Baby Money bubbled through Detroit’s underground before joining the Quality Control roster alongside Lil Baby, City Girls, and more. The hustler energy that seeps through his music is why QC’s VP of A&R Wayno Clarke described Baby Money as a resemblance “of Jeezy in a space of motivation.”
The Detroit atmosphere that bred hustlers and rappers alike shaped Baby Money in his formidable years. He witnessed his older brother’s efforts as a member of the local group which taught him the fundamentals of verse structure.
Then, he began rapping at 12 years old before gaining a strong grip on the city in his teenage years. Slowly, he became a defining face of the current generation of Detroit’s street rap. He’s an embodiment of the D-Boy (Detroit Boy), integrating influences from the past and present. He cites Biggie and Jay-Z as his musical inspirations along with homebred talent like Babyface Ray, Blade Icewood, and Doughboyz Cashout, who were pivotal in his leap into music as a child.
“My hometown influences my music,” he tells HNHH of Detroit’s impact on his creative approach on the latest episode of On The Come Up. “Everybody knows when you come to Detroit, it’s about money. Back in the day, it was minks, ya feel what I’m saying? Nowadays the young n****s in the 550s, too. So ain’t nothing changed so it motivated me a lot.”
Like any hustler, he understood that results take time. His early videos would score 10,000 views through an organic buzz. Those numbers would increase with each subsequent video until finally he finally hit 1,000,000. “I feel like I was doing something right, you feel what I’m saying?” he says.
From songs like “Moncler Bubble,” which currently sits at 2.5 million views on YouTube, and a string of potent mixtapes, like Young N***a Old Soul and September’s New Money, Baby Money is bringing his own take on Detroit’s swagger to the rap game with each release. He sat down with HNHH on the latest episode of On The Come Up to discuss his beginnings, his dream collaboration, and the Detroit hustle.
