-year-old daughter North West, who has today (February 20) announced a deal with Gamma, the same music company set to release Ye’s upcoming album, Bully, next month. The news arrives hot on the heels of a string of releases from North, including an appearance on FKA Twigs’ Grammy-winning 2025 album Eusexua, production for Lil Novi’s recent rage-rap single “justswagup”, and, most recently, guest production on hyperpop star skaiwater’s new album, wonderful. 

While North West has likely had an army of musical assistants on hand throughout these recent releases, we have to give it to her: her music has just been getting better and better. Far from her decidedly infantile debut on Ye’s 2024 single “Talking”, North West’s recent releases are profoundly tapped into Gen Alpha rap trends: heady distortion a la Playboi Carti, writhing jersey club basslines and a bubbling obsession with Japan (okay, that one has been around for a while now). 

Just take a look at some of the suggested artists on North West’s Spotify profile – the likes of SOPHIE, Adela and fakemink. You might (rightfully) resent the numerous hateful comments made by her father over the last few years, but it’s hard to deny that North West is drawing on her own unique palette of sonic influences.

Below, in view of her new Gamma deal, we break down the rise of Rapo Baby queen North West in five tracks. 

“TALKING/ONCE AGAIN FEAT. NORTH WEST” 

OK, this one is kind of icky for arriving at a particularly problematic era in Ye’s career – we won’t repeat any of the numerous controversies here – but, held in a vacuum, there is a beautifully delicate quality to North West’s debut appearance on 2024 two-part single “Talking/Once Again”. Set to a lo-fi jersey club beat in the track’s first half, North West delivers a captivatingly childlike verse that oscillates between innocent rhyming couplets and tantrum-like screams. 

This is followed up by the Ty Dolla $ign-led second half, “Once Again”, which closes with the lines “My motivation is just lookin' at my family tree / I'm tryna make sure I contribute for the legacy.” Ye’s music has covered some pretty reprehensible themes in the last few years, but this song at least seems to express a genuine love for his children. 

“CHILDLIKE THINGS FEAT. NORTH WEST” – FKA TWIGS 

One year after the release of “Talking”, North West resurfaced on FKA twigs’ carnal techno album Eusexua – and she was rapping in… Japanese? Many questioned the decision to include an 11-year-old in an album which, among other things, deals with healing sexual trauma through raving, not to mention having an American deliver a rudimentary Japanese verse when there are countless Japanese rappers to choose from right now. 

But, speaking on Instagram following the release, twigs explained that it was precisely North West’s youth that led to her placement on the song. “It [needed] someone who has that [childlike] tenacity, who has that strong point of view that you have when you’re 11,” twigs told her followers. “Then I saw an interview with North West, and she was so confident. It suddenly occurred to me that I would’ve loved to have a friend like North who could speak up for themselves.”

The track, however, does introduce one theme that seems to have become a constant throughout North West’s nascent career: Japan. And, while these first two releases focus primarily on her youth, behind the scenes, a freshly turned 12 North West was preparing to launch her own more mature musical identity. 

“JUSTSWAGUP (PROD. NORTH WEST)” – MAGIC AND LIL NOVI

Despite their collective family wealth in the hundreds of millions, it is quite nice to see the children of Lil Wayne and Kanye West releasing a song through Distro Kid – the go-to distributor for every bedroom rapper under the sun, whose yearly subscription starts at just $24.99. 

Released at the start of this year, the North West-produced track bears a strong Opium/Playboi Carti influence in its distorted rage melodies and Lil Novi delivering hyper-compressed auto tune vocals about being “baby Wheezy” and “stunting like [his] daddy.” These influences were cemented in two other production snippets that North West teased on Instagram in the same week that “Justswagup” dropped. While it might not have achieved the virality of her previous two releases, the message was clear: 2026 is the year that North West embarks on her own musical path.

“PIERCING ON MY HAND” – NORTH WEST

Just one month after the release of “Justswagup”, North West launched her own solo career with the self-produced single “Piercing On My Hand”, which features kaleidoscopic plugg production and unique vocals from North herself. The track includes a number of similarities with the music of Kanye West, namely its opening with a soul vocal sample, and the Christ-like imagery of North having a piercing on her hand, continuing Kanye’s own likening of himself to Jesus Christ in releases like 2004’s “Jesus Walks”. 

Finally, “Piercing On My Hand” is also significant for introducing North’s signature producer tag, featuring the gairago (Japanese-language) pronunciation of her name: “No-su-chan”. 

“BLINK TWICE (PROD. NORTH WEST)” – SKAIWATER 

Appearing on British rapper skaiwater’s new album wonderful, North West-produced track “Blink Twice” bears all the hallmarks of North West’s career so far. There’s more Japanese references (this time in the form of a Hatsune Miku vocaloid sample), SoundCloud rap-like distortion, and another pulsing jersey club beat, offset by bed spring squeaks on the off-beat. Unlike the hyperactive “Piercing On My Hand”, however, “Blink Twice” also contains a slight hint of musical maturity in also pulling some of these layers back in the track’s closing half to let skaiwater’s softly-spoken melodies shine through. Despite whatever preconceptions you might have about North West and her family, the production here is good, and it certainly leaves us excited for what else the Rapo Baby queen has cooked up for this year.