When Lil Baby first started to pop off near the end of the 2010s, many people billed him as the next up. He was being hyped up as someone with the potential to be one of the greats. This sentiment comes not only from fans, but also from artists such as Drake, Lil Wayne, and Future. The former two artists even donned him as the heir to Trap music that was going to carry on their legacy. He became beloved for his intricate flows and his interesting tones, setting himself apart from the other Melodic Trap artists also coming up. Lil Baby’s legendary run that started this kind of love and admiration for his music started in 2017 when he dropped his mixtapes Harder Than Hard and Too Hard. He followed these tapes up with the release of his debut album, the super well-received Harder Than Ever in the spring of 2018. Later that year, he dropped a joint mixtape with his frequent collaborator Gunna called Drip Harder. After dropping another mixtape to close out 2018 called Street Gossip, Lil Baby dropped his second album, My Turn, in 2020. He followed up this one by collaborating on an album with Lil Durk in 2021 called The Voice of Our Heroes. It was around this time, though, that the reception of Lil Baby’s music started to become a bit lukewarm. It seemed like was not adapting or updating his sound in any way; what you get is what you get. The budding exasperation for Lil Baby’s sound kind of continued over the next year or two. This was definitely accentuated by his fallout with Gunna due to the YSL crime family situation. It seemed like people were gravitating more towards Gunna than Lil Baby, as people saw Gunna as someone who has some variance, while Lil Baby was staying the same. Lil Baby’s third album, 2022’s It’s Only Me, was not nearly as admired as his previous releases. Although the album did reach number on the charts, the overall consensus seemed to be that the Melodic Trap game was slowly starting to leave him behind. To start 2025, Lil Baby released his fourth studio record, WHAM. Unfortunately, the public opinion on this record is pretty similar to his last one. There is a good amount of quality on the record, but it kind of is what it is. WHAM feels bloated because not only is it 19 songs of a pretty similar sound, it is also pretty similar to everything he has always dropped. Below, I do want to highlight some of the best songs from WHAM, though, and then get into some more overall thoughts to close things out. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from Lil Baby’s WHAM, and also comment on how you feel about it as a whole.
‘DUM, DUMB, AND DUMBER’ WITH YOUNG THUG AND FUTURE
If there is one song from this record that is no doubt going to pop off and be a mainstay for the rest of 2025, it has got to be ‘Dum, Dumb, and Dumber.’ When the tracklist for this record was dropped, my first thought when I saw this one was that it better be a banger. A song featuring both of these artists, especially considering this is the first thing Young Thug has been on post-incarceration, better be damn good. Fortunately, that is totally the case. ‘Dum, Dumb, and Dumber’ is a massive track with a sound that matches the stature of the artists performing on it. The instrumental for this track is very anthemic. The melody has a bit of a forewarning tone but also feels triumphant. It is driven by blaring horn-sounding synths that are complemented by some lighter synths and sound effects. The beat on this one is pretty intricate and conquering sounding as well, definitely matching the energy of the melody. Lil Baby sounds solid on this track, but I have to say the highlights are his features. Both Young Thug and Future(especially Future, to be real) more than bring the juice on this one, rapping their asses off and turning this one into an anthem. ‘Dum, Dumb, and Dumber’ is a track with a lot of expectations, and it does live up to them.
‘F U 2X’
‘F U 2X’ is one of the only songs I picked for this list that does not have a feature on it. This is because it easily contains one of Lil Baby’s most captivating performances on the record. At 1:57, this is easily one of the shortest songs here. This song is a flash in the pan; it comes and goes as an intense burst of energy. Admittedly, the instrumental for ‘F U 2X’ is not the most complex or exciting compared to the other songs here. The melody and beat are pretty even-keeled. The melody has a very dreary and low tone, and the beat hits very hard but does not have anything about it that necessarily makes it stand out a ton. As I said above, though, Lil Baby’s rapping is what makes this track special. I really like how his rapid-fire tone contrasts with the steadiness of the beat. He does not fluctuate his tone too much, but his low and raspy delivery does make this one feel extra imposing. ‘F U 2X’ is a moment where Lil Baby just raps his ass off and shows that he still has that sauce.
‘REDBONE’ WITH GLORILLA
‘Redbone’ easily has one of the hardest and quirkiest instrumentals of the project. This is a track that goes a bit against the grain of what one may expect from Lil Baby in terms of instrumental. Don’t get me wrong, its sound is adjacent to the Melodic Trap Lil Baby usually makes. It feels a bit more current, though. This is mainly due to the high-pitched, robotic sound effects and synths that complement the main piano riff that drives this one. The beat for ‘Redbone’ is also a bit more upbeat than what Lil Baby usually raps on, which adds to the song’s eccentric energy. Lil Baby does not really match the energy of the instrumental, though, rapping with a pretty typical tone and flow for him. This actually works well, as GloRilla, however, more than matches the energy of the instrumental, delivering a larger-than-life verse. The juxtaposition between their styles of delivery does give the song an interesting texture that is very catchy. Lil Baby may not go out of his comfort zone in terms of his delivery on ‘Redbone,’ but I do appreciate the switch-up in instrumental style, and I also dig GloRilla’s contribution a ton.
