Harder Than Ever

Harder Than Ever is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil Baby. It was released on May 18, 2018 by 4 Pockets Full, Wolfpack Music Group, Quality Control Music, Motown and Capitol Records.[1] The album features guest appearances from Starlito, Drake, Moneybagg Yo, Gunna, Young Thug, Offset, Lil Uzi Vert, and Hoodrich Pablo Juan. It also features production from Southside, Wheezy, Tay Keith, Quay Global and Turbo, among others.[2]

For the Venom song, see Prime Evil (album).

Harder Than Ever
Studio album by Lil Baby
Released	May 18, 2018 (2018-05-18)
Genre	Hip hop trap
Length	51:16
Label	4PF Wolfpack Quality Control Motown Capitol
Producer	B-Rackz DJ Durel Earl the Pearll London on da Track Max Lord OZ Quay Global Southside Tay Keith Turbo Wheezy
Lil Baby chronology
Too Hard (2017) Harder Than Ever (2018) Drip Harder (2018)
Singles from Harder Than Ever
"Southside" Released: May 8, 2018 "Yes Indeed" Released: May 15, 2018

Singles

The album's lead single, "Southside", was released for digital download on May 8, 2018, along with the music video.[3] The song was produced by Southside. The music video was directed by Edgar Esteves.[4]

The album's second single, "Yes Indeed" with Drake, was released on May 15, 2018.[5] The song was produced by Wheezy.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Album of the Year	70/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
HipHopDX	3.7/5[8]
HotNewHipHop	89%[9]
Pitchfork	6.6/10[10]

Harder Than Ever was met with generally positive reviews. At Album of the Year, the album received an average score of 70 out of 100, based on two reviews.[7]

Evan Rytlewski at Pitchfork gave the album mixed a review giving it 6.6 out of 10. Although he ended describing Lil Baby's debut, "Technically impressive: polished, efficient, but also kind of nondescript". He also stated that "Baby’s rapping isn’t any flashier than his fashion sense. He rhymes in a tuneful, half-sung stream of thought, sort of like a more nuanced Rich Homie Quan. On a purely technical level, he’s impressive."[10]

Commercial performance

Harder Than Ever debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 71,000 album-equivalent units (including 6,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[11] This became Lil Baby's first US top ten debut on the chart.[11] In its second week, the album dropped to number seven on the chart, earning an additional 45,000 units.[12] In its third week, the album dropped to number nine on the chart, moving 37,000 more units.[13] In its fourth week, the album remained at number nine, earning 34,000 units, bringing its four-week total to 184,000 album-equivalent units.[14] As of December 2018, the album has earned 717,000 album-equivalent units in the US.[15] On February 28, 2020, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units in the United States.[16]

Track listing

Harder Than Ever track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Dominique Jones Chris Rosser	Quay Global	1:33
2.	"Spazz"	Jones Joshua Luellen	Southside Bobby Raps^[a]	1:48
3.	"I'm Straight"	Jones Rosser	Quay Global	3:12
4.	"Exotic" (featuring Starlito)	Jones Jermaine Shute Brytavious Chambers	Tay Keith	2:42
5.	"Yes Indeed" (with Drake)	Jones Aubrey Graham Wesley Glass Branden Brown[17]	Wheezy B-Rackz^[a]	2:22
6.	"Leaked"	Jones Rosser Sheldon Ferguson	Quay Global	3:12
7.	"Bank" (featuring Moneybagg Yo)	Jones Demario White, Jr. Chandler Durham	Turbo OZ^[a]	3:06
8.	"Cash"	Jones Rosser	Quay Global	3:18
9.	"Southside"	Jones Luellen	Southside Max Lord^[a]	2:53
10.	"Throwing Shade" (featuring Gunna)	Jones Sergio Kitchens Rosser	Quay Global	3:12
11.	"First Class"	Jones Rosser	Quay Global	3:21
12.	"Right Now" (featuring Young Thug)	Jones Jeffery Williams London Holmes	London on da Track	3:25
13.	"Life Goes On" (featuring Gunna and Lil Uzi Vert)	Jones Kitchens Symere Woods Rosser	Quay Global	4:07
14.	"Transporter" (featuring Offset)	Jones Kiari Cephus Daryl McPherson	DJ Durel	3:33
15.	"Fit In"	Jones Isaac Bynum	Earl the Pearll	3:33
16.	"Boss Bitch" (featuring Hoodrich Pablo Juan)	Jones Sterling Pennix Rosser	Quay Global	2:44
17.	"Never Needed No Help"	Jones Bynum	Earl the Pearll	3:15
Total length:				51:16

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an uncredited co-producer

Personnel

Technical

• Quay Global – recording (tracks 1–4, 6, 8, 9, 13, 16)
• Turbo – recording (track 7)
• Tony Wilson – additional editing (all tracks)
• Mattazik Muzik – recording (tracks 10–12, 14, 15, 17)
• Michael "MikFly" Dottin – mixing (tracks 1–4, 6–17)
• Noah "40" Shebib – mixing (track 5)
• Colin Leonard – mastering (all tracks)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly sales chart performance for Harder Than Ever Chart (2018) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18] 9 Dutch Albums Chart[19] 129 US Billboard 200[20] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] 2

Year-end charts Annual sales chart performance for Harder Than Ever Chart (2018) Position US Billboard 200[22] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 22 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for Harder Than Ever Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard 200[24] 164

Certifications

Sales certifiations for Harder Than Ever

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25]	Gold	40,000
United States (RIAA)[26]	Platinum	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Harder Than Ever by Lil Baby". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
2. Goddard, Kevin (May 17, 2018). "Lil Baby's "Harder Than Ever" To Feature Drake, Offset, Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert & More". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
3. "Southside - Single by Lil Baby". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
4. Berry, Peter A. (May 8, 2018). "Lil Baby Hits the Block in New "Southside" Video". XXL. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
5. "Yes Indeed - Single by Lil Baby". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
6. Goddard, Kevin (May 14, 2018). "Lil Baby & Drake Officially Release "Yes Indeed" On iTunes & Other Streaming Platforms". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
7. "Lil Baby – Harder Than Ever – Reviews". Album of the Year. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
8. Draughorne, Kenan (May 31, 2018). "Lil Baby Validates His Buzz With Debut "Harder Than Ever". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
9. Chintaluri, Narsimha (May 23, 2018). "Lil Baby "Harder Than Ever" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
10. Evan Rytlewski (May 23, 2018). "Lil Baby: Harder Than Ever Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
11. "Lil Baby's 'Harder Than Ever' Debuts at No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart". Billboard.
12. "Shawn Mendes Scores Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard.
13. "Kanye West Earns Eighth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Ye'". Billboard.
14. "Kids See Ghosts & Dierks Bentley Debut in Top 3 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard.
15. "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - 2018 TOP 50 ALBUMS". HITS Daily Double.
16. "RIAA Certifications - Lil Baby". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
17. "BMI | Repertoire Search". repertoire.bmi.com.
18. "Canadian Albums: June 2, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
19. "Discografie Lil Baby". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
20. Caulfield, Keith (May 27, 2018). "BTS Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Love Yourself: Tear'". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
21. "Billboard Chart History - Lil Baby". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
22. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
23. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
24. "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
25. "Canadian album certifications – Lil Baby – Harder Than Ever". Music Canada.
26. "American album certifications – Lil Baby – Harder Than Ever". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.