After one week of being released, Atlanta-based rapper Lil Baby’s new album “Who Hard as Me” (WHAM) has received moderate-to-high acclaim from fans and critics alike. It has even reached the number one spot on the Billboard 200. Known for songs such as “Drip Too Hard,” Lil Baby has a streak when it comes to releasing highly praised albums, and his latest one is no different.
Even with the major success of the album, it wouldn’t be fair to say that Lil Baby deserves all of the credit, especially since many of it contains features from heavy-hitters within the rap industry such as Young Thug, Future and Travis Scott. In fact, Lil Baby’s strongest tracks within the albums are in collaboration with some other artist.
Lil Baby’s newest single from the album titled, “Outfit,” featuring 21 Savage, particularly serves as a testimony to the album being mostly successful due to his partnerships with other artists. More importantly, the single could very well be a signal of what’s about to go down in the rap game in 2025.
With the song being introduced with nothing but a few seconds of 808s, Lil Baby wastes no time when it comes to rapping his verses. Lil Baby’s lyrics in the single aren’t anything significant to remark upon. The rapper delivers his experience making it in the rap industry and the flexing that comes with it, a common theme that’s been recycled in the last 11 songs in his album.
Lil Baby somewhat uses clever wordplay to emphasize his rise with one line being a direct reference to 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin.’” Lil Baby’s best lyrics in the track come from his acknowledgment of his Atlanta upbringing as well as his parents; his main goal being to “give the trenches some hope.” He also ad-libs on his own verse which further emphasizes the notion that the only real person he can talk to is himself.
Despite Lil Baby’s shortcomings on his own track, what makes “Outfit” a somewhat passable single is the presence of 21 Savage. As with many of his other songs, 21 Savage approaches the track with no hesitation to his flow, being a direct contrast to Lil Baby’s delivery in the first part of the song.
One of the most significant and shocking lines within the song comes from 21 Savage in which he subtly makes his own stance on the Drake-Kendrick rap beef. 21 Savage sneak disses Kendrick, mocking him for his “Kung-Fu Kenny” persona while making a possible reference to his support of Drake.
The rapper has a long history of collaborating with Drake, being featured in songs such as “Rich Flex” and “Knife Talk.” 21 Savage’s long standing partnership with Drake makes it all the more evident of his lyrics being a potential shot at Kendrick Lamar. 21 Savage’s lines may very well resume the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which was practically dying out ever since Kendrick did The Pop Out concert back in June of 2024.
All in all, the song is stuck in the muddy pits of mediocrity in which its only saving grace would be the revitalization of a feud that probably should’ve been left alone last year. Although Lil Baby’s stance on the Drake-Kendrick dispute is unclear, “Outfit” opens the floor for more rap artists to be embroiled in the conflict.
It isn’t to say that the renewal of the Drake-Kendrick feud isn’t a bad thing for the rap industry since it would allow other rappers to become active in terms of backing either side of the beef. Besides the Drake-Kendrick callout, there isn’t any plausible case as to why the track should be considered as a single especially since it follows the format of all of the songs in Lil Baby’s album to a below-average extent.
Verdict: Even with 21 Savage’s feature, “Outfit” is a standard rap song whose references to recent events within the rap industry are the sole reason why it’s being labelled as a single.
