Lil Baby boldly released his new album, WHAM, in the first week of 2025, a move that many rappers don’t consider. The music industry is typically dormant in the opening week of a new year due to the holidays, but there are some perks. With virtually no one else of such stature coming out, all of the attention is on whoever chooses to put music out; the important part is that they deliver.
For the Atlanta rapper, this album comes at an interesting time in his career. It has been over two years since his third studio album, It’s Only Me, which had commercial success but, culturally and narrative-wise, did not have much longevity. Baby is well beyond his white hot stretch from the early 2020s and is now in the “show-and-prove” stage. If you ask the Internet, he has “fallen off” and his run may be up. However, WHAM—an acronym for “Who Hard As Me” and the first of two albums he plans to release in as many months of 2025—was intended to show otherwise.
What the world received was a 15-track, 41-minute offering including Young Thug’s first feature since getting out of jail in October, the 2024 MVP candidates GloRilla and Future, the highly coveted guest stars Travis Scott and 21 Savage, and more. Much like It’s Only Me, though, this album plays like a lateral move; Baby did not depart much from his formula of trap beats and minimal flows, slightly introspective storytelling and big flexes, and raps utilizing just enough autotune to be considered fringe melodies. There were no sonic “risks” and nothing new about his life to truly hold on to.
This is not to say any of the songs were “bad,” but there is only so long that a consumer can eat the same meal before they grow tired of it and crave something more. If Lil Baby is who he is, then that is something the hyperbolic consumers on both ends will have to accept. It should no longer be a conversation of him “beating the washed allegations” or “proving the naysayers right.” The Baby who released My Turn in 2020 hit a new level and was exciting; and now, five years later after overachieving beyond what people expected, it seems he’s comfortable playing the same hand each time it is his turn again.
Nonetheless, there are a few records fans can pocket and possibly have in mind when it’s time to discuss the best songs of 2025. Here are VIBE’s picks for the five best songs from Lil Baby’s WHAM.
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“Listen Up”
Image Credit: Carol Lee Rose/Getty Images for adidas Basketball We don’t have to explain how crucial an album opener is for the listening experience. It can either land well and heighten expectations for the rest of the album, or falter and make fans feel as though they may be in for something disappointing. “Listen Up” is the former.
It’s refreshing to hear the 30-year-old rapper pivot to a more layered musical production loaded with strings and an airy synth. It feels as though he gathered a live band in the studio and asked for something one would hear in a musical or film for him to rap over. The cinematic aura of the beat and his slower, more pensive flow went hand-in-hand for a powerful introductory song. The beat has such a slow build that the listener almost expects there to be a climax and crescendo where thumping drums would come in, but he and his producers thankfully exercise some restraint
He touches on some of the growth he has experienced lately, spitting, “No more spendin’ more than I’m savin’, lettin’ this sh*t pile/ Livin’ kiddy, that sh*t was corny, I had to switch styles/ Eight M’s on the crib come from Section 8, man, this sh*t wild/ I took the lil’ bros and I mold ’em, they know to hold it down.” The rest of the record finds him acknowledging the difference between him and those who don’t live by a certain code, how the stakes in his life are higher than ever, and sprinkles of sex escapades with women. Overall, “Listen Up” gets WHAM off to a strong start.
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“Dum, Dumb, And Dumber” Feat. Young Thug & Future
Image Credit: Prince Williams/Getty Images for PUMA Lil Baby and his team made a great decision to follow up the strong opener with what a lot of people came to hear: Young Thug’s first guest appearance since his prison release. The record does not disappoint either. Baby bats first, delivering a passable verse and skating over the booming production. Next up, is the high point of the song.
In true King Slime fashion, he does some cocky slick talk before getting into his verse. He raps, “Yeah, ni**a, King Spider back/ I don’t even believe I was locked up, for real, for real/ I was havin’ my way the whole time, fool, you know what I’m sayin’?” It is exactly what fans want to hear from him after the two-year ordeal of chaotic court hearings and YSL members turning their backs on him. He matches the braggadocious energy in his verse as well.
