Lil Baby has had quite the music career. Raised in Atlanta, the “Harder Than Ever” rapper has gone from a life of crime to one of luxury and fame due to his success in the music industry.
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Recently, the Atlanta rapper became a Harvard man, graduating from the “Launching New Ventures” program at the university’s business school. With that in mind, The Root felt it was the perfect time to look back at the emcee’s journey,and what challenges he had to overcome to reach where he is now.
Atlanta born and raised
Dominique Armani Jones was born on Dec. 3, 1994, in Atlanta. He lived with his mother and two sisters.
Drug dealing past
Baby dropped out of Booker T. Washington High School on the West side of Atlanta after only his freshman year to become a full-time drug dealer. He was arrested and charged several times for possession with intent to sell.
Prison
Baby admits to being put in jail multiple times throughout his life. The first time he went to jail was at 12 years old. After catching so many cases and constantly being sent to jail, he was sent to prison for two years at 19 for violating his probation.
Beginning of music career
Before going to prison, Baby already had an interest in music, spending a lot of time at the studio for Quality Control records. Once he got out of prison, he started to focus strictly on music and eventually released his first mixtape, “Perfect Time,” in 2017.
”Harder Than Ever”
After releasing several other mixtapes, including “Harder Than Hard,” “2 The Hard Way,” and “Too Hard,” Lil Baby released his debut studio album, “Hard Than Ever” in May 2018. While there were several popular tracks on the record, the song that helped boost his popularity the most was “Yes Indeed” which features Drake.
”Drip Harder”
Just five months later after releasing his debut studio album, Lil Baby collaborated with Gunna to drop the mixtape “Drip Harder.” The project went on to become a massive hit, with the lead single, “Drip Too Hard,” eventually being certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling more than 10 million records.
”My Turn”
His second studio album, “My Turn” was released in February 2020, just a month before the COVID-19 pandemic. The record featured several popular records, including “Sum 2 Prove,” “Woah,” and “Heatin Up.”
”The Bigger Picture”
To show solidarity with those protesting the murder of George Floyd, Lil Baby dropped, “The Bigger Picture,” a song that comments on the police brutality and the systemic racism occurring in the country. The track became Baby’s most popular record and was nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2021 Grammys.
”The Voice of the Heroes”
Lil Baby had the itch to drop another collaborative album, and released “The Voice of the Heroes,” with Chicago rapper Lil Durk in June 2021. The album includes the tracks “2040,” “Hats Off,” “Man of my Word,” and “How It Feels.”
”Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby”
As one of the biggest rap artists in the world, a documentary titled, “Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby” was released in August 2022.
”It’s Only Me”
The last studio album Lil Baby released was “It’s Only Me,” in October 2022, which includes the songs, “In a Minute,” “Right On,” and “Stand On It.”
Family
Lil Baby has two sons, Loyal and Jason, from his past relationships with Ayesha Howard and Jayda Cheaves.
Label
In the middle of his career, Baby started the label 4pF, to help put other artists on. In August 2023, he changed the name of the label to Glass Window Entertainment. Currently, his only signees are 42 Dugg and Rylo Rodriguez.
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