Forget backup dancers and flashy stage elements, Lil Baby showed up to the 2022 AMAs on Sunday (Nov. 20) and proved that his star power is all he needs to light up a stage and keep viewers engaged.
The rapper took an introspective approach, spitting not one, but two songs from his recently released album It’s Only Me: “In a Minute” and “California Breeze.” The performance began with the former, with Baby performing with only four musicians on drums, keys, and guitar, as well as introspective blue lights and smoke to evoke a moodier, stripped-back vibe. When “Breeze” arrived, the blue light was replaced by red light, and Baby lied on his back, thinking about all the hard work he still needs to do: “Get my s-t together, feel like I done took two years off/ Bookin’ up my schedule, I ain’t rich enough to chill out.”
Both “In a Minute” and “California Breeze” are from Baby’s It’s Only Me 2022 album. The album was released in October and spent four weeks on the Billboard 200 all-genre chart, peaking at No. 1. “In a Minute,” the project’s first single, spent 26 weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and peaked at No. 5; “California Breeze,” meanwhile, is in its fourth week on the chart and peaked at No. 2.
Lil Baby was nominated for one award at this year’s AMAs: favourite male hip-hop artist, where he competed against Drake, Future, Lil Durk, and Kendrick Lamar. Lamar received the award, which was not cast during the broadcast ceremony.