Lil Baby is stepping up to the mic in a new way. In his new song, “The Bigger Picture,†the 25-year-old rapper shares his experiences with racism, police brutality, and now activism. Opening with snippets from news reports, you can hear the anxiety in Lil Baby quick flow, as he weaves imagery of the recent protests against racial injustice in his hometown of Atlanta with his own complicated feelings about violence. “People speaking for the people / I’m proud of ‘em,†he says in verse two. “Stick together we can get it up out of ‘em / I can’t lie like I don’t rap about killing and dope / But I’m telling my youngins’ to vote / I did what I did cuz I didn’t have no choice or no hope.â€
The rapper already walked the walked when he protested alongside Atlanta city councilman Antonio Brown. “They trainin’ officers to kill us / They shootin’ protesters with these rubber bullets / They regular people I know that they feel it / These scars too deep to heal us,†he raps in the third verse. He’s not just posting his protest song and dipping. A rep for the rapper confirmed to Vulture that he will be donating the proceeds from “The Bigger Picture†to organizations supporting the cause, to be announced later.
An earlier version of this post cited incorrect reporting about Lil Baby’s plans for donating proceeds.