- Success can be a hard recipe to duplicate.
Is it good timing, a sprinkle of good luck,
a dash of good connections,
or just seasoned with old-fashioned good talent?
Whatever the ingredients are,
Lil Baby found the right amalgamation
to keep them eating well for a long time.
(hard trap beat)
While other people see some of their favorite rappers
through screens,
Lil Baby knew all those cats by their government names.
How?
Because he was friends with them.
The Atlanta native grew up in the Oakland city neighborhood
and was always a person who everyone wanted to know.
His friends became some of the most popular artists of
today.
Young Thug, Lil Yachty, Migos.
But it took some convincing to get him in a booth.
He had the personality to make the heads
of Quality Control Music take notice
and see what he was capable of.
He created 'Perfect Timing' as his introductory mixtape,
and immediately created a buzz.
As a Quality Control artist, Lil Baby was able
to build a solid mixtape collection
before releasing his first mainstream album,
'Harder Than Ever,' in 2018.
The album was well-received, critically and commercially,
but it wasn't just his innate talent.
It was also his proficient work ethic
that allowed him to go from a mixtape legend
to a certified platinum artist.
Before Lil Baby was tripping people over his rhymes,
he was tripping over his own wave
by making youthful mistakes.
With a few locked-up stints under his belt,
Lil Baby knew that his future wasn't behind bars
and after being released, decided to go full force
in the opposite direction
and start working on music.
His songs are not glorifying his past to his listeners,
but trying to illustrate the reasons to avoid it.
Sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know.
And when creating his first mixtape, he asked some
of his well-known friends to get on a few tracks.
This type of partnership was ingenious,
because he was able to build his fanbase with a feature,
but turn those listeners to fans with his own talent.
In 2017, he released '2 the Hard Way,'
with fellow Atlanta rapper, Marlo,
and a solo mixtape entitled 'Too Hard.'
While both tapes began to garner him more attention,
it was the single freestyle from the 'Too Hard' album
that truly made waves.
The accompanying music video has
over 400 million views to date.
In June of 2021, Lil Baby went back to his partnership roots
with Lil Dirk, and released the collaborative album,
'Voices of the Heroes' to favorable reviews.
But the album represented more than
just two artists working together.
It was an exemplary showing of two
talented black men working together
in an attempt to create something monumental.
The way Lil Baby rides the beat with this flow,
his willingness to support and work with other artists,
and his lyrical content help pave the way for how
the world embraces his talent today.
During a time that left some speechless with anger,
pain and confusion,
Lil Baby became the voice of people who didn't know how
to interpret the pain and anger of being black in America.
With his song, "The Bigger Picture,"
he was able to express the frustration
that defined 2020 and 2021.
With his song, "My Turn", he became tied
with Prince and Paul McCartney
with 47 songs to chart on the Billboard charts.
While showing his support for his own community,
Lil Baby was also amidst the masses while protesting
for black lives, and accompany George Floyd's family
as they met with vice president Kamala Harris
at the White House.
Some people might have to mix, measure and swap out
ingredients to achieve success.
And some are just experts in the kitchen.
Though no one recipe is perfect for everyone, Lil Baby
proves that you can taste your own version of success
when you embrace the ingredients that you have.
Thanks to Lil Baby, we'll all keep eating
what he's serving for as long as
he stays in the rap kitchen.
(hard trap music outro)