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Atlanta-bred rapper Lil Baby is charismatic, confident, and overwhelmingly popular on a worldwide level, consistently topping the charts with his rough yet accessible commercially geared sound. Following a series of mixtapes, his popularity exploded in 2018, the year he released his first proper album, Harder Than Ever (which included the Drake-featuring hit "Yes Indeed"), and Drip Harder (a collaborative mixtape with Gunna), both of which entered the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. He hit number one in 2020 with his second studio album, My Turn, and again the next year with The Voice of the Heroes, a collaborative studio effort with Lil Durk. Lil Baby made a habit of dominating the charts, debuting in the top spot once more in 2022 with his third studio album, It's Only Me. Singles such as "Go Hard" and "Crazy" followed in 2023, leading up to the 2025 release of WHAM (Who Hard as Me), which again debuted at the top of the charts.

Lil Baby was born Dominique Jones in Atlanta in 1994. He grew up hanging with friends like Young Thug, Coach K, and Pee, leaning more toward a life of petty crime and street hustling while his friends went on to thrive in the music industry. In 2015, at age 19, Lil Baby went to prison for two years for a probation violation. Upon his release in 2017, he jump-started his rap career with a mixtape called Perfect Timing, released in April of that year. The mixtape featured cameos from friends like Lil Yachty, Young Thug, and Gunna, and strong production from 808 Mafia, Brickz, and many others, highlighted by Lil Baby's woozy flows. The mixtape immediately brought the young rapper fame, in part due to his affiliations with friends in the Quality Control family of artists as well as the Four Pockets Full clique.

As his mixtape attracted more listeners, Lil Baby worked constantly on new music, releasing singles like "My Dawg" and the Young Thug collaboration "Pink Slip" in the summer of 2017. Other releases that year included Harder Than Hard, 2 the Hard Way (with Marlo), and Too Hard. Lil Baby's debut studio album, Harder Than Ever, appeared in May 2018. Featuring guest appearances from Drake, Offset, Lil Uzi Vert, and others, the release entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number three. The rapper's success continued with Drip Harder, a collaborative mixtape with Gunna that was released that October and reached number four on the Billboard 200. Yet another mixtape, Street Gossip, appeared in November 2018. The following year, Lil Baby starred in the film How High 2 and released a handful of singles including the Future collaboration "Out the Mud."

Preceded by "Woah" and "Sum 2 Prove," his second studio album, My Turn, arrived in February 2020 and went straight to number one. Later that year, Lil Baby issued a pair of singles, "On Me" and "Errbody." That June, he released "The Bigger Picture," a protest song responding to police violence and systemic racism. The track entered the Billboard singles chart at number three and was nominated for two Grammys: Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. Lil Baby also performed the song live at the Grammy ceremonies that year. In March 2021, he appeared as a featured artist on Drake's single "Wants and Needs." The song debuted in the number two position on the Hot 100, making it Lil Baby's highest-charting track up to that point. In June of that year, he teamed up with Lil Durk for the collaborative album The Voice of the Heroes. The project featured guest appearances from Rod Wave, Meek Mill, Young Thug, and Travis Scott and debuted at number one.

In early 2022, Lil Baby paired with Nicki Minaj for the singles "Do We Have a Problem?" and "Bussin." He returned with new material of his own in October 2022 with his third effort, It's Only Me, which included appearances from Nardo Wick, Young Thug, EST Gee, and several others, and debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Lil Baby kicked off 2023 with the booming stand-alone cut "Go Hard." This was followed by a guest appearance on DJ Khaled's "Supposed to Be Loved" and the solo singles "Merch Madness," "350," and "Crazy." The 2024 single "Band4Band" with Central Cee, reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Following other tracks like "Roll da Dice" (with 4batz) and "5AM," Lil Baby released "Insecurities," the first single from WHAM (Who Hard as Me). The album was released in January of 2025, and included features from 21 Savage, GloRilla, Travis Scott, and others. ~ Fred Thomas

