Lil Baby Might Be Rap’s Most Reluctant New Star
The Atlanta artist, whose new album “My Turn” is out Friday, discusses how he has remained so low-key while earning more than 11 billion streams worldwide.
The Atlanta artist, whose new album “My Turn” is out Friday, discusses how he has remained so low-key while earning more than 11 billion streams worldwide.
ATLANTA — Between the summer of 2016, when the Atlanta rapper Lil Baby got out of prison on drug and gun charges, and the end of 2018, when he solidified himself as a formidable presence in hip-hop, he released seven full-length bodies of music, resulting in a pile of smash singles that have gone platinum a combined 12 times over.
An inescapable presence on rap radio who’s racked up even more street-level hits, Lil Baby, 25, has since been nominated for a Grammy, banked corporate sponsorships and performed alongside international stars like Drake, DaBaby and Travis Scott, in addition to his ubiquitous local cohort of Gunna, Future, Migos and Young Thug.
All told, songs by Lil Baby, who had never rapped before his two-year incarceration, have been streamed more than 11 billion times around the world. Yet, as he’ll proudly insist — and his barber will attest — the reserved rapper is known even now to jump in an Uber or pull up to Chick-fil-A all alone, loud jewelry gleaming. The concept of celebrity still makes him bristle, and his public appearances remain limited to the ones that pay handsomely.
“People don’t think I’m as big as I am because I don’t really talk about it,” he said recently. “Most people are acting like more than what they are, I’m acting like less than what I am.”
Balancing flash and restrained grace was something Lil Baby, born Dominique Jones, learned from his neighborhood notoriety before music, when he was known as a local hustler (and dice aficionado) before committing to rap for a safer income stream. After the torrent of music that certified his arrival, the rapper took last year off, in the sense that he did not release an album or mixtape, though an endless stream of guest verses and a few one-off singles kept him relevant.
On Friday, he will return officially with the album “My Turn,” 20 tracks that can’t help but sound like a victory lap, with production by Tay Keith and Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul, plus appearances by Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert and the up-and-comers Rylo Rodriguez and 42 Dugg, artists Lil Baby has signed to his own 4 Pockets Full label.
A sneakily intricate rapper whose lyrics are often camouflaged by disarming singsong flows and a gravelly Southern drawl, Lil Baby has largely moved on from the open wounds of his earlier, bittersweet work. But a push-and-pull between his rough-edged youth and sparkling new