‘BY MYSELF’ WITH RYLO RODRIGUEZ AND ROD WAVE
‘By Myself’ is a song that completely stands out on this tracklist. Out of everything on this record, this one is by far the least like the others. When I listen to this instrumental, it honestly makes me think of Rod Wave’s music more than anything else. In a way, this feels a bit more like a Rod Wave song featuring Lil Baby and Rylo Rodriguez instead of vice versa. The melody for this track is pretty soft and sultry. The tone synths that drive this track are very warm and inviting, really contrasting the angry sound that the rest of the record has. The beat for this one has a pretty laid-back and slow Pop-Trap tempo to it that matches the charming feeling of the melody very well. Lil Baby surprises me with how natural he sounds on this one. I wish he went in this direction with this music more often, as he proves his tone and flow actually work really well with this kind of melody. Both of his features sound great as well. Both Rod Wave and Rylo sing with tones that contrast each other and Lil Baby’s very nicely, giving the track a cool texture. ‘By Myself’ is a moment where Lil Baby goes out of his comfort zone, and it pays off in a big way.
‘STUFF’ WITH TRAVIS SCOTT
You know how I said that the instrumental for ‘By Myself’ made it seem more like a Rod Wave track than a Lil Baby one? Well, we get that feeling again on ‘Stuff’ with Travis Scott. If you were to tell me this instrumental was a throwaway from one of Travis’ pre-Astroworld releases, I may be inclined to believe you. This instrumental just has the kind of floaty and atmospheric melody and beat that Travis Scott thrived on back in the day. This instrumental is very enjoyable for what it is worth, even if it feels a tiny bit outdated. I will say that both Lil Baby and Travis Scott kill in on this track. Considering that this kind of instrumental is pretty typical for Travis Scott, it is obvious that he would sound natural on it. I am a little bit surprised at how good Lil Baby sounds on ‘Stuff’ as well. His higher pitch and choppy flow fit the floaty feeling of this instrumental super well. ‘Stuff’ is certainly not a very inventive song, but it is still enjoyable for what it is.
‘OUTFIT’ WITH 21 SAVAGE
‘Outfit’ is probably the song with the overall weirdest instrumental of the album. Like ‘Redbone’ with GloRilla, this song is significantly harsher and more foreboding than most of the rest of the record. Unlike that one, though, there are not any light or fresher-sounding synths to brighten this track up, though. Instead, everything about ‘Outfit’ is extremely gritty and grating. The melody, if one can call it that, sounds like something straight out of a horror movie; it has such a dark and mean feeling to it. The beat for this track goes crazy. This song has the kind of glitchy and heavily distorted beat that one may expect to hear from artists like Ken Carson or Destroy Lonely; this song gives the song an ultramodern feeling that stands out. The way that Lil Baby’s flow and melodic tone contrast the gruff and sing-songy flow that 21 Savage raps with makes this song pop. As cool as the instrumental is, I would say 21 Savage’s performance takes the track over the top, as not only does he sound great in his own right, but the way he differs from Lil Baby adds to the song’s excitement. ‘Outfit’ is a song that is carried by its features and by the instrumental, but it is still pretty fun to listen to regardless.
‘99’ WITH FUTURE
I had to close out the list with the other moment on the record where we see Future. I am always someone who is going to be attracted to any song with a Future feature, and ‘99’ is no exception to that. As far as the instrumental goes, this may be the most tame and cookie-cutter one on this list. To be honest, it has the kind of tone that a lot of the other songs on the list that I did not pick. ‘99’ ultimately has a sound one would say is pretty typical to hear from Lil Baby. The melody is pretty triumphant sounding but also has a forlorn feeling to it. The horns that drive this one are big and mighty, but they have a tone that could suggest that something ugly is on the horizon. I like how choppy and rickety the beat for this track is. The way that the hi-hats rattle gives the song an anxious element that fits well with the melancholy feeling of the instrumental. When listening to ‘99,’ I will be honest, I do not notice Lil Baby’s verse too much. Future is the one that truly stands out on this one. That is not to say that Lil Baby’s flow and tone are bad, but Future just has this commanding presence that really drives the song’s quality for me. Like ‘Outfit’,’ ‘99’ is definitely carried by its features, but Lil Baby does not take anything away from it, and it is ultimately a banger that is pretty fun to listen to.
I will admit, I did not go into WHAM with super high expectations. Like a lot of people. I was pretty underwhelmed with what he has put out over the last couple of years. As a rapper, it did not seem like he was regressing, but it did not seem like he was improving or changing at all. Everything he was putting out just sounded like what he had already released. If I wanted to listen to Lil Baby music which is very similar to what he has always done, I would just go back and listen to the songs that I fell in love with when he first started making hits. Ultimately, WHAM is pretty much what I expected it to be. This just sounds like a 19-song album of standard Lil Baby music. That is not necessarily a bad thing; if you are still a fan of what he was doing 5 years ago or so, there is a lot to love on this album for you as well. As you see above, though, I only picked one song for the list without a feature; also, I picked every song that has a feature. That is because the features kind of carry this album. On all of those tracks with features, I basically said that the feature ended up being more pronounced and engaging than Lil Baby did. He did not drag any of those songs down in any way, but his features are what made me want to listen to them. Do not get me wrong, there are a couple of other solo Lil Baby moments on the record that are worth noting. I almost picked ‘Say Twin’ and ‘Drugs Talkin,’ because those songs have something to love about them as well. On WHAM, what you see is what you get. It will probably not pull in any new Hip Hop fans, but that is okay. I would hope that Lil Baby’s biggest fans are at least pretty satisfied with this one, and that should be enough.
EAST SIDE VIBES 