“I gotta turn my contacts into contracts”, said a former drug peddler and prisoner whose net worth is over $4 million as of 2021. Who are we talking about?
In today’s Rise To Fame, we will look at American Rapper and Songwriter Lil Baby’s career progression and how he went from being a boy selling drugs on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia to topping the Billboard Hot 100 list several times.
Early Life
The original name of Lil Baby is Dominique Armani Jones. He was born on December 3, 1994. Coming from a lower middle class family in Atlanta, Georgia, Lil Baby was exposed to a host of criminal activities taking place in his neighborhood. This eventually became the easiest path for Lil Baby to follow.
Right from his early days, he got involved in peddling drugs on the streets of the suburbs, engaging in gang wars, and more. Having the least interest in studies and academics, he never completed formal education and dropped out of Booker T. Washington High School in the ninth grade.
Lil Baby’s family situation was a messy one. His biological father left his mother when Lil Baby was mere two years old. He has two siblings and they were all raised by a single mother.
Lil Baby Sentenced To Prison
Dominique Armani Jones was charged with possession of drugs with intent to sell among other charges. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Later on in 2013, Lil Baby was found having possession of marijuana and similar case repeated in 2014 when Lil Baby was charged with possession of Marijuana with intent to sell.
Lil Baby was sentenced to a long jail term and once he got out of the clutches of law, he was a changed man. He promised himself to mend his ways and lead a better life from now on. This was the beginning of the Rapper, Singer, and Songwriter Lil Baby we know today.
Lil Baby Releases Debut Mixtape
Lil Baby, along with other close associates decided to start a music record label. 4 Pockets Full (initialized 4PF) and Quality Control Music is an American record label co-founded by Lil Baby in 2017.
Lil Baby released his debut mixtape titled Perfect Timing starring other rapper such as Lil Yachty, and Young Thug. This mixtape was a joint work of Lil Baby’s childhood friends and close associates to ensure it becomes a grand success.
2017 was the make or break year for this young and troubled rapper. Having terrible past experiences in the world of crime, Lil Baby did not let those hold him back rather weaved them into mind-blowing rap songs. He released his second mixtape in 2017 as well. It was called Harder Than Hard. The first two mixtapes created a lot of hype about the audience. The listeners were enthralled by this new rapper in town.
In December of 2017, Lil Baby had made it big by his signature ‘Freestyle’ single in the new rap mixtape ‘Too Hard’.
Lil Baby Becomes All-Genre Artist Of The Year
After his ‘Harder than Hard’ mixtape of 2017, Lil Baby went on to produce massive hit rap songs for the public. In November 2018, he released a mixtape named Street Gossip. In December 2018, Baby collaborated with Yung Gravy on the latter’s single, “Alley Oop” as well.
His other songs such as My Dawg, Ride or Die, My Drip made it to the top 100 in the US Billboard charts. They received huge attention from listeners all over the world.
In his career as a songwriter and rapper, Lil Baby has received the following nominations: three Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and seven BET Awards.
He was titled the All-genre Artist of the Year in 2020 at the Apple Music Awards.
Recent Performances Of Lil Baby
The past one year has proven to be a solid hit for the young rapper. In January 2020, his single ‘Sum 2 Prove’ ranked 16 on the Billboard 100 charts. The album ‘My Turn’ reached Top 1 on the US Billboard 200. ‘My Turn’ went on to become the first album of 2020 to be certified double platinum by the RIAA.
Lil Baby was seen at this year’s Grammy Awards. He performed ‘The Bigger Picture’ for the audience. The next day after Grammy Awards, he released a collab with rapper Drake ‘Wants and Needs’.
In June 2021, Lil Baby released a collaborative album with rapper Lil Durk, The Voice of the Heroes.
Lil Baby’s Love Life
Lil Baby became a father to a baby boy on February 18, 2019. His son is named Loyal and comes from Instagram model and entrepreneur Jayda Cheaves. She was also seen in Lil Baby’s ‘Close Friends’ music video.
He also has a son named Jason Armani from his previous relationship with Ayesha Howard.
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