Lil Baby started his rap career in 2017, and within nine months released four mixtapes, one of which featured the much-buzzed-about "My Dawg." The 23-year-old Atlanta native is wasting no time racking up significant features and co-signs. Lil Baby's 2018 collaboration with Drake titled "Yes Indeed," off his debut album Harder Than Ever, soared into the Billboard Hot 100, earning him his first Top 10 hit. His Harder project series also included features from Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Offset, Gunna and Lil Yachty.
The fresh rapper's earliest co-sign came from former high school classmate Young Thug, who endorsed Lil Baby's first mixtape. But it's his latest co-sign that may end up being the most important one to date. On June 12, when XXL Magazine dropped its annual "Freshmen Class" cover, Atlanta heavyweight 2 Chainz weighed in, declaring Lil Baby as one of the young rappers he believed was snubbed from the list.
Seeing as Lil Baby has already overcome personal adversity (having served a prison stint for violating probation before starting his career), I doubt being left off any list will make him flinch. If anything, it will feed into what he calls "4PF," a mindset he came up with in prison that's about ambition and the idea of striving to "have four pockets full."
He's slated to team up with Gunna next—another snubbed emerging emcee, in my opinion. The two are rumored to be combining forces for a Drip Harder joint project.