One of the pre-eminent rappers from the Southside of Chicago, Lil Durk tempers his raw lyricism with pop appeal -- an approach that has proven to be influential in his hometown and subsequent distant scenes indebted to the city's innovative drill movement. Durk set himself apart as a teenager in the early 2010s with numerous mixtapes through his Only the Family label/collective, and has since affiliated with assorted major labels, boosting his commercial exposure with consistently high placements on the Billboard 200. His albums in the latter half of the 2010s ranged from Remember My Name, containing his first RIAA-certified gold single ("Like Me") to Love Songs 4 the Streets 2, his first Top Ten full-length. In the 2020s, the rapper's stature has grown with projects such as the chart-toppers The Voice of the Heroes (a collaboration with Lil Baby) and 7220, followed by the 2023 releases Almost Healed and Nightmares in the Trenches (with Only the Family). Almost Healed was highlighted by the J. Cole-assisted "All My Life," a number two pop hit that won a Grammy in the category of Best Melodic Rap Performance. The album Deep Thoughts appeared in 2024.

Born Durk Derrick Banks, Lil Durk grew up in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. The rapper/singer started issuing mixtapes through his collective OTF (Only the Family) in August 2011 with I'm a Hitta and quickly followed it with I'm Still a Hitta (April 2012) and Life Ain't No Joke (October 2012), the latter of which came out just after the typically melodic and kicked-back "L's Anthem," his debut single for Def Jam. The same year, he was featured on a string of tracks with fellow Chicago natives and close associates like Lil Reese, Fredo Santana, and Chief Keef. "Dis Ain't What U Want," his second Def Jam single, was released in May 2013, just before his affiliation with French Montana's Coke Boys was made official.

Durk's debut album, Remember My Name, followed in 2015 and featured Logic, Jeremih, and King Popo as guests. DeJ Loaf, Yo Gotti, and Young Thug landed on his 2016 LP 2X, which also featured the single "She Just Wanna" (with Ty Dolla $ign). In 2017, Durk teamed up with DeJ Loaf for the single "The One." Several mixtapes arrived during the year, including Love Songs for the Streets, Supa Vultures (with Lil Reese), and Bloodas (with Tee Grizzley). He continued into 2018 with Just Cause Y'all Waited -- which peaked just outside the Top 50 -- and Durkio Krazy, a collaborative tape with 808 Mafia's DY. His third studio album, Signed to the Streets 3, appeared in November and reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200.

In February 2019, Lil Durk was involved with a shooting in Atlanta and faced criminal charges. While out on bail that August, he released his fourth studio album, Love Songs 4 the Streets 2. Featuring guest spots from 21 Savage, Nicki Minaj, and Meek Mill, the release became his first to chart in the Top Five. Before the year ended, Durk gathered his OTF crew for the Family Over Everything mixtape. The core group of OTF rappers were joined on some songs by artists like NLE Choppa and Polo G. Just Cause Y'all Waited 2, Durk's fifth studio album, appeared in May 2020, again charting in the Top Five. 2020 proved to be yet another prolific year for Durk, and he closed out the year with sixth studio album The Voice. Released in December, The Voice peaked at number three with appearances from King Von, Young Thug, and YNW Melly. In June 2021, Durk and Lil Baby topped the Billboard 200 as a duo with The Voice of the Heroes. Later that year, Durk made appearances on both Kanye West's monolithic tenth album, Donda, and Drake's Certified Lover Boy.

At the start of 2022, Durk released a new single, "Ahhh Ha," the first song to be shared from his forthcoming seventh studio LP, 7220. The album arrived in March of that year and debuted at the top slot of the Billboard charts. The set featured guest appearances from Gunna, Summer Walker, Future, and Morgan Wallen. A deluxe version of the album spawned the Hot 100 single "Did Shit to Me," featuring Doodie Lo. Later, he joined Cardi B and Kanye West on the non-album track "Hot Shit." Durk closed out the year with the release of Loyal Bros 2, which showcased Only the Family signees alongside guests like Future, Kodak Black, and Trippie Redd. In 2023, Durk first issued Almost Healed, a number three Billboard 200 entry containing "All My Life," a J. Cole collaboration that narrowly missed the top of the Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance. Durk returned later in the year to spotlight Only the Family with Nightmares in the Trenches. The set was promoted with Durk's own charting single "Smurk Carter." After releasing singles like "Old Days" and "Went Hollywood for a Year" in 2024, Durk issued the album Deep Thoughts. ~ Andy Kellman