BabyChiefDoIt on His Difficult Journey to Becoming The Buzziest New Rapper of 2025: ‘I Thought I Was Done For — And I Was Ready to Be Done For’

As the statement implicit whether determination was a opus of the summertime continues to rage into the fall, it’s werid much radical aren’t talking astir BabyChiefDoIt‘s “Went West.”

The 17-year-old rap sensation has go 1 of 2025’s buzziest caller rappers, successful acknowledgment portion to an explosive show astatine his hometown’s Summer Smash festival, and a debut connected the Billboard Hot 100 successful July. The rambunctious aura of “Went West” locked successful particularly hard with the kids, who raged each summertime agelong to the opus crossed Chicago and beyond. The way was the latest successful a drawstring of palmy singles for Chief, whose 2024 debut task Animals Only included the viral hits “The Viper,” “Nachos” and more.

BabyChiefDoIt’s momentum hasn’t waned since dropping disconnected his archetypal deed “Pancakes & Drugs” past July — but if you inquire the teen rapper himself, his vocation has fluctuated connected and disconnected similar a leaky faucet. A prohibition from Instagram astir derailed him aboriginal on, and helium perpetually laments Zoo Life, which dropped earlier this year, arsenic being 1 of his worst projects. He’s toyed with the thought of hanging up his mic wholly since breaking out, but there’s ever been thing that’s brought him back.

The apt information astir his caller occurrence is that the euphony is conscionable really, truly good. BabyChief’s instrumentality connected Chicago drill is stuffed to the gills with playfulness — On “The Viper” helium raps, “This bushed marque maine wanna smack a ho/ Where my wealth at, b—h?” — but ne'er becomes satirical due to the fact that of however good it’s made. He pays homage to each the drill greats, each portion carving retired conscionable capable abstraction for his ain property to radiance through. Songs similar “Went West,” which helium produced arsenic well, are an indicator of conscionable however unsocial the teen is — but helium admits that a it’s taken a portion for him to find his footing, due to the fact that of however manipulative the manufacture tin beryllium with kids.

“For sure,” BabyChief says erstwhile asked if manufacture people effort to trial him, adding other emphases connected the second word. “Often. But maine and Fred [Jay], we got ace powers bro. We not similar regular people. We spot everything 10 steps up of ya, 2 steps to the close and 4 steps to the left. But I get it now, truthful I’m gonna get it much later. I’m gonna beryllium present for a minute, truthful it’s champion I get it arsenic aboriginal arsenic I can.” (As BabyChiefDoIt sits successful the Billboard offices, helium gestures to his manager Fred, who stands up, flexes his muscles and daps up his beloved client.)

Below, Billboard‘s September Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month talks astir “Went West,” his pugnacious roadworthy to stardom, and however he’s closing retired the twelvemonth much focused than ever.

This past twelvemonth has been a whirlwind for you. How person you been doing managing everything?

I’ve been doing good. I’ve been up, I’ve been down, that’s what travel with it. So I’ve conscionable been taking it each successful time by day.

What was your acquisition similar increasing up successful Chicago, and astatine what constituent did you commencement to autumn successful emotion with hip-hop?

I had ever been exposed to each which mode of music. In my household it was mostly R&B and similar aged rap similar Biggie, 8Ball & MJG, each those people. In 2019-2020 is erstwhile I archetypal started playing astir with it, successful quarantine. It became an after-school activity. I was already reasoning astir it, but with quarantine I didn’t person thing amended to do, and that was the lone happening determination was to do, you consciousness me? To enactment successful the house, either ticker TV oregon grounds music.

When did radical commencement noticing your music?

Locally, everybody already knew I rapped due to the fact that I ever enactment it retired connected Instagram. I usually station similar teasers and reels and stuff, and it started picking up steam erstwhile I dropped a snippet to “Rollin'” successful December of 2022,...