WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.759 Imagine dominating the global charts, right? 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:06.000 Like selling five million records in the United 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:07.879 States alone. It's wild to even think about. 00:00:08.179 --> 00:00:10.880 It is. And setting these international dance 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:13.160 trends that completely just take over the internet. 00:00:14.199 --> 00:00:17.620 But here's the kicker. Doing all of that for 00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:20.420 a song you wrote just 24 months after deciding 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:22.500 to take music seriously. That's the part that 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:25.940 really gets me. Just two years. Exactly. So today 00:00:25.940 --> 00:00:28.839 we are looking at a three minute and three second 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:31.039 trap track that completely rewrote the rules 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:33.359 of viral marketing. Welcome to the deep dive. 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:35.719 Glad to be here. Our mission today for you, the 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:38.700 listener, is to unpack a single defining cultural 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:42.960 moment from late 2019. We are exploring Lil Baby's 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:46.859 massive hit track, Whoa. Such a huge song. Right. 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:49.579 And we're using its comprehensive Wikipedia page 00:00:49.579 --> 00:00:52.200 as our foundation to really understand the track's 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.719 production, its rollout, and just its staggering 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:57.840 commercial footprint. It really is a phenomenal 00:00:57.840 --> 00:00:59.579 case study. Like when you look at the mechanics 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:02.179 of this release, you realize it is not just a 00:01:02.179 --> 00:01:04.099 song that you know, happened to get popular. 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.680 Right, it wasn't an accident. Exactly. It's a 00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:09.780 highly engineered blueprint for how modern music 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:13.299 captures attention in this super crowded digital 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:16.379 landscape, holds onto that attention, and then 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:18.659 eventually forces the traditional mainstream 00:01:18.659 --> 00:01:20.680 media to pay attention. Yeah, that transition 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:23.719 is key. Okay, let's unpack this. Because before 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.739 a track can completely take over the world and 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:28.900 rewrite the charts, it obviously has to have 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:32.200 the right sonic ingredients. Oh, 100%. the audio 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.400 is the underlying engine. Right, like you can 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:35.799 have the best marketing in the world, but if 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:37.560 the audio doesn't hook the listener, the whole 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:40.900 machine falls apart. Exactly. So the foundation 00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:44.200 for WoW was officially released on November 8th, 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:47.299 2019 through Quality Control Music and Universal. 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:49.879 And if we look at the architectural credits here, 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:52.900 it was written by Dominique Jones, which is Lil 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:55.840 Baby's real name, along with Chris Rosser, and 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:57.900 it was produced by Quay Global. Which is a great 00:01:57.900 --> 00:01:59.780 production, and the critical reception of that 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:02.980 production is really revealing. Dwayne Gage over 00:02:02.980 --> 00:02:06.859 at Rolling Stone gave this very specific mechanical 00:02:06.859 --> 00:02:08.919 description of the beat. Oh, I loved his breakdown. 00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:11.939 Yeah, it was great. He noted that the instrumental 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:14.560 is built entirely on a bed of heavy -hitting 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:18.110 808s and suspenseful piano. Which is such a crucial 00:02:18.110 --> 00:02:21.009 combination to understand. Because when Gage 00:02:21.009 --> 00:02:23.469 mentions heavy 808s, for those who don't produce 00:02:23.469 --> 00:02:25.990 music, we're talking about that deep rattling 00:02:25.990 --> 00:02:28.469 sub bass sound. The stuff that rattles your windows. 