Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter born in Atlanta, Georgia on December 3, 1994. He was raised by a single mother in the Oakland City neighborhood. Jones dropped out of Booker T. Washington High School in the ninth grade and became involved in street life, leading to multiple arrests. Following a two-year prison sentence for a probation violation, he began his rap career in 2017.
Career Beginnings
Encouraged by Quality Control Music's Kevin "Coach K" Lee, and mentored by fellow Atlanta rappers Young Thug and Gunna, Lil Baby released his first mixtape, Perfect Timing, in April 2017. This was followed by a series of mixtapes that year, including Harder Than Hard, 2 The Hard Way (a collaboration with Marlo), and Too Hard, which featured his hit single "Freestyle". These early projects helped him gain significant recognition in the trap music scene.
Rise to Prominence
Lil Baby's debut studio album, Harder Than Ever, was released in May 2018 and debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album included the hit single "Yes Indeed" featuring Drake, which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year, he released the collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with Gunna, which featured the diamond-certified single "Drip Too Hard". The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a Grammy nomination. He closed out a successful year with the release of his solo mixtape Street Gossip, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
Continued Success and Chart Domination
In 2020, Lil Baby released his second studio album, My Turn, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and spent five weeks at the top, becoming the best-selling album of the year. The album featured the hit singles "We Paid" and "The Bigger Picture," a protest song released in response to the murder of George Floyd. "The Bigger Picture" became his highest-charting song as a lead artist at the time and earned two Grammy nominations. The following year, his collaborative album with Lil Durk, The Voice of the Heroes, also debuted at number one. In 2022, he earned a Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his feature on Kanye West's song "Hurricane".
Recent Work
Lil Baby's third studio album, It's Only Me, was released in October 2022 and became his third project to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. The album spawned three top-ten singles: "California Breeze," "Forever," and "Real Spill". He has also been featured on several successful tracks, including Drake's "Wants and Needs" and "Girls Want Girls," both of which debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2023, he founded his own record label, Glass Window Entertainment, under which he has signed artists like 42 Dugg and Rylo Rodriguez.