Live review: Lil Baby at the Truman

Lil Baby is the latest in an increasingly long line of Atlanta rappers who have risen to fame with assistance from Quality Control Music. Founded in 2012, the label has played an instrumental role in the success of acts like Migos, Lil Yachty, and Rich The Kid, making it one of the driving forces in the ever-expanding world of trap music. Baby joined the fold early last year and has since dropped four full-length releases and garnered a handful of viral hits.

Tuesday night’s show at The Truman had its highlights, but Baby’s performance and those of some of his tourmates were ultimately a letdown when the tour could have easily cemented QC’s new wave of stars in the hearts of its fans. Baby’s set began with his Drake-bolstered summer hit, “Yes Indeed.” As Drake’s opening verse wound down, Baby took the stage just in time for his, welcomed by a sea of screaming fans and their cell phone lights. The crowd carried this enthusiasm until the third song of the set, Gunna’s “Oh Okay,” during which half a dozen fans started throwing punches at each other, sending half of the GA audience scrambling to the side.

This miniature brawl lasted less than a minute, but it’s hard to imagine that Baby didn’t catch a glimpse of it. Crowds at most other shows may have been offended that it wasn’t addressed, but given his cold, unbothered persona, it’s unsurprising that Baby continued performing through it. If anything, Baby’s indifference in this situation just highlighted the fact that his only interactions with his fans was shouting “Kansas City!” a few times and a brief thank you as he left the stage.

Baby eventually won back many of the fans shaken up by the fight with confident performances of tough, understated cuts like “My Dawg” and “Freestyle.” But he applied much less effort and focus to his lesser-known songs. Lil Yachty’s first headlining tour was an expertly constructed experience that allowed a similar amount of fans a joyous rendezvous with the rapper. Baby’s music is decidedly less about fun than Yachty’s, but any personal touches or stage production would have made for a nice first impression. We didn’t get any of that.  

Jacksonville R&B heartthrob YK Osiris and Atlanta upstart 24Heavy provided opening sets, along with fellow QC affiliates Kollision and one half of Miami’s City Girls. The former’s brief set was solid enough, but the latter — helmed only by Yung Miami, due to her partner JT’s incarceration — was constantly on the verge of falling apart.

On Twitter: @introfreemind.