The Kid LAROI’s BEFORE I FORGET is an album born directly from heartbreak, and it wears that fact openly. Created in the immediate aftermath of his very public breakup with fellow pop star Tate McRae, the record feels less like a carefully polished pop project and more like an emotional time capsule. LAROI has never been a stranger to vulnerability, but here he channels resentment, nostalgia, anger, longing, and regret into a tightly focused body of work that feels far more cohesive than his 2023 debut album, THE FIRST TIME [TFT].
Where TFT often felt like a compilation of songs written across long stretches of his early career, BEFORE I FORGET benefits from urgency. Made within a concentrated three-to-four-month window, the album captures LAROI at his most transparent. The title itself hints at its purpose: an attempt to release these complex emotions before the moment passes. The breakup itself is not just background context, but the emotional spine that the entire project revolves around.
Growth in Sound and Direction
One of the most noticeable evolutions here is LAROI’s vocal confidence. He sings far more throughout this album than on THE FIRST TIME, where he was still transitioning out of his earlier, more emo SoundCloud-inspired style. That debut had strong highlights but often felt messy and stretched across too broad a time frame. In contrast, BEFORE I FORGET feels deliberate. The blend of rap and R&B elements shows an artist still evolving but increasingly comfortable shaping his own musical identity. There is a clearer sense of ownership and creative direction, something LAROI himself has spoken about wanting more control over.
Emotional Arc: From Blame to Reflection
The album’s emotional journey is arguably its most compelling aspect. The opening stretch leans more braggadocious and defensive, with LAROI placing blame outward, almost as if he’s deflecting his own hurt. As the tracklist progresses, however, a shift occurs. The anger softens into introspection, and doubt creeps in. By the latter half, he is openly admitting fault and questioning his own actions within the relationship.
This emotional pivot feels intentional. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, LAROI has suggested that the album becomes more accurate to his current feelings as it moves toward the end. That sentiment is evident in the sequencing, even if at times the push and pull between “moving on” and “not quite over it” can feel contradictory; it also mirrors the reality of breakups. Healing is rarely linear.
Standout Themes and Featured Song Highlights
Although every song plays a role in the story LAROI is telling, these songs feel especially important in capturing the heart and themes of the project:
“ME + YOU” opens with frustration and bitterness, reflecting on what once was while taking jabs at how much has changed. It sets the tone for the initial defensive position of the album.
“PRIVATE” stands out as one of the album’s strongest moments. Blending rap and melody, LAROI regrets making his relationship so public, an ironic admission given public appearances and the pair’s collaboration on ‘i know love’ that celebrated that very openness. His vow to keep future relationships private adds a layer of maturity and self-awareness.
“RATHER BE (feat. Lithe)” initially feels like a typical post-breakup “single life” anthem, filled with bravado and excess. Yet the beat switch transforms the track into something more reflective. What first seems like an unnecessary feature work ultimately enhances the emotional contrast, showing that even amidst distractions and chaos, he cannot get her off his mind.
“A PERFECT WORLD” and “5:21 AM” mark a transition point. The former imagines alternate realities where they remain together, while the latter strips away studio polish for a raw acoustic feel. Though lyrically simpler, “5:21 AM” serves as a breather and a sonic pause before the album dives deeper into self-accountability.
From here, the record becomes increasingly introspective:
“A COLD PLAY” was the first of the album’s singles to be released and was immediately captivating, largely due to its smooth blend of melodic rap and atmospheric production. LAROI cleverly references Coldplay’s Fix You in both title and theme, using the idea of wanting to “fix” someone as a metaphor for trying to hold a relationship together that is already slipping away.
The Bold Inclusion of “IM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU”
Perhaps the album’s boldest decision is the inclusion of “IM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU,” the only track salvaged from a previously scrapped album that LAROI became disillusioned with. Musically, it is one of the most mellow and heartfelt songs on the record, offering safety and devotion rather than resentment. Its presence is bittersweet; it captures a version of LAROI who still believed in permanence and closeness. In the context of the album, it becomes an almost haunting and painful reminder of what could have been.
Its transition into “MAYBE I’M WRONG” is one of the project’s more powerful moments. The former represents certainty and devotion, the latter, apology and doubt. The emotional whiplash is intentional and powerful, illustrating how drastically feelings can shift in only a few months.
Closing Track Reflections
The final tracks, “HER INTERLUDE” and “BACK WHEN YOU WERE MINE”, settle into quieter, more atmospheric territory. They do not provide a neat closure, but that seems fitting here. Instead of tying everything up cleanly, LAROI leaves listeners with lingering thoughts and unresolved emotions, much like real relationships themselves.
Final Thoughts
BEFORE I FORGET succeeds not because it reinvents pop or rap, but because it commits fully to emotional honesty. It is an album about contradiction. Wanting to move on while still looking back, expressing anger while craving reconciliation, and celebrating independence while longing for intimacy. That tension gives the project its authenticity.
For longtime listeners, it shows clear artistic growth. For newer audiences, it offers an accessible yet emotionally layered entry point into LAROI’s evolving sound. More than anything, it feels like a snapshot of a young artist processing heartbreak in real time: messy, reflective, and undeniably human.