Lil Baby argues rap has not returned to 2020’s sales peak
After “FRESH,” he told DJ Clue that the genre’s commercial climate has shifted and said he plans to keep releasing through it.
Lil Baby performs at Openair Frauenfeld on July 11, 2019. This unrelated file photo predates FRESH and does not show the ClueRadio conversation. Photo: Frank Schwichtenberg / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. Frank Schwichtenberg · Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 · Resized for display.
Complex reported November 13 that Lil Baby discussed the “fell off” debate in a conversation with DJ Clue on ClueRadio. He argued that hip-hop no longer moves the numbers it did in 2020: “Nobody does the numbers that they did in 2020.”
His answer to the “fell off” talk
Baby used the run of his 2020 album My Turn as a comparison point, describing how expectations for street rappers have changed since he started releasing music. Those are his observations about the market, not an independently measured sales trend.
He also argued that rap needs more feel-good music and pointed to “Dead Fresh,” from his November 6 album FRESH, as his own example. His view on the genre’s direction is one part of a broader answer to criticism focused on his recent releases.
On whether he would keep releasing into a softer market, Baby said artists have to “beat the curve.” He told Clue he plans to keep dropping rather than wait for sales to match his 2020 peak.