00:02:28.830 --> 00:02:31.280 Exactly. It originally came from the Roland TR 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.360 -808 drum machine. It's that ultra -low frequency 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.699 you literally feel vibrating in your chest when 00:02:36.699 --> 00:02:39.000 a car drives by with the volume up. Yeah, it's 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:41.840 totally physical. Right. So you pair that aggressive 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:44.080 physical bass with the piano loop that feels 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:48.139 tense and unresolved, and you create a very specific 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:50.560 psychological environment for the listener. And 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:53.000 Gage pointed out that this specific instrumental 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:55.860 environment gave Lil Baby the perfect canvas 00:02:55.860 --> 00:02:58.400 to sing, like to really stretch his vocals out 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.419 rather than just delivering rapid fire bars. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:02.560 Which was a bit of a shift for him. It was. It 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:04.800 allowed him to reflect on his incredibly rapid 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.139 success. And here's that staggering detail I 00:03:08.139 --> 00:03:10.039 mentioned earlier at the time of this song's 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.819 release. Lil Baby had only been doing rap full 00:03:12.819 --> 00:03:15.960 -time for two years. Two years? I mean, from 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:18.990 a complete novice. to the architect of a global 00:03:18.990 --> 00:03:22.310 hit, it completely defies the traditional timeline 00:03:22.310 --> 00:03:25.090 of the music industry. Totally. But it's worth 00:03:25.090 --> 00:03:27.849 noting that not every critic viewed this track 00:03:27.849 --> 00:03:30.710 as a groundbreaking sonic masterpiece. True, 00:03:30.830 --> 00:03:33.229 true. Like over at Stereogum, Tom Brahan labeled 00:03:33.229 --> 00:03:36.539 it a fairly standard Atlanta trap song. He did, 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:39.639 though he included a major caveat. Even while 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:42.120 calling the structure standard, Brahan admitted 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.259 that Lil Baby has this undeniably hypnotic way 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:47.719 with a hook. Yeah, the hook is undeniable. Right. 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:50.520 He specifically pointed out how Lil Baby manages 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:53.439 to settle perfectly into that deliberately misspelled 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:56.620 title word, you know, whoa, spelled W -O -A -H. 00:03:56.699 --> 00:03:59.060 Which is funny. But it works. It really does. 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:01.639 But I actually want to push back on Stereogum's 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:04.060 fairly standard label. Oh, really? Yeah. Think 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.860 about that combination Gage mentioned, the suspenseful 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:09.520 piano and the heavy 808s. To me, that sounds 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:12.080 exactly like the tense soundtrack of a thriller 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.719 movie. Oh, I see where you're going. Right. Like 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:17.019 right in that quiet, heart -pounding moment, 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:19.759 right before the protagonist's big dramatic monologue, 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.579 it is built to create this massive anticipation. 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:26.439 So my question is, can a song be structurally 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:29.360 standard in its genre, but still be perfectly 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:31.819 engineered to be hypnotic? Well, what's fascinating 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:33.519 here is I see where you're going with the cinematic 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.199 idea, but I'd actually argue it's less about 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:39.100 building to a narrative monologue and more about 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:42.089 creating an intentional sonic void. An intentional 00:04:42.089 --> 00:04:44.550 void. How so? Well, it isn't building to a climax 00:04:44.550 --> 00:04:47.089 of words, right? It's leaving an empty space 00:04:47.089 --> 00:04:49.350 that forces the listener's brain to fill in the 00:04:49.350 --> 00:04:51.949 blanks with physical movement. Ah, okay. Atlanta 00:04:51.949 --> 00:04:54.230 trap, which heavily relies on rapid rattling 00:04:54.230 --> 00:04:57.790 hi -hats and booming sub bass. It has a very 00:04:57.790 --> 00:04:59.949 established formula. So Brandingham is right 00:04:59.949 --> 00:05:02.069 that the ingredients are standard. Sure. But 00:05:02.069 --> 00:05:04.310 the execution is what makes it hypnotic. So it's 00:05:04.310 --> 00:05:06.930 about precision, not necessarily invention. Precisely. 