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It's been almost a week since Lil Baby delivered his fourth studio album, WHAM (Who Hard As Me), garnering millions of streams across major streaming platforms.
Officially following up on the success of 2022's chart-topping album, It's Only Me, chart projections for Baby's latest album suggest WHAM is expected to debut at No.1 on Billboard 200. If true, this would mark the Atlanta native's fourth consecutive chart-topping album for his career.
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Popular streamer and hip-hop personality DJ Akademiks commented on the supposed chart projections, reposting his tweet on Instagram, which suggests WHAM is "on pace" to sell around 130,000 album-equivalent units in its opening week.
Baby's 15-track effort, delivered last Friday (January 3), hosts guest appearances from Young Thug, 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Rod Wave, GloRilla, Rylo Rodriguez, and Future.
A noticeable exclusion from Lil Baby's new album was former frequent collaborator and friend Gunna. According to multiple reports over the past two years, both artists have seemingly distanced themselves from each other following the latter's release from the YSL RICO trial.
Back in May 2024, Gunna released his fifth studio album, titled One of Wun, hosting features from Offset, Normani, Leon Bridges, and Roddy Ricch.
The album was praised online for its commercial performance, after the LP debuted at No.2 on Billboard 200, reportedly selling 91,000 album-equivalent units in its opening week.
With popular media outlets like NFR Podcast and streamers like Akademiks reposting chart projections for WHAM's first-week sales, social media users were seen comparing the performances of both albums in the comments.
One individual was seen calling out Lil Baby fans, claiming that his project benefited from the inclusion of major hip-hop artists like Young Thug, stating:
"That’s that Thug boost. Let him drop an album with no features"
More reactions followed from Gunna fans and critics taking shots at the projected performance of Lil Baby's fourth studio album, with many claiming the album wasn't as good as these numbers suggest.
"Nfs that's a W for a mid album," a user stated.
"That's cool and all but the quality of the album was pure sh*t. He went 3 for 20 and I fw Lil Baby," added another.
"Woulda did like 80k without Thug," a user claimed.
More reactions followed from Lil Baby fans defending the release of WHAM and supporting the album's commercial performance.
"No skips besides the 'Say Twin' and GloRilla song. The song with Travis is crazy! Holy!," a fan praised.
"Album fire. People just love to ride trends for some reason and the trend right now is that Baby is wack. Good to see he still got his core fanbase," added another.
"Ngl he still doing 100 plus and y'all call [that] 'Big Dog' numbers right now. Music might not be to y'all standards but he still one of the biggest in the game," a fan claimed.
Revisiting the Lil Baby and Gunna beef: Everything we know
Following his accepting an Alford plea deal, after spending eight months in jail during the YSL Rico trial, Gunna's relationship with frequent collaborator Lil Baby seemingly deteriorated over the years.
Lil Baby has on numerous occasions voiced his opinions on Gunna's deal, with an XXL report from 2023 claiming he targeted the rapper in an unreleased record, teased on Instagram, where he stated:
"Some n****s taking pleas at trial I know that slime ain’t happy"
Their reported beef seemingly took over the internet in December 2023 after Baby was recorded on stage asking his DJ to "turn off" Drip Too Hard, his chart-topping collaboration with Gunna, stating:
"Fu*k the rats, turn this sh*t off"
According to Billboard, several individuals online appear to suggest that Baby took shots at Gunna on his recently released Deluxe edition of WHAM, which includes four new tracks. On the second verse of a record titled Running This Sh*t, the Atlanta native rapped:
"I don’t care what he did, he a rat still / And I said what I said, don’t at me"
In a December 2024 interview with Charlamagne The God, Lil Baby confirmed that he and Gunna "no longer have a relationship," with him being unoptimistic about them both ever making music again.
He also addressed rumors of him dissing Gunna on previously released tracks like 350, where he targets un-named individuals by calling them "rats". The rapper responded to these claims by stating:
"That’s just the Internet, what they gonna create. I talk about rats in every song, I had since I started rappin’. They just be creating a narrative and I don’t even be talkin’ about a n***a. It’s whoever’s a rat.”
With a complete runtime of 41 minutes, WHAM is a braggadocious trap record fueled by themes of success, wealth, and legacy, with a few emotional cuts introducing listeners to Baby's personal trials and tribulations. Check out our Track-by-Track review of the album here.
