Lil'_Baby

Lil Baby

Lil Baby

American rapper (born 1994)

Not to be confused with DaBaby, Bhad Bhabie, or Lil Bibby.

Dominique Armani Jones[3] (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes Harder than Hard and Too Hard, the former of which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its lead single, "My Dawg."[4] He signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records to release his debut studio album Harder Than Ever (2018), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Yes Indeed" (with Drake). He released two additional retail projects that same year: The collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with fellow Georgia-based rapper Gunna—which saw continued success with its singles "Drip Too Hard" and "Close Friends"—and his commercial mixtape Street Gossip, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.

Quick Facts Background information, Birth name ...

Lil Baby's second album, My Turn (2020) was his first to debut atop the Billboard 200, received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and became the best-selling album of that year.[5] It spawned the hit song "We Paid" (with 42 Dugg), as well as the George Floyd protest-inspired single "The Bigger Picture"; both of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, while the latter received two nominations—Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance—at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[6] The following year, his collaborative album with Chicago rapper Lil Durk, The Voice of the Heroes (2021) became his second to peak the Billboard 200, while he won the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his guest appearance on Kanye West and the Weeknd's 2021 single "Hurricane". Lil Baby's third album, It's Only Me (2022) was met with continued success and peaked the chart once more.

In addition to a Grammy Award, Lil Baby has won an MTV Video Music Award, two BET Awards, and was named the all-genre Artist of the Year at the 2020 Apple Music Awards. As an imprint of Motown and Capitol, he founded the record label Glass Window Entertainment (known previously as 4PF) in 2023, through which he has signed frequent collaborators 42 Dugg and Rylo Rodriguez.[7][8]

Early life

Jones was born and raised in the Oakland City neighborhood in southwestern Atlanta, Georgia.[9] He was two years old when his father left the family. His mother raised him and his two sisters. He dropped out of Booker T. Washington High School in ninth grade and committed to drug dealing.[10]

In early 2012, he was charged for possession with intent to sell, among other charges. In 2013, was charged with possession of marijuana of less than an ounce. In 2014, he was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell, and was incarcerated for two years.[4][11]

Career

2015–2018: Career beginnings and Harder Than Ever

At age seventeen, Lil Baby was a regular presence in the studio of Atlanta-based Quality Control Records as a drug dealer. Label founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee encouraged him to become a rapper, as he felt Baby had "the swag... the lingo, [and] respect around the city".[10] Fellow rappers Young Thug and Gunna served as Baby's mentors in developing his style.[12][13] He released his first mixtape, Perfect Timing, in April 2017 with appearances from Young Thug and Lil Yachty.

Another mixtape, Harder Than Hard, followed three months later. In October, he released his third mixtape in six months, 2 The Hard Way, a collaboration with friend and fellow Atlanta rapper Marlo. A fourth mixtape, Too Hard, was released in December, led by his hit single "Freestyle" and accompanying music video. It was certified gold by the RIAA in February 2020.

With his career gaining momentum, Baby released his debut studio album, Harder Than Ever, in May 2018. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200.[14] The album was supported by the singles "Southside" and "Yes Indeed" (with Drake), the latter peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. "Life Goes On" featuring Gunna and Lil Uzi Vert charted at 74 on the Billboard Hot 100.[15]

Lil Baby formed his own label, 4 Pockets Full (initialized 4PF) in 2017.[16][17] Rappers 42 Dugg and Rylo Rodriguez are signed to the label. In 2023, the label was renamed to Glass Window Entertainment.

2018–2019: Drip Harder and Street Gossip

Lil Baby in 2018

After Lil Baby released Harder Than Ever, he released the collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with Gunna on October 5, 2018. The lead single, "Drip Too Hard" went on to become certified Diamond by the RIAA[18] and 4× Platinum by Music Canada.[19] The song peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. The mixtape was released under the labels Quality Control, YSL Records and Motown/Capitol.

