There are some Hip Hop fans and pundits that are ready to proclaim Lil Baby as the new King of the South. Over the last three years, the Quality Control Music representative picked up Platinum plaques for bodies of work like 2018’s Harder Than Ever and 2020’s My Turn.
The commercial and critical success of My Turn earned Lil Baby placement on numerous music publication’s best-of-the-year lists. His protest anthem “The Bigger Picture” also received nominations at the Grammy Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards.
Additionally, My Turn was named the Recording Industry Association of America’s Top Album for 2020. Lil Baby also won the Apple Music Award’s Artist of the Year for 2020, was cited as Vevo’s Most Watched Artist of 2020 in the United States, and selected for Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 list.
With those many achievements, it is understandable why so many people believe the King of the South crown rests comfortably on Lil Baby’s head at the moment. It appears this is not the first time the rap star born Dominique Armani Jones has been considered royalty by others.
This morning, Lil Baby uploaded brief videos to his Instagram Story that featured pictures of a pre-teen Dominique. In one photo, the future three-time Grammy nominee is seen wearing a dark suit, a golden crown, and a blue sash.
Lil Baby’s caption for the clip reads, “Brown Middle School… real Atlanta. I been piped. Y’all n##### wasn’t Mr. 6th Grade!!” Moments later he posted a second throwback pic of himself from his days as a middle school student.
If the product of Southwest Atlanta continues to extend his impressive run as a Hip Hop superstar, his name may be cemented in the conversation about the greatest rappers of this era. Earlier this year, Lil Baby was asked who he thinks will be Hip Hop’s other Most Valuable Players for the 2020 decade.
“For the whole 2020s? Roddy Ricch for sure. DaBaby for sure. You take me out of there, Megan Thee Stallion. Them three is solidified,” said the 26-year-old hitmaker. “There might be three new of them three times before 2030, and with me? That’s four. So there’s gonna be four new of us 2030 the way it’s going. But the way we’ve solidified our spots, we’re here. That little crew, I think we’re the leaders of the new generation.”
Lil Baby does not seem to be slowing down as he continues to march towards securing his name among the greats. He recently declared his desire to follow in the footsteps of billionaire rap legend Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. Apparently, two long-teased projects are up next – the Lamborghini Boys compilation and a collaborative effort with Chicago’s Lil Durk.
