Lil Baby's "Freestyle" from 2017 goes viral on TikTok
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recognized two of Lil Baby's singles as platinum or higher this week. According to the RIAA website, this year's "In A Minute" has sold one million copies, while 2017's "Freestyle" has been certified triple-platinum. Since 2017, Lil Baby has come a long way.
Following the release of his first album Harder Than Ever the following year, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, he released 2020's My Turn, which featured guest performances from Gunna, 42 Dugg, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Wayne, Moneybagg Yo, Young Thug, and Rylo Rodriguez.
With almost 197,000 total album-equivalent units sold in its first week, the album rapidly became Lil Baby's first chart-topping record. The 20-track compilation stood at the top of the charts for five weeks, making it one of the year's best-selling albums. He also received his first Grammy Award in April for the Kanye West song "Hurricane," which included The Weeknd.
Lil Baby's 6-year-old son Jason Jones went viral with the TikTok "Microphone Challenge," prompting the new certifications. In the video, Jones walks through Lil Baby's tour bus wearing a big chain, shades, and a white tee while being handed a wad of cash. Then he takes up a PlayStation controller as his mike and raps (almost) every word to "Freestyle" from the Too Hard mixtape.
Lil Baby was named ASCAP Songwriter of the Year for the second year in a row last month for authoring many chart-topping singles, including DJ Khaled's "Every Chance I Get," Drake's "Girls Want Girls," solo single "On Me," Rod Wave's "Rags2Riches 2," and Drake's "Wants and Needs."