Review: WHAM by Lil Baby
Lil Baby has built an interesting name in the rap industry. He has millions of monthly listeners, popular features, amazing hit songs and lots more under his belt. But has he lived up to the expectations some predicted back when he started coming up? Has he released great albums? Does his name carry the weight it once promised?
I have developed a love/hate relationship with Lil Baby’s music throughout the years. It usually goes like this: an album is announced, I get excited for its release after revisiting some of the great tracks from his previous albums, then the new album arrives and disappoints me once I listen to that new album from start to finish. This has led me to the conclusion that Lil Baby just isn’t an album artist. He can throw amazing trap bangers at you followed by the most uninspiring music that lulls you to sleep. Is that to change on WHAM?
The album opens with the intro track, Listen Up. The track has interesting violin-based production without drums, fitting for an intro. Unlike his prior albums, the track never develops into the sort of harder trap-like song that you might expect from Lil Baby. It ́s a pleasant surprise though.
After the opener, the first half of WHAM delivers the stronger portion of the album, wrapping up this streak with So Sorry. The first half possesses tracks like Dum, Dumb and Dumber, which immediately took off, no surprises as it goes hard as hell. Highlights also include Redbone and By Myself, which is different from the rest of the album and includes amazing verses from both Rod Wave and Rylo Rodriguez. It is worth mentioning that all of the features are on point and bring value to the record.
One of the clear highlights of the latter half is Stuff, featuring Travis Scott, which I feel no shame in saying is the best verse we have heard from him since Utopia. Stuff is packed and almost feels like a song from Travis' discography, though Lil Baby isn’t falling behind. Unfortunately, this song is the only high point of the album’s second half. Following this track, it begins to stagnate and is unable to conquer mediocracy afterwards.
Tracks like Outfit shine in parts, such as 21 Savage’s outstanding feature and the song’s excellent construction, but are hindered by odd production choices– like the constant whistle appearing throughout the track, which ends up feeling more distracting than enhancing.
Although the record has low points and mediocre tracks, these will be ultimately forgotten and Lil Baby will, at least in my mind at least, be remembered for the highpoints of WHAM. The tracks that stood out to me I enjoyed a lot—quite a lot, in fact. Stuff and Dum, Dumb and Dumber will remain in my rotation for the coming weeks, maybe even months, and once again, I’ll be ready for another Lil Baby project. He is once more showing us what makes his name in the industry: his ability to create hits and amazing bangers. Maybe next time, we’ll get that unreal album we are still waiting for.