00:05:07.100 --> 00:05:09.399 Innovation doesn't always require inventing a 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:12.180 completely new genre. Sometimes true innovation 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:14.339 is taking the existing framework of an Atlanta 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:17.139 trap song and just polishing it to a microscopic 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:19.319 level of perfection. Right, dialing it all the 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:22.660 way in. Exactly. The contrast between that heavy, 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:26.720 driving, aggressive beat and Lil Baby's stretched 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.040 melodic vocal delivery creates tension and release. 00:05:30.180 --> 00:05:32.610 The piano and the bass. Yeah. The suspenseful 00:05:32.610 --> 00:05:35.269 piano winds the listener up, the 808s provide 00:05:35.269 --> 00:05:37.850 the release, and then the stretched vocals give 00:05:37.850 --> 00:05:40.329 you something deeply human to latch onto. But 00:05:40.329 --> 00:05:42.889 that psychological tension created by the piano 00:05:42.889 --> 00:05:45.490 and the bass, it doesn't just resolve itself 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:48.829 in the audio. It practically begs for a physical 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:51.569 release. Oh, for sure. Which explains why Lil 00:05:51.569 --> 00:05:53.769 Baby didn't just quietly upload this track to 00:05:53.769 --> 00:05:56.149 Spotify and wait for people to find it. He took 00:05:56.149 --> 00:05:59.649 it straight to a visual physical medium. And 00:05:59.649 --> 00:06:01.709 this is the part of the rollout that I find absolutely 00:06:01.709 --> 00:06:03.730 fascinating. Because having a hypnotic hook is 00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:06.029 only half the battle. Exactly. The next phase 00:06:06.029 --> 00:06:08.889 is operationalizing that hook. Right. So a full 00:06:08.889 --> 00:06:10.949 week before the official release on November 00:06:10.949 --> 00:06:14.610 1st, 2019, Lil Baby posts a preview of the single, 00:06:14.810 --> 00:06:17.410 but he doesn't use traditional channels. He previews 00:06:17.410 --> 00:06:20.329 it on the app Triller. Triller, yeah. Context 00:06:20.329 --> 00:06:22.649 is everything here for you listening, because 00:06:22.649 --> 00:06:25.509 this was his first solo release since a track 00:06:25.509 --> 00:06:28.399 called back on. He was setting the stage for 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:32.060 his massive 2020 sophomore album, My Turn. Such 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:35.519 a big album. Massive. And Whoa was chosen as 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:38.079 the lead single. So the stakes for this specific 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.540 drop were astronomical. And going to Triller 00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:42.920 was a highly calculated move. Like he wasn't 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:45.019 just giving people a sneak peek of the audio. 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.240 He was introducing a behavior. The clip he posted 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:50.639 featured a very specific dance move, which was 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:54.040 described as hitting the whoa. He paired the 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.600 audio with a highly replicable visual hook. Which 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:58.980 is brilliant. It is. And this brings up a dynamic 00:06:58.980 --> 00:07:01.019 that dictates so much of what we hear today. 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:03.800 When an artist teases a song alongside a dance 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:05.980 challenge on an app like Triller, is the music 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:08.079 driving the dance or is the dance driving the 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:10.040 music's success? Like, which one is actually 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:12.220 the engine? Well, if we connect this to the bigger 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:14.740 picture, you have to look at how passive broadcasting 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:17.819 is completely dead. OK. Dead in what way? Like, 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:20.120 it used to be that a label paid to play a song 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:23.360 on the radio. And you, the listener, passively 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:25.579 consumed it while driving or sitting at home. 