Lil Baby used the last 12 months to establish himself as a leading force in music. The rap star’s My Turn album moved 2.63 million equivalent album units and finished at #2 on the Year-End Billboard 200 chart ahead of Pop idols Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd.
My Turn totaled five weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 weekly album chart. The Quality Control Music/Motown Records release was named the Top Album of 2020 by the Recording Industry Association of America. Lil Baby was also Vevo’s Most Watched Artist Of 2020 in the United States.
As a result of his commerical achievements and critical acclaim, as well as his willingness to address social issues on tracks like “The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby made a lot of people’s shortlist for 2020’s Most Valuable Player. But who does the Atlanta representative view as the Big 3 of Hip Hop for the next decade besides himself?
“For the whole 2020s? Roddy Ricch for sure. DaBaby for sure. You take me out of there, Megan Thee Stallion. Them three is solidified, but it’s gonna be three new of them, for sure,” Lil Baby told Billboard.
He continued, “There might be three new of them three times before 2030, and with me? That’s four. So there’s gonna be four new of us 2030 the way it’s going. But the way we’ve solidified our spots, we’re here. That little crew, I think we’re the leaders of the new generation.”
Each of the rappers Lil Baby named had steller years in 2020. Roddy Ricch scored two long-running #1 records with “The Box” and “Rockstar.” DaBaby was the lead artist on that latter track which appeared on the North Carolinian’s #1 album Blame It on Baby. Plus, “The Box” was credited as the most-consumed song of 2020 by MRC Data.
Ricch’s Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial album spent four non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200. Over on the Hot 100 chart, Megan Thee Stallion joined a shortlist of female rappers with two career Number Ones after she arrived at the pinnacle of the rankings in 2020 with “Savage (Remix)” featuring Beyoncé and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”
All four Hip Hop acts earned Grammy nominations for their respective work. Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion, and Roddy Ricch were also declared Apple Music Award winners at the end of the year. 2020 BET Awards were presented to Roddy, Megan, and DaBaby. In addition, Lil Baby, Megan, and Roddy won BET Hip Hop Awards in 2020.