It's Bigger than Black and White: Lil Baby's Bigger Picture

Early Life

• Born in December 1994, Jones was raised by his single mother in Atlanta Georgia.

• Despite being a good student, Jones frequently got into trouble at school, leading him to drop out in the 9th grade.

• In 2014, Jones served 2 years in state prison for drug and gun charges.

Early Life

Rise to Fame

Rise to Fame

• Following his release from prison, Jones began producing music under the name Lil Baby.

• After only two years of making music under a record label, Lil Baby has had numerous Billboard top 100 hits, and was awarded Best New Artist at the 2019 BET Awards.

• His musical success has made him a household name in the rap community.

Hip-hop and Counterculture

Hip-hop and Counterculture

Most scholars agree that hip-hop culture originated as a response to systemic racism in the 1970s. At a time where people of color were blatantly denied opportunities of employment and were being targeted by police oppression, hip-hop formed as an opportunity for people of color to succeed financially and express themselves creatively. (Rivas, 2014) Hip-hop was a way for these young people of color to survive in their financially struggling and racially oppressed communities. Early pioneers of hip-hop such as Run DMC and Grandmaster Flash "focused on challenging the status quo and raising awareness on racism, mass incarceration, and oftentimes capitalism itself as a devastating political economy." (Rivas, 2014) Early hip-hop culture stood as a form of social resistance against dominant ideologies. James Lull writes that "Audience interpretations and uses of media imagery eat away at hegemony" and that "hegemony fails when dominant ideology is weaker than social resistance." (Lull, 65) These early hip-hop pioneers became the faces of that social resistance, and their music acted to challenge dominant ideologies that had been (and still are) terrorizing black and other minority communities in America.

Capitalist Distortion

Capitalist

Distortion

Like all forms of culture in America, capitalism plays a major role in the mass distribution of music. John Story offers a definition of popular culture as being "hopelessly commercial." (Storey, 8) In line with this definition, we see examples of commercialization in nearly all mainstream music that is widely distributed today. Luis Rivas for the Sundial writes that mainstream hip-hop today is comprised of "hyper-produced, overly-polished, consumerist, sexist, mindless, heartless, cultureless dance beats sold to you as hip-hop." (Rivas, 2014) Mainstream hip-hop artists are used as marketing ploys - a direct tool to convince the consumer to buy their music or the products they are paid to endorse. This capitalist distortion in the hip-hop industry leads to a significant lack in authenticity and meaningful messages in the music we hear on the radio. As a result, the majority of mainstream hip-hop we hear today does very little to challenge dominant ideologies like sexism and systematic racism, and in many cases it strengthens these dominant ideologies. There are, however, some exceptions.

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And it is precisely because of hip-hop's ability to survive, to teach survival, to unite people, to give an expression for oppressed people, that it can be used as a culture of challenging oppression while raising consciousness.

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-Luis Rivas

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I find it crazy the police'll shoot you and know that you dead, but still tell you to freeze

Fucked up, I seen what I seen

I guess that mean hold him down if he say he can't breathe

1

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In this line, Lil Baby takes a firm stance on police brutality being absolutely unacceptable. He cites the recent murder of George Floyd, along with others who have been recently killed by excessive use of police force. His reference brings up a dominant ideology that African Americans are perceived as dangerous by the police, and require excessive use of force in order to be restrained. The murder of George Floyd perfectly displays this ideology, as Floyd died as a direct result of being restrained excessively - to the point where he could not breathe. Lil Baby, along with others in support of the Black Lives Matter movement use the murder of George Floyd and others as an example of how excessive use of force by police is racially motivated, and that there needs to be change in the way that police detain subjects.

Analysis

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It's bigger than black and white

I'ts a problem with the whole way of life

It can't change overnight

But we gotta start somewhere

Might as well gon' 'head start here

We done had a hell of a year

I'ma make it count while i'm here

God is the only man I fear

2

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Every colored person ain't dumb and all whites not racist

I be judging by the mind and heart, I ain't really into faces

3

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Corrupted police been the problem where i'm from

But i'd be lying if i said it was all of them

4

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Lil Baby makes it very clear in these lines that the Black Lives Matter movement isn't about white people versus black people, rather it is a unified fight of all people against racism. This line is absolutely crucial to his narrative of unification in the fight for social justice. Lil Baby recognizes and makes clear that the Black Lives Matter protests aren't challenging all white people, they are rather challenging racism as a whole. He uses the same method to explain that, while police corruption is a serious issue, he does not believe that all cops are bad people. Protesters are very frequently misrepresented by the media as being extremists. This misrepresentation is an injustice to the BLM movement, as it oftentimes portrays protesters as being racists themselves. Lil Baby challenges this misrepresentation by depicting this movement as being about moral principles, rather than race.

Analysis

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Crazy, I had to tell all my loved ones to carry a gun when they going outside

Stare in the mirror whenever you drive

Overprotective, go crazy for mine

You gotta pay attention to the signs

5

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I see blue lights, I get scared and start runnin'

That shit be crazy, they 'posed to protect us

Throw us in handcuffs and arrest us

While they go home at night, that shit messed up

Knowing we needed help, they neglect us

Wondering who gon' make them respect us

6

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Lil Baby explains in these lines the fear associated with being a black young adult in America today. Lil Baby grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. A city known for both violence and police corruption. Lil Baby suggests that he's lived his life in fear of the police, as well as in fear of violence from people in his community. He brings up another point about white supremacist ideologies in authoritative power in America. Throughout American history, laws and policy have targeted black communities. Lil Baby argues that police today are trained to detain, arrest, and institutionalize black people instead of protecting the communities they live in. Lil Baby suggests that despite all the progress for racial equality in the history of America, systemic racism still exists and is actively terrorizing black citizens and other minorities. These lines add fuel to his argument that change still needs to be made when it comes to conquering social injustice.

Analysis

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Seems like we losing our country

But we gotta stand up for something, so this is what it comes to

Every video I see on my conscience

I got power, now I gotta say somethin'

7

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I Can't Like Like I don't rap about killing and dope, but I'm telling my youngins to vote

I did what I did 'cause I didn't have no choice or no hope, I was forced to jump in and go

Got time to be serious, no time for no games

We a'int takin' no more, let us go from them chains

8

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Analysis

In these Lyrics, Lil Baby takes on a responsibility that many artists in his field would not. He admits his history of rapping about violence and drugs, but suggests that now is not the time to be promoting violence through his music. He recognizes the influence he has on America's youth, and states that now is "time to be serious" when it comes to fighting for social justice. Lil Baby holds himself accountable for glorifying violence through his music, but shows maturity in the fact that he feels morally responsible for influencing America's youth negatively through his music. The maturity involved to not only admit this, but to also donate all proceeds from this track towards supporting social justice movements, shows that Lil Baby is breaking free from producing music with the sole intent of making money. Lil Baby is instead using his platform to promote justice and fight for change, instead of capitalizing on opportunities for financial gain through his art. These facts, along with the message delivered in "The Bigger Picture" lead it to being a popular culture artifact that stands to significantly influence social progress.