Atlanta established itself as one of the most important hubs in Hip Hop. From OutKast to Lil Baby, the capital of Georgia has produced numerous rappers who have become some of the biggest stars in the entertainment business.
Last month, Atlanta recognized Lil Baby’s accomplishment by presenting the Quality Control Music recording artist with his own day in the city. November 13th is now Dominique “Lil Baby” Jones Day in ATL.
On the other side of the country, Lil Baby was part of the performance lineup for the LA3C festival in Los Angeles over the weekend. Billboard caught up with the souther rhymer and asked him how he feels about the state of Hip Hop at the moment.
“Definitely, before I start, I will definitely give a big, big shout-out to Atlanta. The whole city. I definitely appreciate them for giving me recognition like that,” responded Lil Baby.
He continued, “As far as culture, I feel like I been feeling. Atlanta is like the ruler of the culture as far as Hip Hop… It hasn’t been a new artist in like the last two or three years that really just emerged. But for the most part, I feel like Atlanta is still the ruler of Hip Hop’s core of culture.”
Lil Baby Has Been Compared To 2Pac & Called “Short Bus Baby” In Recent Weeks
Lil Baby added to Atlanta Hip Hop’s legacy by releasing It’s Only Me in October. The 23-track studio LP opened at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 216,000 first-week units. Baby also made history this year when he managed to have 25 songs chart on the Hot 100 at the same time.
Benzino, the former owner of The Source magazine, recently praised Lil Baby for being the “most influential and important” Hip Hop artist of the current era. The reality show veteran even claimed Baby is this generation’s 2Pac.
However, Baby also received criticism from a prominent media figure. DJ Akademiks referred to the 28-year-old rapper as “Short Bus Baby.” The outspoken Off The Record podcast host took issue with some bars supposedly directed at him on Baby’s It’s Only Me album.
It’s Only Me became Lil Baby’s third project to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. He also scored a Number One with My Turn in 2020. Plus, the collaborative effort, The Voice of the Heroes with Chicago’s Lil Durk, debuted at #1 last year.