Superstardom doesn’t come often in Hip-Hop. Sure, new stars pop up practically every day with hit songs, viral dances, and daring new styles, but it’s rare for them to actually transition into real-deal superstardom. Even the biggest Hip-Hop fans would likely be hard-pressed to list off five superstar rappers that debuted within the last five years. However, one artist whose name will almost inevitably be brought up in that conversation is Lil Baby.
Back in 2020, the Atlanta native reached new heights with his sophomore studio album My Turn, which arrived via Quality Control Music and quickly became one of the best-selling albums of the year. Spawning hit singles such as “We Paid,” “Woah,” and “Heatin Up,” My Turn solidified Lil Baby as one of the leaders of the new generation of rappers, an achievement that was illustrated by the high-profile collaborations with J. Cole, Lil Durk, Drake, Kanye West, and Nicki Minaj in the years to follow.
In 2022, Lil Baby became a Grammy award-winning rapper, a repeat Billboard chart-topper, a budding label executive, and a household name to rap fans across countless ages. After My Turn launched him into the superstar stratosphere, expectations for his solo follow-up increased tenfold, and after a considerably longer wait for new Lil Baby music than usual, the self-proclaimed hero is back with his highly anticipated third studio album, It’s Only Me.
Before even diving into the music on the new record, the album cover conveys a lot of what you need to know about It’s Only Me. With painted artwork that’s purposefully similar to the now-iconic cover of My Turn and the background presence of a Mount Rushmore-esque monument that only consists of sculptures of Lil Baby’s likeness over the course of the last five years, it’s evident that It’s Only Me marks the continuation of the path that he’s been carving out for himself. The cover suggests that rather than starting a new chapter of his career, Lil Baby is bringing this era to a close in a noticeably grander fashion. No longer is he the must-watch rapper on the rise, Lil Baby has arrived at the top, and as his new album’s title suggests, he’s in a league of his own. But does the music capture that sentiment as well as the cover art does?
For the most part, yes.
Across 23 tracks and a runtime of one hour and five minutes, Lil Baby is on top of his game on this one. Starting with the intro “Real Spill” — which is arguably leagues ahead of “Get Ugly” in terms of being an impressive and enthralling amuse bouche — Lil Baby gets right to businesses and employs a subdued, lyric-driven delivery that reigns king on It’s Only Me. Later on “Heyy,” he goes on to address this stylistic approach by rapping: “You gotta really pay attention, I'm not mumblin'.” While he ended up giving listeners that disclaimer on the fourth track, it’s clear from the onset of this album that Lil Baby has a lot that he’s trying to get off his mind.
On the Sade-sampling intro track “Real Spill,” Baby delivers telling one-liners — like, “Super supertitious, ask my n*ggas, I still pick up pennies” and “They gon' say that I been actin' different, I'm beyond they mental/I moved on from slangin' drugs and pistols, can't be thinkin' simple" — that illustrate the Atlanta rapper's growth as a man and as a rapper since he dropped off My Turn in 2020. The following track, titled “Stand On It,” picks up the tempo and injects a welcomed dose of energy into It’s Only Me’s opening stretch, but self-aware lyrics like “I'm tryna touch me a billi', still hustle like I'm on zero/Really done saved some n*ggas, that's why they call me the hero" prove just how focused and hungry Lil Baby is on his third studio outing.
Even “Heyy,” the abysmally transparent attempt at recreating the viral success of My Turn’s “Woah,” keeps that trend going, as the verses between the less-than-stellar hook are overflowing with memorable lines and funny stories about Lil Baby’s experience with fame. In the song’s second verse, he raps, “They see how we comin', think we ghetto/Until they children tell 'em I'm their hero/Flight attendant said I look familiar/Crack a smile, tell her, 'It's a small world,'" and it makes for a comical moment from an artist who doesn’t typically show the more lighthearted side of his persona inside his music. Interestingly enough, the featured guest on the third track, “Pop Out,” is Nardo Wick, and while Lil Baby’s first verse offered another round of quotable lines — from “You the type of guy that want the 'I' for rеal, you all so selfish/I'm the type of guy rеady to die for this shit if it gon' prevail us” to “We handled the business like gentlemen, I can't rock with thugs/Jeff can get ten M's if he needed it, you know I rock with Thug” — the “Who Want Smoke?” rapper stole the show with a menacing, yet humorous performance over the stark Trademark, Eza, and ShortyyK-powered production.
