By Jack Barnes

Lil Baby’s new album cover for It’s Only Me. Image credit: Quality Control Music.

When I pressed play for the first time and heard the soft tones of the new Lil Baby album It’s Only Me, I was ecstatic. Little did I know, though, that once I got about mid-way through the album, I would be underwhelmed, and I’d still be disappointed as the last song ended. The Atlanta rapper is known for his lyrical genius, with flow unlike any other. However, he did not step up to the plate and knock it out on his new album.

Dominique Armani Jones, also known as Lil Baby, is a 27-year-old rap artist from Atlanta, Georgia. Some popular songs of his are “Freestyle,” “My Dawg,” and “Drip Too Hard.” The rapper has settled into his fame and fortune and has moved past trying to make it out. He now appears in commercials and has a documentary called Untrapped: The Story Of Lil Baby on Amazon Prime Video. Lil Baby began rapping in 2017 and has not looked back since. He has dropped 11 albums, six mixtapes, 86 singles, and has 57 songs as a featured artist. He has won one Grammy, five BET awards, one IHeartRadio award, and one MTV award. Throughout the early stages of his career, Lil Baby has accomplished more than many rappers have, winning awards, gaining streams, fans, and popularity. 

Lil Baby performing in Germany in 2019. Photo credit: Frank Schwichtenberg via Wikimedia Commons.

Lil Baby dropped his new album It’s Only Me on October 14. He had hyped up the drop date to his millions of fans to increase popularity and spread the word to new listeners. He had taken to twitter and instagram, claiming, “I kno its been Along time coming but I’m coming harder and harder…#worththewait.” The album dropped at midnight and consisted of 23 songs, lasting an hour and five minutes. Some immediate hits on the album were “Danger,” “Heyy,” and “California Breeze.” These songs grabbed fans’ attention, as the lyrics were made to seem “life changing,” according to Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork.

However, many people, including myself and other local fans, felt differently. Collin Kimball-McKavish (‘23) stated, “The album is mid.” Norfolk Academy senior Jack Gross stated, “The album was forced and only had two good songs.” Porter Vaughan (‘23) and Saint Christopher’s School senior J.J. Powell both said, “I haven’t listened, but it seems mid.”

Some fans were more impressed. Tucker Smith (‘23) stated “[the album] gets me dialed in for work outs” and that “never hating is underrated.” The most detailed response I received came from my friend Owen Sibley, a high school senior who lives in Texas. Sibley, who was very excited by this album, stated, “Lil Baby’s new album is a musical masterpiece. Mr. Baby has put together an unimaginable conglomerate of musical perfection. He is infallible.” 

Rapper Lil Baby performing. Photo credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images for Visible.

Compared to all the other albums Lil Baby has dropped, this one does not rank highly. While the album did have songs that I believe were strong, not only lyrically but rhythmically as well, the album lacked consistency from song to song. It seemed that Lil Baby had strayed away from his typical music style in some of his songs on the album. I think this attempt of differentiating from his typical style, which often features guitar riffs added with intense ascending or descending piano, began with his collaboration with Ye on the album Donda. Ye has been known as a massive influencer across multiple platforms and an idol for many young and upcoming rappers or other artists. Recently, Ye has faced struggles after controversial behavior and social media posts. He has found himself losing brand endorsement deals with Adidas and many other companies. Ye’s ability to differ from the norm in his music may have influenced Lil Baby to branch out to an area of art where he is not as strong. 

Lil Baby and Drake together. Image courtesy Revive Music. 

It’s Only Me lacked the consistency of Lil Baby’s other albums, such as 2017’s Too Hard and his most recent album, 2020’s My Turn. Lil Baby did not take advantage of having features with other big-name artists on his latest record. On other albums, Lil Baby has collaborated with Drake, Gunna, Lil Uzi Vert, and many other artists. His only big-name feature from his new album was Nardo Wick. After doing a deep dive into this album, it was not a hit for me. Just like many of my fellow students said, the album felt forced. The songs from this album did not flow well together, and I did not feel that all the songs were strong.