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:27.939 Right. Right? The music was pushed onto you. 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:30.540 Right. You had no say in it. Exactly. But the 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:32.639 genius of the trailer rollout wasn't just giving 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:35.699 fans a dance. It was handing the audience the 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:38.319 raw stems of the culture to play with. So it 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.480 completely flips the relationship. Completely. 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:44.079 By pairing a highly anticipated audio snippet 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:47.079 with a specific physical movement, Little Baby 00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:49.639 turned passive listeners into active participants 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.680 before the song even existed on a streaming platform. 00:07:53.860 --> 00:07:56.319 When a user on Triller attempts to hit the whoa, 00:07:57.040 --> 00:07:59.560 they aren't just dancing. They are repeatedly 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:02.139 looping the audio. They are internalizing the 00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:04.259 rhythm. Right, they have to hear it 20 times 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:07.079 to get the video right. Exactly. The dance becomes 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:09.459 a vehicle for the music, and the music becomes 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:11.759 the soundtrack for the user's own performance. 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:14.779 Think about how you discover music now. You are 00:08:14.779 --> 00:08:17.519 probably scrolling your feed, you hear a 10 -second 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:20.079 audio loop paired with a visual, and suddenly 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:22.300 that loop is stuck in your head. It's unavoidable. 00:08:22.430 --> 00:08:24.430 Lil Baby banked on the fact that by the time 00:08:24.430 --> 00:08:26.889 you actually opened Apple Music or Spotify on 00:08:26.889 --> 00:08:29.730 release day, your brain was already craving the 00:08:29.730 --> 00:08:31.870 full resolution of that 10 -second loop you'd 00:08:31.870 --> 00:08:34.009 been hearing all week. And let's look at the 00:08:34.009 --> 00:08:36.389 back -end mechanics of that. When fans do the 00:08:36.389 --> 00:08:39.470 whoa, the algorithm registers their video as 00:08:39.470 --> 00:08:42.169 a micro -engagement. Right. It signals to the 00:08:42.169 --> 00:08:44.870 broader internet ecosystem that this track is 00:08:44.870 --> 00:08:49.210 already a cultural staple. So the demand is artificially, 00:08:49.309 --> 00:08:52.779 but very effectively, scaled up. before the supply 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:55.110 is even officially available. Which transitions 00:08:55.110 --> 00:08:57.769 us perfectly into the actual data, because that 00:08:57.769 --> 00:09:00.110 interactive viral tease translated immediately 00:09:00.110 --> 00:09:02.409 into staggering commercial dominance. He didn't 00:09:02.409 --> 00:09:04.389 just climb the charts, he bypassed the stairs 00:09:04.389 --> 00:09:06.750 entirely. Yeah, the immediate commercial impact 00:09:06.750 --> 00:09:08.350 is where we see the difference between a good 00:09:08.350 --> 00:09:10.269 song and a cultural phenomenon. Here's where 00:09:10.269 --> 00:09:12.950 it gets really interesting. Within 24 hours of 00:09:12.950 --> 00:09:15.730 its official release, whoa, hit number one on 00:09:15.730 --> 00:09:19.129 Apple Music. Just 24 hours. To put that into 00:09:19.129 --> 00:09:21.490 perspective for you, hitting number one on a 00:09:21.490 --> 00:09:24.110 major streaming platform in a single day is like 00:09:24.110 --> 00:09:26.750 a blockbuster movie, completely selling out every 00:09:26.750 --> 00:09:28.669 single theater in the country on opening night, 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:31.970 but doing it purely based on a 30 -second teaser 00:09:31.970 --> 00:09:34.309 trailer on a social media app. That's a great 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:37.169 analogy. The pent -up demand just exploded. And 00:09:37.169 --> 00:09:39.610 the broader industry metrics reflected that explosion 00:09:39.610 --> 00:09:43.350 immediately. It debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 00:09:43.350 --> 00:09:46.210 Hot 100, and it possessed enough momentum to 00:09:46.210 --> 00:09:48.529 eventually climb and peak at number 15. Which 00:09:48.529 --> 00:09:51.850 is huge for a rap single. Definitely. It also 00:09:51.850 --> 00:09:54.330 reached number seven on the Hot R &B Hip -Hop 00:09:54.330 --> 00:09:57.029 Songs chart, and number six on the Rhythmic chart. 00:09:57.289 --> 00:09:59.570 It also debuted at number one on the Rolling 00:09:59.570 --> 00:10:02.090 Stone Top 100. And according to our sources, 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:04.490 that made it only the sixth song ever to do that. 00:10:04.590 --> 00:10:07.769 Wow, the sixth ever? Yeah. The 11th overall to 00:10:07.769 --> 00:10:10.129 hit number one, but only the sixth to debut there. 