Lil Baby just dropped his new album Fresh, which had tepid first-day streams, as reported by HotNewHipHop over the weekend. This is consistent with the narrative that Lil Baby has "fallen off." That it is no longer 2021, and fans simply don't see the artist as a hitmaker anymore.
"Dead Fresh" is a giant success, for the most part. It was everywhere this Summer. Unfortunately, the song has reached meme status. While songs like "Spend Dat" and "Janice STFU" became ubiquitous thanks to their superior displays of songwriting, Baby's hit single was seen as a joke. "This beat came from Pharrell" was a rallying cry for the Instagram meme makers, and Baby's image suffered as a result.
Now that Fresh has proven to be a middling release, the fall-off narrative has only accelerated. Despite this, Lil Baby is not giving up hope. While speaking to Nessa on Hot 97, he revealed what he really thinks about people saying he fell off.
Lil Baby Talks "Falling Off"
"You're going to get the most engagement if you say Lil Baby album thrash, so once people see that they on engagement thing so the hottest thing to do is say Lil Baby album or Lil Baby fell off," the artist explained. "The content people who never heard my songs they going whatever the content is so I get the play, I see the play. It's hard for me to fall into it when I see it."
What Are The First-Week Sales Projections For Fresh
Fresh is projected to sell 60K units in its opening week, and it will also challenge for the number one spot on the Billboard 200. Sure, it's not the six-figure units that Baby would probably hope for. However, a number one album is a number one album, regardless of which way you swing it.
This is a solid showing for Lil Baby, especially when you consider everything that has been said about him as of late. Whether or not he can keep his place as one of rap's best-selling young stars, remains to be seen.
