Lil Baby’s album The Bigger Picture is now platinum.
Lil Baby is not necessarily known for his political wokeness, but the rapper struck a different chord with his release of The Bigger Picture last year. The track was uncharacteristically conscious for Baby and resonated with a wider audience as they processed the string of murders of Black Americans at the hands of police last summer. Even people who were not necessarily Lil Baby fans felt drawn to the song and admired his ability to comment on current events. It is no surprise that the track has now been officially certified platinum.
The Bigger Picture dropped on June 12th, only weeks after the nation watched in horror as George Floyd’s murder was blasted all over the media. The single went gold in about a month and has since only grown in popularity.
The song addresses police violence directly with lyrics like, “I find it crazy the police’ll shoot you and know that you dead/but still tell you to freeze/F*cked up, I seen what I seen/I guess that mean hold him down if he say he can’t breathe.” Later in the song, Baby adds, “I see blue lights, I get scared and start runnin’/That sh*t be crazy, they ‘posed to protect us/Throw us in handcuffs and arrest us/While they go home at night.”
Lil Baby’s words are especially poignant right now, following the attack in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, January 6th, during which armed rioters violently broke into the Capitol building and proceeded to wreak havoc throughout Congress.
Many viewers watching the events unfold from home noticed the stark difference between the treatment of the mostly white Trump supporters and criminals by the police officers present in contrast to the harsh treatment of peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters nationwide last summer. “The Bigger Picture” speaks to this double standard at exactly the right time, and in doing so, has earned Baby his fortieth platinum plaque.
