Lil Baby: Apple Music Awards 2020 Performance

Atlanta rapper Lil Baby seemed to be everywhere in 2020. When he wasn't performing on live streams and enjoying a bevy of awards and accolades, he was soundtracking this unprecedented time with a slew of feature verses to complement his own stunning album My Turn, which arrived just weeks before pandemic-related lockdowns started in many places in the US. It was this staggering, conversation-dominating presence that helped earn him this year's Apple Music Awards Artist of the Year honours. Part autobiography, part fantasy, this performance to celebrate his Award win takes place on location in his West End neighbourhood. “Growing up, I only imagined getting rich in Atlanta. I ain't never know about being able to touch the whole world,” he tells Apple Music. “The ultimate vision was to stay Lil Baby—show them a little bit more in depth, because, you know, I show a lot, but I don't show a lot. There's a whole world of me that people don't get a chance to see and that I really don't like showing like that.” With home as his backdrop, he crafts a visceral and candid journey that burrows into the inspiration behind his music through cuts like “Humble”, “Social Distancing” and “Gang Signs”. There are scenes that deal with matters of the heart, friends-and-family affairs and street violence to reveal the kinds of experiences that inform the rapper's compelling tracks. This year, that sound travelled around the world, captivating listeners everywhere even as they were forced to largely sit in place. “The last year has been one of the craziest ever. I had a tremendous year in my music career and also because of the whole corona pandemic thing,” he says. “The way I've been moving through the pandemic has been super challenging for me because I'm not a person who's used to staying in a house. It actually helped me in ways—I had a chance to sit down and actually do some of the things I needed to do.”