00:10:10.149 --> 00:10:12.350 And it was Lil Baby's very first number one on 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:15.049 that specific chart. Plus, it became his third 00:10:15.049 --> 00:10:17.429 number one on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart, 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:20.350 following Yes Indeed and Drip Too Hard. The sheer 00:10:20.350 --> 00:10:22.970 volume of those debuts proves the efficacy of 00:10:22.970 --> 00:10:25.429 the Triller strategy. But it's the long -term 00:10:25.429 --> 00:10:28.149 certifications that tell the real story of the 00:10:28.149 --> 00:10:30.429 song's structural integrity. Let's talk about 00:10:30.429 --> 00:10:32.529 those certifications because the numbers are 00:10:32.529 --> 00:10:35.929 massive. In the US alone, the song achieved 5x 00:10:35.929 --> 00:10:39.629 platinum status. Insane. That is 5 ,000 equivalent 00:10:39.629 --> 00:10:42.250 units. It also went global, hitting silver in 00:10:42.250 --> 00:10:44.870 the UK with 200 ,000 units and gold in Brazil 00:10:44.870 --> 00:10:49.440 with 20 ,000 units. But, um... What exactly does 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.240 5 miles in equivalent units mean in an era where 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.580 people aren't driving to a store to buy a CD? 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:57.179 It is a critical distinction. In the modern music 00:10:57.179 --> 00:11:00.220 industry, the RIA calculates certifications by 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:02.799 combining pure sales with streaming figures. 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:05.379 Right, because nobody buys tracks on iTunes anymore. 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:07.519 Basically, yeah. Because an individual stream 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:09.700 generates a fraction of a cent, it takes roughly 00:11:09.700 --> 00:11:12.840 150 on -demand audio streams to equal one single 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:14.960 track sale. Oh, wow. OK. So when we talk about 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:16.980 five million equivalent units for a single song, 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:18.779 we're not talking about five million clicks. 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:21.320 We are talking about hundreds of millions of 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:24.120 individual streams. So a viral trend might get 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.539 you you a million streams over a weekend, but 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:29.799 it won't get you to 5x platinum. Exactly. We 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:32.659 see viral songs every single day that spike on 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:35.139 a Friday and completely disappear by Tuesday. 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:38.019 A dance challenge can start the initial fire, 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:41.980 but a dance challenge alone cannot sustain hundreds 00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:44.730 of millions of dreams over multiple years. That 00:11:44.730 --> 00:11:47.309 makes total sense. The flawless execution of 00:11:47.309 --> 00:11:49.870 the song itself, that hypnotic tension and release 00:11:49.870 --> 00:11:52.350 we talked about earlier, that is what converted 00:11:52.350 --> 00:11:55.090 a viral moment into a permanent fixture on people's 00:11:55.090 --> 00:11:57.490 daily playlists. Right. People weren't just doing 00:11:57.490 --> 00:11:59.690 the dance ones for the camera. They were living 00:11:59.690 --> 00:12:02.450 with the song in their cars, in the gym, in their 00:12:02.450 --> 00:12:05.309 headphones. Which proves the audio had real weight. 00:12:05.789 --> 00:12:07.870 But once you have the audio dominating the charts, 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:10.460 And you have hundreds of millions of streams 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:12.980 logging worldwide from the U .S. to the U .K. 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:15.860 to Brazil. There is still one final frontier 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:18.919 to cross. Oh, yes. The visual legacy. Exactly. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:21.419 To truly cement a song's legacy, you have to 00:12:21.419 --> 00:12:23.799 lock in its cultural footprint visually, and 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:26.279 then you have to cross over into legacy mainstream 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:29.100 validation. The audio establishes the market 00:12:29.100 --> 00:12:32.220 share. But the visuals dictate the cultural narrative. 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.440 And the visual narrative for Woe was incredibly 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.379 specific. A month after the song drops, on December 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:41.600 6, 2019, the official music video is released. 