Lil Baby Gets Emotional Reflecting On His Journey: ‘It’s A Long Time I Wasn’t Happy’

Lil Baby has opened up about the impact his earliest success had on his life, revealing that it forced him into a “dark spot.”

Speaking to The Experience Podcast, the “In A Minute” rapper revealed that while he considers himself happy now, that hasn’t always been the case.

“There was a long time, I wasn’t happy,” he told host Big Loon. “I had a lot of shit I was going through. Getting adjusted to this shit, changing, having to stop being around people I’m used to being around, doing shit I used to be doing. Like, this is over time, I feel — and I know I can adapt to any environment. So it was just like, adapting to my new environment put me in a dark spot for a minute.”

Lil Baby was then asked what it was that the hardest thing for him to get over when adjusting. “Really starting everything over, all the way down to your thoughts,” he explained. “That shit can kinda fuck with you Now you really gotta tell yourself, ‘You can’t think like that no more.’ That shit can be a little depressing.”

While he recognizes that he’s in a better place, Baby also pointed out that, what keeps him grounded is knowing that he hasn’t quite met all of his goals yet.

“I see how [people] can get blurry,” he explained. “And that’s because they finally getting everything they wanted. I ain’t get everything I wanted yet out this shit. Now, when I get it, I might go to actin’ different. But for right now, I ain’t got what I want yet.”

Despite that humble assertion, 2022 has seen Baby achieve quite a bit. In September, the Atlanta rapper was honored with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the Black Music Action Coalition’s second annual Music in Action Awards Gala. The prize was awarded in recognition for his contributions to racial and social justice within the music industry and beyond.

One of those many contributions happened recently when the rapper hosted his third annual “Back to School Fest” at Atlanta’s West End Mall.

The September release of his teaser single “Detox” also saw Baby tie Elvis Presley‘s number of Billboard Hot 100 singles, at 109. The distinction places Baby among just 12 artists or groups to land over 100 singles on the chart, alongside Nicki Minaj, JAY-Z, Drake, Future, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.

On Friday (October 14), Lil Baby delivered his third full-length studio album, the 23-track It’s Only Me. Arriving two years after the success of his critically acclaimed sophomore effort My Turn, the new album boasts appearances by Young Thug, Pooh Shiesty, EST Gee as well as Baby’s 4PF signee Rylo Rodriguez.