“Shawty mad, ain’t goin’ back and forth/ Never heard a rich ni**a fuss/ Heard these ni**as going out sad/ ‘Rari truck came with a bag/ Only f**kin’ overseas sh*t/ These U.S. bi**hes kinda bad/ College bi**h, I made her leave a frat,” he raps. His flows and delivery were as precise as ever, a sign of good things to come for whatever music he has in store for fans. Future’s verse was good, too, nothing particular to write home about, but the track gave Atlanta “Big 3” energy which will remind people of what city has been at the top despite a “resurgence” from the West Coast in 2024. Welcome home and thanks for your service, Thug.
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“I Promise”
Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Fanatics “I Promise” is equal parts triumph and catharsis. Lil Baby reflects on what he has endured en route to success, and his disdain for women who have done him wrong in the past. One of his strengths is putting these gripping narratives over turn-up beats that you could listen to while laying on a beach.
The second verse is especially salient. “I iced you out and had you shinin’, but you really shady/ You brought it up a couple years ago, we still debatin’/ We barely know each other names, how you gon’ keep the baby?/ I can’t believe you ungrateful, I paid off your Mercedes/ You came around a couple times, but we ain’t never dated/ I know that you was f**kin’ broke, but I ain’t never say sh*t,” he rapped.
Even with his massive success over the years, there is audible survivor’s guilt and pain that Baby still grapples with. There are times when he dabbles in it, but records like these, where it’s fully laid out, are some of his strongest. It’s also an affirmation, punctuating his visible insistence on persevering and overcoming whatever comes his way.
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“By Myself” Feat. Rod Wave & Rylo Rodriguez
Image Credit: Prince Williams/WireImage “By Myself” is the first time Lil Baby adapted his style to a guest star and it worked to his avail. The production veers into somber trap elements that Rod Wave has become highly popular for over the last few years, opening the door for his undeniably evocative vocals when it comes time for his verse.
Rod is a difficult artist to characterize. He sings over rap beats, thus making it hard to compare him to a pure rapper. However, there’s no denying that he had the best performance here with his moving chorus. “Got all of this money pilin’, Lord, I wanna ball forever/ You know I could really use Your help, yeah/ Thousand on a tractor-trailer, shoutout to my cousin, dog/ I couldn’t have did it by myself, yeah,” Wave belt. “Okay, time and time again, I gave you last chances/ Love life in the end, at least my pack landed/ Thousand on a tractor-trailer, shoutout to my cousin, dog/ I couldn’t have did it by myself, yeah.”
Rylo Rodriguez also put forth a strong effort, employing his signature drawl and catchy punchlines. On a few occasions, the features on WHAM are what solidify what the best records are. Again, with Baby not changing up much of his style, the reality is what it is. You can’t always do things by yourself.
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“Outfit” Feat. 21 Savage
Image Credit: Prince Williams/WireImage This standout record played more to 21 Savage’s strengths than Lil Baby‘s. The production comes in at a slower BPM, loaded with hi-hats and space for a myriad of flows. Savage is known for a calculated delivery full of punchlines and wordplay, so Baby adapted to that style and it separated from his usual faster cadences.
“We got sticks for them ni**as and smoke too/ Need to call the opps vibes, they h*es too/ Probably wouldn’t step on sh*t with a old shoe/ I got rich and I iced out the whole zoo,” 21 raps. “If she bad and she quiet, I go through/ Slow music, she f**kin’ me slow too/ I’m an R&B ni**a off Pro Tools.”
Admittedly, this track doesn’t meet the excellence of their 2018 collaboration “Can’t Leave Without It” which also featured Gunna, but it is one of the best and most memorable songs on the album simply for their lyrical performances. When two guys known to kill features in the past join forces, magic can happen. They definitely caught lightning in a bottle here.
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