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:44.460 It completely leans into the regional culture 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:46.919 that created the sound. It really did. You have 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:49.940 these exotic cars drifting in lots. You have 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:53.299 Lil Baby and a massive crowd of people natively 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:56.019 performing the Woe Dance Challenge. And it is 00:12:56.019 --> 00:13:00.610 packed with authentic cameos. Right. Yeah, regional 00:13:00.610 --> 00:13:03.070 rappers like Lil Durk and Lil Marlo are there, 00:13:03.370 --> 00:13:05.590 alongside members of Lil Baby's own family. It 00:13:05.590 --> 00:13:07.429 was a very intentional grounding of the artist. 00:13:07.769 --> 00:13:10.210 Michael Cipinara over at Billboard reviewed the 00:13:10.210 --> 00:13:12.750 video and specifically called the visuals energetic. 00:13:13.049 --> 00:13:15.720 Energetic is a good word for it. It is, but that 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:18.220 energy isn't manufactured on a Hollywood soundstage. 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:22.299 It is deeply rooted in the gritty communal authenticity 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:24.519 of Atlanta's street culture. It was basically 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:26.960 a visual victory lab for his core audience. But 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:29.620 then, exactly a month after that authentic Atlanta 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:32.580 video drops, the environment changes in a massive 00:13:32.580 --> 00:13:36.169 way. Yeah, the pivot. On January 6, 2020, Lil 00:13:36.169 --> 00:13:39.309 May B takes woe to mainstream late night television. 00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:42.149 He performs the track on The Tonight Show starring 00:13:42.149 --> 00:13:44.690 Jimmy Fallon. And that right there is the friction 00:13:44.690 --> 00:13:47.250 point of modern pop culture. So what does this 00:13:47.250 --> 00:13:50.669 all mean for an artist's trajectory? Think about 00:13:50.669 --> 00:13:53.350 the stark visual and cultural contrast for a 00:13:53.350 --> 00:13:56.970 second. On one hand, you have the raw, unpolished 00:13:56.970 --> 00:13:59.409 street culture of the music video, drifting cars, 00:13:59.629 --> 00:14:03.009 rap cameos, family members. And then, mere weeks 00:14:03.009 --> 00:14:05.950 later, you have the highly polished, sterile, 00:14:06.250 --> 00:14:08.629 brightly lit environment of network television 00:14:08.629 --> 00:14:11.090 with Jimmy Fallon. Have you ever noticed how 00:14:11.090 --> 00:14:14.049 a song's entire vibe shifts when you see an artist 00:14:14.049 --> 00:14:16.909 bring their heavy, 808 -driven club track to 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:20.570 a legacy television stage? It can sometimes feel 00:14:20.570 --> 00:14:22.470 like two completely different worlds colliding 00:14:22.470 --> 00:14:24.529 awkwardly. This raises an important question 00:14:24.529 --> 00:14:26.870 about how artists navigate the transition from 00:14:26.870 --> 00:14:29.870 regional star to global icon. It is an incredibly 00:14:29.870 --> 00:14:31.649 delicate tightrope. Because you don't want to 00:14:31.649 --> 00:14:34.009 alienate the fans who got you there. Exactly. 00:14:34.429 --> 00:14:37.389 On one side, an artist must maintain their authentic 00:14:37.389 --> 00:14:40.850 roots. If Lil Baby abandons the culture that 00:14:40.850 --> 00:14:42.789 championed him on Triller and in the streets 00:14:42.789 --> 00:14:46.289 of Atlanta, he loses his foundation. Right. He 00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:48.389 solidifies that foundation with music video. 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:52.320 But to achieve that 5x platinum status, to become 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:54.980 a generational artist, you eventually have to 00:14:54.980 --> 00:14:57.299 access the demographics that do not use Triller. 00:14:57.559 --> 00:14:59.840 The people watching network television at 1130 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.039 p .m. Exactly. You have to bring the culture 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.259 of the drifting cars to the Jimmy Fallon stage, 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.559 but without watering it down. And that is the 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.000 key. He performed a heavy trap song with a misspelled 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.659 title on one of the most traditional media platforms 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:16.309 in America. He didn't soften the 808s. He didn't 00:15:16.309 --> 00:15:18.070 roll out an acoustic guitar. Thank goodness. 00:15:18.210 --> 00:15:20.509 Right. He forced the mainstream to adapt to his 00:15:20.509 --> 00:15:22.850 frequency rather than diluting his frequency 00:15:22.850 --> 00:15:25.990 to fit the mainstream. When an artist can successfully 00:15:25.990 --> 00:15:28.750 execute that translation, they cement their transition 00:15:28.750 --> 00:15:31.529 from a viral moment to a lasting cultural force. 