Heading into the fifth track upon first listen, it didn’t seem like Lil Baby was building enough momentum and loading up the bases with strong enough tracks, but lo and behold, “California Breeze” easily became the first song on It’s Only Me that he knocked out the park. It wasn’t quite a grand slam due to the underwhelming nature of the previous four tracks, but it was the big, impressive moment that the album needed. The atmospheric Murda Beatz and Mars production offered a gripping alternative to the Atlanta rapper’s trap-heavy soundscapes, and — judging from how effortlessly Lil Baby floated over the beat — it’s certainly a style that he should consider exploring more.
From that point on, the Quality Control artist appears fully warmed up and more locked in than he was during the opening stretch, and over the next handful of songs, he plays with different sounds and vibes to deliver more standout tracks such as “Perfect Timing,” “Never Hating,” and “Waterfall Flow.” In the second half of the album, Lil Baby enlists his 4PF signee Rylo Rodriguez for a strong guest spot on “Cost To Be Alive,” which — for nostalgia’s sake — is bolstered by a sample that sounds eerily similar to the sample from J. Cole’s Friday Night Lights mixtape cut “Cost Me A Lot.” With a sensational feature from Future shortly thereafter, it’s worth noting that Lil Baby did an excellent job in curating his features on It’s Only Me. There are only six guest artists spread across a 23-track album, and an overwhelming majority of them — from Nardo Wick to Rylo Rodriguez — are very impressive.
The final stretch of the album, like the opening one, isn’t the most sonically memorable collection of Lil Baby songs, but once again, it cannot be overstated how lyrically robust even some of the less enjoyable songs on It’s Only Me are. Slightly plagued with skippable tracks rather than bad ones, Lil Baby’s latest effort is merely one that benefits immensely from multiple, thorough listens. For the first time on a Lil Baby full-length, the music feels extremely vulnerable and transparent, and where It’s Only Me lacks in fresher and more experimental sounds, it excels as a lyric-driven offering that gives listeners a better idea of who Lil Baby is.
The album officially wraps up with “Russian Roulette,” a hard-hitting track and confident final statement that closes out an impressive, yet somehow underwhelming third studio album from Quality Control’s marquee act.
In the months and years following the release of My Turn and its unbelievably amazing deluxe, Lil Baby has consistently risen to the occasion whenever an immense opportunity has landed in his lap. From his scene-stealing performance on Drake’s “Wants and Needs” last year to his infectious contribution to Nicki Minaj’s “Do We Have A Problem” earlier this year, Lil Baby has worked tirelessly to put himself in a league of his own, and perhaps It’s Only Me is the result of that. Over the course of 23 tracks, Lil Baby doesn’t worry about grabbing or keeping your attention — he already knows he has it. As a result, Lil Baby’s latest body of work isn’t one of the more exciting albums in his growing catalog, but that isn’t to say that it’s a weak record. Rather than owing its success to flashy features and high-octane production, It’s Only Me is best characterized by its honest — and still incredibly quotable — lyrics, unexpectedly intense moments of introspection, rare moments of stellar sonic experimentation, and a very recognizable growth in Lil Baby as an artist and as a person.
Being the people’s champ is hard work, but on It’s Only Me, Lil Baby holds firm to that title with ease, delivering a worthwhile follow-up to My Turn that his continuously growing fanbase can appreciate.
Let us know what you think about HNHH‘s review of It's Only Me in the comment section below, and give Lil Baby’s latest record your own rating at the original album post here.