Atlanta rapper Lil Baby recently announced the impending arrival of his new project, The Leaks. As a mix of both leaks and unreleased but previewed songs, it was originally expected to drop back during the late summer, but was pushed back indefinitely. Now, it's slated to come out on December 3rd, Baby's birthday.
In the lead-up to this drop, Lil Baby has supplied his fans with a steady stream of singles. The majority of them were a part of his recent "WHAM Wednesdays" series, in which he dropped a new song every Wednesday. In total, he has put out 6 different songs in the past month and change.
The consistent output has been really nice, but as we all know, great quantity doesn't necessarily guarantee great quality. On top of that, it's been a while since Baby has delivered a really exciting hit. So, with his new project imminent, how do the songs released in advance of it stack up? Below is a ranking of them from worst to best.
Here's where Lil Baby's new singles stand
6. Real S**t
This one is about as generic and uninteresting as Lil Baby's music gets. The beat, which employs faint strings, is super bare and bland, and Baby sounds like he's just going through the motions as he raps over it. It's listenable, but there's absolutely nothing demanding your attention.
5. Otha Boy
"Otha Boy" is decent, but simultaneously demonstrates wasted potential. On the positive side, the hard, spacey trap production is really cool. At the same time, this song is clearly held back by the lack of vocal control from Baby. He has good energy but isn't always on top of this instrumental. In short, the beat carries.
4. Middle of the Summer
Baby says that he's "still cold" despite it being the "middle of the summer," which would've made a lot more sense if this actually came out back then. Putting that aside, the flow Lil Baby uses here is really steady and measured. Maybe it's a bit too casual for this horn-dominated beat, but it works well enough. The instrumental is pretty good, too.
3. Try To Love
The sleepy, love-centric trap angle this song goes for doesn't necessarily play to Lil Baby's traditional strengths, but it goes over better than expected. The instrumental is a vibe, the modulated hook works, and Baby's verse gets the job done. Again, he's not the most natural fit, but he matches the song's tone well.
2. All On Me
"All On Me" is solid all the way around. Lil Baby gives one of his more locked-in rap performances in recent memory. A G Herbo feature in the song's second half is a welcome addition, too. Instrumentally, this beat is tailor-made for introspection while also including a recognizable sample of Heather Headley's "In My Mind."
1. Plenty
YTB Fatt, YFN Lucci, and Baby each take turns spitting confident verses, all while demonstrating good variety with their styles and vocal deliveries. The dizzying string loop in the instrumental is a standout and genuinely pretty unique. This is a really fun collab, and it's basically impossible not to nod your head while listening.