LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� While Lil Baby鈥檚 new album blares loudly in the living room, the Atlanta-born rapper stands in the kitchen of his $20 million Bel Air home singing to his son, who dances along on FaceTime.
For Lil Baby, living in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the U.S. would have been unfathomable several years ago. He was released in 2016 after being incarcerated on a drug charge and had no intention of starting a rap career until Quality Control founders Kevin 鈥淐oach K鈥� Lee and Pierre 鈥淧鈥� Thomas saw tremendous potential.
鈥淚 knew Baby had a hustler鈥檚 spirit,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淎ll he had to do was transfer his energy from whatever he was doing to the music. He鈥檚 got that hustler鈥檚 mentality of the first one getting up and last one going to sleep. He grinds nonstop. I just knew if he transferred all that energy, he was going to grind all the way to the top.鈥�
Lil Baby, 27, initially wasn鈥檛 hard pressed to rap. But once he made it a priority, he . He won over listeners through his infectious singles like 鈥淒rip Too Hard,鈥� 鈥淲e Paid鈥� and 鈥淵es Indeed鈥� with Drake. He鈥檚 worked with some of music鈥檚 best including Future, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne. Earlier this year, he won a Grammy in the best melodic rap performance category for Kanye West鈥檚 鈥淗urricane,鈥� which also featured The Weeknd.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Lil Baby opened up about , his friends and his third studio album 鈥淚t鈥檚 Only Me,鈥� which releases Friday.
Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
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AP: You鈥檝e overcome being a high school dropout and bounced back from serving time in prison. How does it feel now to be successful?
LIL BABY: When I look at everything I had to endure and the process, I think about when I was just sitting in a prison cell to now I鈥檓 living in a pad in California. I feel like anything can happen. Anything is possible. If you believe, you can achieve.
AP: When did you realize you was good with formulating words together?
LIL BABY: Language arts was one of my favorite classes. I could imagine and really write a story about whatever. It could be real or not real. From second to third grade, I always been into writing a good story. Once I got on Instagram, I started realizing that the caption was more important than the picture. Like if you got the right caption, it鈥檒l go viral. The caption has to be hard as my picture.
AP: Your protest song last year. Will you do more racial disparity-type topics in your new music?
LIL BABY: I feel like that鈥檚 something I do in my songs anyway. That was a time where so much was going on. I think it got reciprocated like that. But that鈥檚 a song that could鈥檝e been on my album right now 鈥� without this going on. That鈥檚 how I rap already.
AP: Your new album has 23 tracks. With that good amount of songs, did you think about breaking it up into a double album?
LIL BABY: I could鈥檝e put 15 songs out and just added seven more songs then put out another album. I could put out two albums in no time. But I haven鈥檛 put nothing out in two years. It鈥檚 almost really going on three (years). ... I鈥檓 not going to drop a deluxe.
AP: Your friends Young Thug and Gunna have been jailed since May in a criminal racketeering case. How have you been dealing with that?
LIL BABY: It honestly kind of (expletive) me up, like on a day-to-day. I try my best not to think of it. I haven鈥檛 been talking to Gunna as much, but I talk to Thug often. It鈥檚 one of those things I try to keep off my mind. If I think about it too much, I get deep into it. It鈥檚 the fact that I know the situation of where we are and what we鈥檝e overcome. I know them personally. I know what they鈥檙e doing and what they are not to a certain extent. To know the picture that they are painting isn鈥檛 really them. It鈥檚 really scary. I鈥檓 in that same position. They could be painting the same picture to me. I know for a fact that鈥檚 not what it is. But I鈥檓 also seeing people in jail when I know it鈥檚 not what it is. It kind of (expletive) with your insanity a little bit.
AP: Since you communicate with Thug the most, what advice have you given him?
LIL BABY: I tell him to read. This is a time when we got to do what we to get through this situation. Just read. Stack up on your knowledge. It鈥檚 nothing else to do. Get you some real good books. Let that be the reason.
AP: Are you more conscious of your lyrics now?
LIL BABY: Yep, by default. It automatically makes you conscious. I can say something crazy that I never did. I know that. But with everything going on, I ain鈥檛 going to say that. I鈥檓 scared for someone who would try to make something that鈥檚 not. I try my best. We鈥檙e rappers. We鈥檙e used to saying a lot of stuff that鈥檚 not true, that didn鈥檛 happen. It鈥檚 art. It鈥檚 your imagination. You can go as far as you want to take it. But now, I have to be very mindful, because I know as much as people who are listening to what I鈥檓 saying is a critic.
AP: In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed the decriminalizing artistic expression act. How do you feel about it?
LIL BABY: It鈥檚 a major impact. But I think it鈥檚 a catch with this lyric thing. It鈥檚 dead (expletive) wrong to try to use your lyrics and convict you of something you鈥檙e just saying. It鈥檚 also (expletives) wrong for putting stuff in your music that you鈥檙e actually doing. It鈥檚 a strong battle in that right now.
As a rapper and a person, I鈥檓 leaning more towards decriminalizing lyrics, so it鈥檚 doesn鈥檛 get brought up in court. But I ain鈥檛 advertising or applauding the people who are actually going out here on nonsense and putting it in their songs. You got to get it how you live, but it鈥檚 a finesse. You can finesse it into the music. That鈥檚 the art of it. That makes it a craft. You can go out there and do something 鈥� good, bad, wrong. And then be able to come back and make it into a song. Make art out of it. You don鈥檛 have to be direct and say exactly what happened. You fabricate it. It鈥檚 art. You give it how you imagine.
AP: Anything you want to do outside of rap?
LIL BABY: I鈥檝e been telling my team to put something together for a cartoon. My baby mother and her friends, they got like a TV show on BET, 鈥淭he Impact: Atlanta.鈥� I co-produce that. I鈥檓 into stuff. My momma is trying to come up with a show about the pressure that rap moms have to go through 鈥� to be a parent of someone in hip-hop. I got my team trying to come up with a show around that. I got a couple of ideas. I鈥檒l be around.
AP: You were singing to your son over FaceTime. How do you juggle being a rap star and father of two boys?
LIL BABY: Everything is great, except me being in this position, I just don鈥檛 have enough time as I want. I want to be there, but I want to build this legacy. It (expletive) with my time with them. That鈥檚 the only problem I have in life: Finding time with my kids. I can say that I don鈥檛 want to go to work and have all the time in the world for them. But that won鈥檛 lead to the life I want to build for them or the life I want for myself.
AP: What kind of life do you want for them?
LIL BABY: I inspire my kids to be business owners and legacy holders. I鈥檓 a first generation millionaire. I鈥檓 trying to keep it going for as long as possible. So my children are in a big situation. They hold the fire, really. I created it as the first generation. I鈥檓 going to make sure I pass it on. They have to make sure they pass it onto the next generation and so forth.
Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press