00:15:31.990 --> 00:15:35.629 It is the ultimate proof of concept. Let's look 00:15:35.629 --> 00:15:37.529 back at the masterclass we've unpacked today. 00:15:38.450 --> 00:15:41.820 The journey of woe is a perfect schematic of 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:44.320 the modern music industry. It really is. It begins 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:48.240 with the raw ingredients. heavy 808s, a suspenseful 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:51.600 piano, and a hypnotic hook that perfectly utilized 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.860 the Atlanta trap formula. From there, it leveraged 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:58.240 a strategic triller dance tease, utilizing micro 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:01.059 engagements to turn passive listeners into active 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:03.500 marketers. Brilliant strategy. That strategy 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:06.600 rocketed the track to a 24 -hour Apple Music 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.759 takeover and eventually sustained a 5x platinum 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.889 run globally. And finally, it capped it all off 00:16:12.889 --> 00:16:15.070 by taking the authentic street -level energy 00:16:15.070 --> 00:16:17.929 of an Atlanta music video straight to the legacy 00:16:17.929 --> 00:16:20.429 stage of late night television. It is a flawless 00:16:20.429 --> 00:16:22.909 operational trajectory. But, you know, looking 00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:24.970 at all of the data and history we've pulled from 00:16:24.970 --> 00:16:26.789 the source material today, there's one detail 00:16:26.789 --> 00:16:28.669 that I keep coming back to, and it leaves me 00:16:28.669 --> 00:16:30.389 with a final thought for you to consider. Oh, 00:16:30.429 --> 00:16:32.610 what's that? We noted earlier that at the time 00:16:32.610 --> 00:16:34.450 this song became a massive chart -dominating 00:16:34.450 --> 00:16:37.269 cultural phenomenon, Lil Baby had only been pursuing 00:16:37.269 --> 00:16:40.879 rap full -time for two years. Right. From a complete 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.539 novice to a chart -topping architect in just 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:45.879 24 months. What does that mean for the future 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:49.019 of art? When a creator can go from a standing 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:53.279 start to a genre -defining 5x platinum artist 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:55.940 who is actively setting international cultural 00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:59.220 dance trends in just two years, I mean, does 00:16:59.220 --> 00:17:02.120 this hyper -accelerated timeline completely change 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:04.519 the way we define a master of a craft? That's 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.509 a deep question. Right. For decades, we've believed 00:17:07.509 --> 00:17:09.890 in the 10 ,000 -hour rule, the idea that it takes 00:17:09.890 --> 00:17:12.329 years of grinding and obscurity to perfect an 00:17:12.329 --> 00:17:15.230 art form. But if the modern tools for production, 00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:18.190 algorithmic viral marketing, and global digital 00:17:18.190 --> 00:17:20.230 distribution are this powerful and accessible, 00:17:20.630 --> 00:17:23.720 is the 10 ,000 -hour rule dead. Wow. Have we 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:25.720 entered an era where mastering the mechanisms 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:27.779 of the internet is just as important as mastering 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:30.140 the instrument itself? That is a brilliant question. 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:33.240 Does the sheer speed of algorithmic culture fundamentally 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:35.599 change what it takes to be considered a master? 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:38.900 It completely reframes how we look at every new 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:41.079 artist breaking onto the scene today. It really 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:43.220 does. Well, thank you so much for joining us 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:45.339 on this deep dive. I hope you walk away listening 00:17:45.339 --> 00:17:47.799 to the charts a little bit differently. Keep 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:50.359 exploring the fascinating invisible mechanics 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:53.140 behind the music you hear every day. because 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:55.579 the real magic is rarely what happens on stage, 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:57.220 it's everything that happens before you even 00:17:57.220 --> 00:17:58.960 press play. Catch you next time!