Lil Baby – Dead Fresh

Our second Baby of the day…

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[4.86]Ian Mathers: See, this is actually an instructive comparison to the BabyChiefDoIt track we’re also reviewing today. Even when they’re talking about some similar stuff, even when Lil Baby is being petty or mean, he comes across as charming and funny. Which does not redeem any wrongdoing in real life, of course, but makes this a lot more fun to listen to and a much better song.
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Alfred Soto: Dropping a career retrospective eight years after his debut makes sense, I suppose. Though he’s scoring bigger hits, Lil Baby peaked with “Drip Too Hard” and “The Bigger Picture.”
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Al Varela: Lil Baby has been circling the drain post-My Turn. So much so that all it took was a catchy Pharrell beat to make him sound more refreshed than ever. His flows are tight, locked into the echoing thumps and creeping strings of the beat. It’s nothing all that new coming from Lil Baby, but the poppier edge is a great complement to his loosely melodic approach, bringing back that gravitational pull he had on his best songs. Granted, it doesn’t reach the level of his best, it’s honestly so simple that there isn’t much I get out of it beyond the occasional times I peep into a chart playlist, but I like having it around.
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Julian Axelrod: If Lil Baby is the tofu of Atlanta trap (flavorless, inoffensive, entirely dependent on the ingredients around him) “Dead Fresh” is like an elevated tofu scramble at your local upscale brunch spot. It has comforting elements (He went from rags to riches!), unexpected textures (His granny’s pushing a Maybach!) and high-end ingredients. (This beat came from Pharrell!) But shouldn’t something this expensive have a little more flavor?
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Oliver Maier: It’s hard to see where Lil Baby fits in the current pop ecosystem, not quite an elder statesmen but a titan of a style that is nearing extinction on the charts. “Dead Fresh” doesn’t really convince me he’s found a new North Star or really cares to. “This beat came from Pharrell” ranks pretty low for inspiring flourishes to end your hook with.
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Nortey Dowuona: This is actually pretty good, but one day everyone will claim they knew nothing, that they were against this.
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Will Adams: A fine-enough “we made it” track, with boasts that range from funny (“got my granny pushing a Maybach”) to unimpressive (“this beat came from Pharrell”). The latter brag being spotlit as it is — the song literally comes to a stop so Lil Baby can make the grand announcement — almost makes it embarrassing.
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