Quality Control's rising artist Lil Baby is hoping that with his success, he can influence others to walk a better path. The 25-year-old Atlanta rapper knows what it's like to "run the streets" and get into trouble, and he counts himself as one of the lucky ones who were able to follow an honest career path. In a chat with the ATL's Hot 107.9, Lil Baby talked about advising younger generations to stay in school while also exposing them to the other side of things so he can "show folks something different in life."
"I always hung around n*ggas way older than me so I done seen it all," Lil Baby said. "N*ggas who made it, n*ggas who didn't make it and got killed, n*ggas that went to jail. Ever since I been young I just watch and put what I put with me and became me. It was hard but it could have been easier. I advise all my lil bros like, yeah, y'all go to school. That sh*t matter when you... 'Cause if you do something wrong, you gotta be doin' something right. You get locked up and go to them judges and [tell] them folks like, 'I gotta go to school,' they'll spare you. They'll be more lenient. But when it's like, oh, you don't go to school? You ain't got no job? I got somethin' for you."
He also said just because someone comes from the 'hood, it doesn't mean they can't be successful. "I don't ever really feel like your environment can make you this or that," Lil Baby said, noting that he knows people who came from his neighborhood that received scholarships. "That ain't no excuse. It's basically what you wanna do. I wanted to run the streets so you know where that sh*t landed me, being in jail. It ain't it's all good, flashy. That sh*t be hard." Watch a clip of his interview below.