Lil Baby is having a huge year, despite the fact his income stream was largely slashed due to the global pandemic.
During an appearance on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club on Tuesday (December 8), the Quality Control artist revealed his previously-set $100,000 per feature price is only one fourth of the amount he’s now getting for shows. And even though he’s only done one show this year (which didn’t go very well, by the way), he didn’t come up short compared to 2019 because of the increase in his per-show rate.
“Since I started rapping, I been booked two, three times a weekend,” he told hosts Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy. “I only did one show this year and it’s the end of the year! That’s every bit a hundred shows maybe at least in a year, so it’s like a whole year, I did one show.
“I had the biggest album, the biggest point of my career through the pandemic,” he continued. “So, the money that I’m making now in the pandemic is still bigger than the money that I was making before the pandemic, if you get what I’m saying. The level that I done went to, even though it’s a pay cut, it’s damn near the same.”
He elaborated and explained that he was once making $100,000 per show, so he’s not tripping despite the millions he could have made in 2020 if COVID-19 didn’t happen.
“Even though I ain’t doing no shows, that number that [Charlamagne] calculated, I ain’t making that but I ain’t counting that,” Baby said. “I’m counting on whatever I used to make, shit I’m still in that bracket. I was supposed to make it to the $40 million, $50 million a year off touring bracket. But I’m still making more than what I was making when I just was getting $100 bands a show or whatever the case may be.”
The Atlanta-bred artist is setting his sights on his next album now, however, so he’s cut off his guest appearances as of November as he focuses on his third studio effort. He released a pair of singles on Friday (December 3) to celebrate his 26th birthday, but it’s unclear whether they will live on the album.
Listen to the two tracks below and watch Lil Baby’s full interview with The Breakfast Club up top.