Lil Baby shared some moving black-and-white shots taken of him at one of the Black Lives Matter protests in Atlanta recently. He posted the photos to Instagram on Saturday (June 6th) with the caption, “It’s A Bigger Picture …”
In the photos, Baby can be seen wearing a black T-shirt that reads “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” He’s also sporting a black face mask with the words “NO JUSTICE NO PEACE” written on it. The rapper appears to have arrived to the protest on his bike, but later ditched it to march with the rest of the crowd. In the second photo, Baby has a megaphone around his neck, and in the third, he stands next to Atlanta city councilman, Antonio Brown, while he gives a speech. According to a post on Antonio’s account, the two of them had just met the day before.
“Met a dope dude named Dominique,” Antonio wrote on some photos of Baby at the protest, referring to his real first name. “A brother whose seen struggle but also recognizes his divine power to call forth all that he seeks in life. When we first met he showed up in a worn black t-shirt, some joggers and @balenciaga sneakers. No jewelry or entourage. His driver patiently waited outside while we talked for hours. I thought because everyone called him @lilbaby_1 that he would have this huge ego and only care about superficial shit. Instead he spoke about how much he loved business, fashion and lifting up his community. He’s only been rapping for 3 years and has completely dismantled an industry. The hood he grew up in and the projects that raised him made him baby. A rebel with a cause, disrupting with a purpose bigger than himself.”
Paras Griffin/Getty Images for LVL XIII Luxury Footwear
“The next day we marched down Mitchell Street with our fist in the air yelling – No Justice, No Peace as he leaned over and whispered in my ear, ‘this is what matters!'” Antonio continued. “See he understood his calling was greater than the streets – it was to change the streets. To inspire the people to see beyond their environment and conditions that silently kept them unconsciously imprisoned. After marching for an hour, a white business owner brought out some waters to the crowd of walking protesters. As he was handing out the waters Lil Baby ran over to him and gave him $500. I looked up at him and smiled because if I was rich that’s something I would’ve done. As the protest came to an end, I watched in silent awe as [T.I.] graciously walked up to him and greeted him like a King. It was inspiring to see one generation salute the next as they prepare to take their rightful place in Hip Hop.”
Lil Baby recently revealed that he’s been working on some new music about police brutality.