In September 2018, Baby appeared on the Adult Swim television series FishCenter Live.[20] In November 2018, he released his mixtape Street Gossip.[21] In December 2018, Baby collaborated with Yung Gravy on the latter's single, "Alley Oop".[22]

He starred in the 2019 film How High 2, a sequel to the 2001 stoner film How High, which premiered in April 2019, on MTV.[23] In June 2019, Baby and Future released a single titled "Out the Mud".[24] In July 2019, Lil Baby appeared alongside DaBaby on the single "Baby", released on Quality Control's second studio album, Control the Streets, Volume 2. The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.[25]

In November 2019, Baby released his single "Woah" as the lead single for his second studio album My Turn.[26] The song peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Baby was featured on YouTuber KSI's track "Down Like That" with Rick Ross and British producer S-X, and performed it for KSI's boxing match against Logan Paul.[citation needed] In November 2019, Baby released a song from the film Queen & Slim titled "Catch the Sun", which subsequently appeared on My Turn.

2020–present: My Turn, The Voice of the Heroes, and It's Only Me

In January 2020, Lil Baby released the second single, "Sum 2 Prove", for his album, and it reached number 16 on the Hot 100. The album, My Turn, was released in February 2020, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.[27] It features guest appearances from Gunna, 42 Dugg, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Wayne, Moneybagg Yo, Young Thug and Rylo Rodriguez. My Turn produced 12 songs that appeared the Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving him a career total of 47 songs on the chart, tying him with Prince and Paul McCartney.[28]

Following the release of the album's deluxe version on May 1, My Turn returned to the top spot on the Billboard 200. In June 2020, Lil Baby released the political track "The Bigger Picture", amid the George Floyd protests. The song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lil Baby's highest-charting song as a lead artist.[29]

On June 26, Lil Baby was featured on American rapper Lil Mosey's song "Back at It". "Back at It" is the lead single of Lil Mosey's deluxe edition of Certified Hitmaker.

His song "We Paid" featuring 42 Dugg from the My Turn deluxe peaked in the top 10 of the Hot 100. In July 2020, Lil Baby was featured on Pop Smoke's "For the Night", from his posthumous debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. The track reached number six on the Hot 100. In September 2020, My Turn became the first album of the year to be certified double platinum by the RIAA. "The Bigger Picture" received two nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.[30]

In March 2021, Lil Baby performed "The Bigger Picture" at the Grammy Awards in 2021 to mostly positive reviews.[31][32][33][34] The following day, another collaboration with Drake, "Wants and Needs", debuted at number two on the Hot 100. Passing a previous peak and debut with "The Bigger Picture" for Jones, becoming his highest-charting song overall.[6]

In June 2021, Lil Baby released his collaborative studio album with Lil Durk, The Voice of the Heroes.[35] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

In September 2021, Lil Baby was featured on the song "Girls Want Girls" from Drake's sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy. The song debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, tying their previous collaboration "Wants and Needs" as Baby's highest-charting song overall.[citation needed]

In December 2021, Lil Baby was featured on the album, Live Life Fast, by Roddy Ricch on the album, Lil Baby appears on the thirteenth track titled, "Moved to Miami".

In February 2022, "Do We Have a Problem?" – a collaboration with Nicki Minaj– was released, along with a music video starring the two.[36] In March 2022, Lil Baby was announced as one of the headliners for J. Cole's Dreamville 2022 Music Festival.[37]

Lil Baby is the subject of the documentary film Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby, directed by Karam Gill, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2022 and was released on Amazon Prime Video in August 2022.[38]

In April 2022, Lil Baby released the singles "In A Minute", and "Right On", which peaked at number 14 and 13 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.[39] In September, he released the promotional single "Detox".[40] In October, he released the single "Heyy" as the second single to his forthcoming album It's Only Me.[41] The album released four days later and became his third consecutive number one album.[42]

Personal life

Jones has a son from a relationship with former girlfriend Ayesha. He later dated model and entrepreneur Jayda Cheaves.[43][44] She appeared in the music video for his song "Close Friends".[45][46] On February 18, 2019, Cheaves gave birth to their son.[citation needed]

In May 2021, Jones visited the White House along with the family of George Floyd on the anniversary of Floyd's murder.[47][48]

On July 7, 2021, after attending Paris Fashion Week events with basketball player James Harden, Jones was arrested on a drug charge by police in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Harden was stopped but not detained, and both men were soon released.[49][50][51][52]

Discography

Main article: Lil Baby discography
Studio albums
Collaborative albums

Filmography

Awards and nominations

More information Award, Year ...

Tours

Headlining

  • The Back Outside Tour (2021)
  • It's Only Us Tour (2023)

Co-headlining

Notes

  1. Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

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