by Lil Baby
Released October 14, 2022 via Quality Control Music / Motown / Wolfpack / 4PF
Reviewed October 24, 2022
Top tracks (based on community voting)
Never Hating (42%), Pop Out (38%), Stand On It (29%)
It’s strange to think, Lil Baby should be considered a “vet” in today’s hip-hop landscape, the same way a 24-year-old NBA star becomes considered such after signing his second contract—despite being a “pup” in most facets of life. Many play the game while few stay around at the highest level, pushing many rappers to evolve regularly as we seemingly age them in dog years. Lil Baby appears to be in the throes of a race against himself, It’s Only Me marks six commercial projects (three albums, a mixtape, two collab LPs with Gunna and Lil Durk) since he hit the scene four years ago. It’s Only Me is aptly and eerily titled, as a number of Baby’s closest peers are currently fighting for their lives in the YSL RICO trial. Much of Baby’s third solo record reflects heavily on his position, though not efficiently, as it seems he could express himself poignantly in a fraction of the runtime this record amounts to. A handful of high points and well-placed features make It’s Only Me a tolerable listen, and Lil Baby’s strides as a rapper are worth noting, but his increasing abilities have yet to fully translate into album building qualities. – DeVán (6.5/10)
DeVán: 6.5/10 | Jacques: 6/10 | Cam: 5.8/10 | Dominick: 5.5/10
Community Reviews:
It's not the worst thing ever. Lil Baby sounds hungry enough to keep me engaged most of the time, it's just that Lil Baby really lacks the versatility or charisma to make an album of this length and redundancy interesting throughout. – @andre_vital_pardue (5/10)
