![]() If Lil Baby wanted to make the jump to the Kendrick/Bad Bunny/Harry Styles level of stardom (and accompanying first-week numbers), he could probably stand to pull back on the regular releases and maybe turn his albums into more discrete projects and eras, building a more pronounced sense of anticipation for each new song when it arrives. Perhaps It’s Only Me bows with an even bigger equivalent album unit total had one of those pre-release singles caught fire, but even without it, Lil Baby dominated this chart week.Īndrew Unterberger: Effective for maintaining, but not necessarily effective for growing. Jason Lipshutz: In this case, the release strategy was half-effective - those new songs didn’t become hits, or at least, hits of the stature of Baby’s most effective crossover singles - but they did keep him top of mind ahead of the It’s Only Me release, and that may have helped deliver the best Billboard 200 debut of his career. Thanks to that formula, his fans stood by him and showed up on his big day. Like I previously said, despite his singles not having the same luster as his previous ones, Baby remained a formidable contender in-between releases because of his consistency. Hence, when It’s Only Me dropped, fans knew what to expect and hadn’t forgotten about him, so they flocked to stream the album.Ĭarl Lamarre: If you couple Baby’s features with his slow-churning output, this is a smart recipe to success: If you feed your fans, they won’t yearn for more music. ![]() I think the consistent rollout of tracks keeps Lil Baby relevant in the press and among hip-hop fans, while giving him time to work on his full album. Rania Aniftos: Definitely, especially in the hip-hop scene, with new rappers budding up in the game all the time. 1 with Lil Durk, The Voice of the Heroes, by 66,000. The new album’s numbers also surpass those from 2020, and considering he’s now got 25 songs on the Hot 100, it’s clear that demand has only increased for Lil Baby. 1, this time with 216,000 equivalent album units earned, exceeding his 2021 No. 28, exactly two years from its release. The new set, It’s Only Me, once again debuts at No. Lil Baby appears to be established enough now to not really have to worry about pushing back against the tides an enviable spot for 99% of rappers right now.Ĭhristine Werthman: Grown. 2020 was a banner year for Lil Baby, as My Turn debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 with 197,000 equivalent album units earned - and then he just kept going, as “The Bigger Picture” turned into an anthem for those marching in Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, and was nominated for two awards at the 2021 Grammys. Luminate named My Turn the biggest album of the year in 2020, and this year, it was certified quadruple platinum on Feb. My Turn was the project that lit the fuse for Lil Baby as a modern hip-hop superstar, and It’s Only Me continues his prolonged explosion.Īndrew Unterberger: Maintained - which is hard enough to do, especially when nothing you’ve released in the last two years has really cut through in a major way, and the streaming ecosystem is constantly shifting behind you. Jason Lipshutz: Grown. Lil Baby has a much bigger profile than he did two-and-a-half years ago, with more hits, high-wattage collaborations, larger performance venues, and now, an even bigger No. When Baby trucked his way into rap supremacy, he was armed with a bevy of singles like “We Paid,” “The Bigger Picture,” and “Emotionally Scarred.” This time around, he doesn’t have any surefire hits, but his consistency post My Turn has garnered loyalty from his core fanbase, along with new fans he’s picked up on the road. It’s the fact that he’s a full-blown artist with fans that love his music, and this confirms his staying power in the music world.Ĭarl Lamarre: For someone who achieved superstar success in 2020, I think Baby’s appeal has grown since then, especially knowing he doesn’t have a traditional hit record behind this album. Rania Aniftos: Grown! A second album as a solo star topping the Billboard 200 is an impressive feat, proving that it wasn’t just hype that launched My Turn to the top of the chart. ![]() ![]() ![]() It’s been two years since My Turn officially introduced Lil Baby as a solo superstar - does this reception for It’s Only Me tell you that his status has grown, fallen, or maintained in the years since? Is the album a step up for Lil Baby? And where would we have him go next? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.ġ. ![]()
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