Update 11/21/2020 4:54pm:
In the past, Lil Baby opened up about his life before rap and what ultimately made him transition to become an artist. He noted that Young Thug was the catalyst for him to become the star he is these days. Now, via T.I.’s ‘Expeditiously’ podcast, Thugger spoke with T.I. and Benny the Butcher, revealing how he got Lil Baby to actually focus on music instead of being in the streets.
Thug noted that he wanted to show Lil Baby that being a successful rapper is possible and that he doesn’t need to be in the street. Thug said, “I used to read that young n***a's captions on his pictures and call him like, 'bruh, you know you can rap.' He in jail like, 'bruh, Imma goddam get out, Imma goddam get me some money, get me a bag and do what I need to do.” Thugger went on to say he believed in Lil Baby so much and paid him to rap, “Just to groom him to you really could get paid from doing it, like, no cap." Watch above.
Original 10/03/2019 10:06pm:
Lil Baby has carved out space for himself in the current hip-hop landscape and while he is a Quality Control artist, fans should know the seed funding for Lil Baby's rap career came from Young Thug. During an interview with XXL, Lil Baby detailed how Young Thug believed in him quite early and wanted him to leave the streets alone in order to pursue music. To show how serious he was, Young Thug offered to pay LIl Baby whatever he was making from hustling if he'd direct his energy toward making music.
"He literally paid me to leave the neighborhood. [He said], 'Bruh you can rap, you got it. You could be next. You gotta leave the 'hood... I'ma pay you to come to the studio.'"
Lil Baby also recounted Gucci Mane wanting to sign him and how Young Thug thwarted those attempts.
Source: youtube.com
