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The last time Lil Baby dropped an album, the state of Atlanta hip-hop was still very much in flux. It was 2022, Young Thug and Gunna, two of the city’s biggest stars, had just been arrested on RICO charges. And Baby’s album at the time, It's Only Me, had an almost mournful, subdued tone that reflected what the city was going through.
However, with a burgeoning but frantic underground scene and the resurgence of veterans like Future, the city is on the rise again. Which brings us to WHAM, Lil Baby’s fourth studio album and the first major rap release of 2025. Released last night, the album not only kicks off a productive run for Baby—he has a deluxe version on the way, plus another new album, Dominique, coming next month—but also signals the resurgence of one of rap’s most influential cities.
In many ways, WHAM—which is an acronym for Who Hard as Me—honors the late 2010s Atlanta rap scene Baby grew up with. The album features the first new Young Thug verse since his release, as well as appearances from contemporaries like Future, 21 Savage, and producers Wheezy and London on da Track. Baby doesn’t just confine the sound to Atlanta, however, he also connects with artists like Rod Wave, Rylo Rodriguez, and GloRilla.
So...how did he do? And does this album signal something bigger for Atlantra rap? Here are the key takeaways from WHAM.
It was only a matter of time before Young Thug returned from his legally-induced hiatus. He ditched the “First Day Out” route and instead reemerged on WHAM, alongside his longtime ATL pal Future, on “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber.”
The track features triumphant verses from all three, but Thugger makes it clear he didn’t miss a step after spending so much time away from the studio, spitting an exceptional verse. The production from Wheezy is heavy on synths and bouncy bass drums, with Baby kicking things off and employing a flow that is in many ways indebted to his mentor who appears during the second verse. Thug mostly seems at ease on the cut, only dedicating a few bars to his experience in jail.
He raps in a more transitional cadence, spitting: “I don't even believe I was locked up, for real, for real/ I was having my way the whole time, fool, you know what I'm saying?”
Later, he stirred up some controversy when discussing “bad girls,” which left fans confused. He had to take to X to clarify, again proving that Thugger floats on a different wavelength than the rest of us. —Will Schube
Whether or not this is particularly fair to Lil Baby, I’ve always been more attracted by his melodies than his lyrical prowess. Don’t get me wrong, he regularly unloads quotable bars, but his calling card has always been the sticky sweet, lingering melodies he seemingly cooks up out of thin air.
Due to his ongoing drama with Gunna, though, WHAM feels like the first time I’m paying attention to every line out of Baby’s mouth, hoping to catch some insight into his relationship with his former collaborator. We never get anything super explicit, like when Baby caught up with Charlamagne tha God right before the New Year and flat out said that he doesn’t have a relationship with Gunna anymore.
But…there are allusions. As is always the case with the My Turn rapper, he hates rats and backstabbers and anyone who once professed loyalty they no longer possess. On the album, he never suggests that Gunna is in that category, but he did plenty of talking to suggest as much prior to its release. And this conversation isn’t going anywhere.
On Friday morning Gunna’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, responded to snitching allegations against Gunna after a Young Thug leak hit the Internet. —Will Schube
WHAM isn’t particularly heavy on features, at least not by Lil Baby’s typical standards. This might be due to the album’s relatively short length compared to his previous releases. Regardless, he devotes much of the tracklist to solo cuts.
This choice gives added weight to each guest verse, with every rapper bringing their A-game. Thugger and Future both deliver standout verses on “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber.” Elsewhere, Travis Scott offers a vintage performance on “Stuff,” while 21 Savage makes his mark on “Outfit.” GloRilla seizes her moment on “Redbone,” confidently declaring, “My youngest ho like thirty-six,” a line that reminds anyone listening just how competitive the rap game can be.
An unspoken rule in hip-hop is that featured artists step up their effort when collaborating with a major name. The quality of these guest spots suggests that these rappers take their relationships with Baby very seriously. —Will Schube
Lil Baby isn’t always the most emotive rapper. In fact, his steely presence is one of his defining strengths. That’s why it’s always a compelling contrast to hear him collaborate with artists who are the opposite—rappers who wear their hearts on their sleeves, like Rylo Rodriguez and Rod Wave.
They team up on “By Myself,” one of the standout tracks on the album (though the energy of “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber” still keeps it at the top spot). The song—which basically functions as the “Emotionally Scarred” of WHAM—features particularly vivid verses from Baby, where he reflects on a friend who betrayed him. He raps:
“Can't believe they turned their back on meNow my life in shamblesI got money, thought they'd be happy for meThey'd rather see me in shackles”
Baby always shines when he taps into his introspective side. Hopefully, we see more of it this year. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
It’s easy to fall into the rhythms of Lil Baby’s melodic patterns and flows. He likes to stick to his preferred styles, spitting in triplet patterns over bass heavy beats. His melodies often add as much color as the way he delivers his words, but on WHAM, he occasionally veers away from this to exciting results.
On “So Sorry,” he lets the shuffling dance rhythm dictate his vocal performance, tapping into the syncopated pattern, which gives his voice an energy he rarely showcases. There’s an unpredictability to this style, an improvisatory spirit that is both exciting on its face and within the context of Baby’s discography. He generally sticks to his typical flows and ideas he’s spent years honing, but when he ventures into this new territory, the results are exciting. Hopefully the success of songs like “So Sorry” help push Baby into more exotic landscapes in the future. —Will Schube
Even without dropping an album, 2024 was already a successful year for Lil Baby. He delivered some of the best verses of the year—on Central Cee’s banger “BAND4BAND” and 4Batz’s underrated cut “Roll Da Dice.”
In many ways, last year felt like a buildup to this album. But now that WHAM is here, it feels like even more of a buildup. There’s a low-stakes quality to the album that suggests this is just one piece of a larger puzzle. On WHAM, Baby is hyper-focused on making bangers and doesn’t dive deep into the turmoil Atlanta has been facing recently.
WHAM doesn’t quite reach the heights of My Turn—a certified classic and one of the best albums of the decade—but it’s a clear improvement over It’s Only Me. The album is more concise, features a more diverse and interesting production palette (mainly from Wheezy, who steals the show with production that sounds downright majestic). The material covered here is familiar—the life of a hustler—but Baby finds new creative pockets, like on the aforementioned “So Sorry.” That said, the lingering feeling after listening to WHAM is…what’s next —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
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