Happy birthday to Atlanta’s favorite son, Lil Baby! Born Dominique Armani Jones, the rap superstar turned 30 on Dec. 3. This last year has been full of celebrations for him. He recently celebrated his graduation from Harvard Business School last month, and he is gearing up for the release of his new album, WHAM. In celebration of Lil Baby’s 30th, we list his top 5 deep cuts, which means no radio play songs or singles.
5. “Rich Off Pain” ft. Lil Durk and Rod Wave
Lil Baby and Lil Durk blessed the world with a collaborative album in 2021, and “Rich Off Pain” is easily a standout track from it. Rod Wave handles chorus duties on this one as he sings about coming up in the hood and how the pain and trauma led him to get rich. Lil Durk takes the first verse rapping about growing up in Chicago, including stealing money from his auntie before heading to the bus. Lil Baby closes out the song with the best verse of all, switching up the perspective and rapping about why he moves the way he does.
4. “Low Down”
“Low Down” is arguably the most slept-on song on My Turn. Everybody knows the song, now that it went viral during March Madness last year and became a viral trend. But the clapping TikToks wasn’t the reason this song goes hard; it’s what helped the song pop off. On this track, Lil Baby raps about never switching up on his crew as he mixes in some braggadocious bars throughout the verse as well.
3. “Never Needed No Help”
This was the song that convinced me Lil Baby would become a star back in 2018. A lot of people skipped over this song, as it was the last song on Lil Baby’s Harder Than Ever mixtape. This track finds Lil Baby rapping about how he’s never had an issue finding the bag, whether it’s through trapping — or even robbing and now with music — getting the money was never his issue. He also drops bars about not letting the money change him or made him switch up on his boys who he came up with.
2. “A-Town” ft. Marlo
This is that real A-Town. Most people don’t know this one because this song was one Lil Baby’s first tape, but he made an Atlanta anthem. On “A-Town” Lil Baby and Marlo, who passed away in 2020, trade verses about growing up in Zone 6. They talk about some of the crimes they witnessed, some of the family members they’ve lost and even some Atlanta moments that only people from the city will know about. This song hits different for real Atlantans because you’ll pick up on some of the people and spots they both name-drop. Rest in peace, Marlo.
1. “I Remember” ft. Quando Rondo
Another super throwback from Lil Baby. His best deep cut is a song with one of his ops, Quando Rondo. It’s not a real beef — obviously Lil Baby stands with Lil Durk — but that doesn’t downplay how hard this song is. This song finds the rappers reminiscing about their time in jail. Rondo handles the first verse and chorus duties, but Lil Baby comes in and steals the song. He tells the story about his whole jail stint. He starts the verse rapping about getting sentenced and the judge telling his lawyer he’s guilty. He then starts to think about all the pain and shame his mom had to deal with because of his arrest. He continues the rap about the times he committed crimes and dodged jail but wraps the verse up with bars about still having confidence and being the hardest out. Easily my favorite Lil Baby song.
