Dominique Armani Jones[3] (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes Harder than Hard and Too Hard — the former of which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its lead single, "My Dawg."[4] He signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records to release his debut studio album Harder Than Ever (2018), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Yes Indeed" (with Drake). Later that year, he released the collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with fellow Georgia-based rapper Gunna, and his solo mixtape Street Gossip; the former spawned his second top-ten single "Drip Too Hard", while the latter peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
Jones was born and raised in the Oakland City neighborhood in Southwest Atlanta, Georgia.[9] He was two years old when his father left the family. His mother raised him and his two sisters. He dropped out of Booker T. Washington High School in ninth grade and committed to drug dealing.[10]
In early 2012, he was charged for possession with intent to sell, among other charges. In 2013, was charged with possession of marijuana of less than an ounce. In 2014, he was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell, and was incarcerated for two years.[4][11]
Career
2015–2018: Career beginnings and Harder Than Ever
At age seventeen, Lil Baby was a regular presence in the studio of Atlanta-based Quality Control Records as a drug dealer. Label founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee encouraged him to become a rapper, as he felt Baby had "the swag... the lingo, [and] respect around the city".[10] Fellow rappers Young Thug and Gunna served as Baby's mentors in developing his style.[12][13] He released his first mixtape, Perfect Timing, in April 2017 with appearances from Young Thug, Gunna (rapper), and Lil Yachty.
Another mixtape, Harder Than Hard, followed in August 2017. In October, he released his third mixtape in six months, 2 The Hard Way, a collaboration with friend and fellow Atlanta rapper Marlo. A fourth mixtape, Too Hard, was released in December, led by his hit single "Freestyle" and accompanying music video. It was certified gold by the RIAA in February 2020.
Lil Baby formed his own label, 4 Pockets Full (initialized 4PF) in 2017.[16][17] Rappers 42 Dugg and Rylo Rodriguez are signed to the label. In 2023, the label was renamed to Glass Window Entertainment.
In September 2018, Baby appeared on the Adult Swim television series FishCenter Live.[20] In November 2018, he released his mixtape Street Gossip.[21] In December 2018, Baby collaborated with Yung Gravy on the latter's single, "Alley Oop".[22]
In November 2019, Baby released his single "Woah" as the lead single for his second studio album My Turn.[26] The song peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Baby was featured on YouTuber KSI's track "Down Like That" with Rick Ross and British producer S-X, and performed it for KSI's boxing match against Logan Paul.[27][28] In November 2019, Baby released a song from the film Queen & Slim titled "Catch the Sun", which subsequently appeared on My Turn.
2020–2022: My Turn, The Voice of the Heroes, and It's Only Me
Following the release of the album's deluxe version on May 1, My Turn returned to the top spot on the Billboard 200. In June 2020, Lil Baby released the political track "The Bigger Picture", amid the George Floyd protests. The song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lil Baby's highest-charting song as a lead artist.[31]
On June 26, 2020, Lil Baby was featured on Lil Mosey's single "Back at It"— which would appear as the lead single of Mosey's deluxe edition of Certified Hitmaker.[32][33] Lil Baby’s song "We Paid" featuring 42 Dugg from the deluxe reissue of My Turn peaked within the top-ten of the Hot 100. In July 2020, Lil Baby was featured on Pop Smoke's "For the Night", from his posthumous debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. The track reached number six on the Hot 100. In September 2020, My Turn became the first album of the year to be certified double platinum by the RIAA. "The Bigger Picture" received two nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.[34]
In March 2021, Lil Baby performed "The Bigger Picture" at the Grammy Awards in 2021 to mostly positive reviews.[35][36][37][38] The following day, another collaboration with Drake, "Wants and Needs", debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Passing a previous peak and debut with "The Bigger Picture" for Jones, becoming his highest-charting song overall.[6] In June 2021, Lil Baby released his collaborative studio album with Lil Durk, The Voice of the Heroes.[39] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
In September 2021, Lil Baby was featured on the song "Girls Want Girls" from Drake's sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy.[40] The song debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, tying their previous collaboration "Wants and Needs" as Baby's highest-charting song overall.[41] On December 16, 2021, Lil Baby was featured on the song “Moved to Miami” by Roddy Ricch from Ricch’s second studio album Live Life Fast— the track would later peak at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100.[42] In February 2022, "Do We Have a Problem?" – a collaboration with Nicki Minaj was released, along with a music video starring the two.[43] In March 2022, Lil Baby was announced as one of the headliners for J. Cole's Dreamville 2022 Music Festival.[44] Lil Baby is the subject of the documentary film Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby, directed by Karam Gill, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2022 and was released on Amazon Prime Video in August 2022.[45]
In April 2022, Lil Baby released the singles "In A Minute", and "Right On", which peaked at number 14 and 13 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.[46] In September, he released the promotional single "Detox".[47] In October, he released the single "Heyy" as the second single to his forthcoming album It's Only Me.[48] The album released four days later and became his third consecutive number one album.[49]
Personal life
Jones has a son from a relationship with former girlfriend Ayesha. He later dated model and entrepreneur Jayda Cheaves.[50][51] She appeared in the music video for his song "Close Friends".[52][53]
On February 18, 2019, Cheaves gave birth to their son.[54][55]
On July 7, 2021, after attending Paris Fashion Week events with basketball player James Harden, Jones was arrested on a drug charge by police in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Harden was stopped but not detained, and both men were soon released.[58][59][60][61] For this offense, Jones agreed to pay a fine.[62]
On August 26, 2024, Jones was arrested in Las Vegas on a concealed weapons charge.[63][62] He was detained at Clark County Detention Center, and was soon afterwards released after posting a $5,000 bond.[63][64]