Lil Baby’s “My Turn” Crowned Billboard’s No. 1 R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the 21st Century
Lil Baby has achieved a career-defining milestone. His second studio album, My Turn, has officially landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s list of the “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums of the 21st Century.” The recognition comes after Billboard reviewed chart performance from January 1, 2000, through December 28, 2024.
The album topped a competitive list that featured some of the biggest names in music. Among the top 10 were Juice WRLD’s Goodbye & Good Riddance, J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive, The Weeknd’s The Highlights, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN and good kid, m.A.A.d city, Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding, SZA’s SOS, and Drake’s Take Care.
Released in February 2020, with a deluxe edition arriving that May, My Turn quickly became a commercial powerhouse. The album featured collaborations with Gunna, 42 Dugg, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Wayne, Moneybagg Yo, Young Thug, and Rylo Rodriguez. Singles like “Woah,” “Sum 2 Prove,” and “We Paid” cracked the top 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
The track “The Bigger Picture,” released during the height of global protests in 2020, elevated Lil Baby’s profile even further. It earned him two Grammy nominations and cemented his reputation as more than just a hitmaker.
Billboard credited the album’s staying power to streaming. My Turn spent six weeks at No. 1 and remained a fixture in the top 10 long after its release. By March 2022, it had broken the record for most weeks in the chart’s top 10, reaching 85 weeks. Later that year, it became the first album to log 100 weeks in the top 10 since the chart began in 1965.
The ranking shocked many fans, given the cultural and commercial weight of the albums it surpassed. J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive is widely considered one of the most influential hip-hop albums of the last decade. Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Drake’s Take Care helped define an entire era of hip-hop and R&B.
Still, Lil Baby’s numbers and chart dominance gave My Turn the edge. Its consistency, combined with fan engagement and streaming demand, set it apart.
Lil Baby is not slowing down. In a recent interview with PlaqueBoyMax, he revealed details about his next project, The Leak$, which is set to arrive just weeks after another upcoming album.
“Definitely, project dropping soon,” Baby said. “I really just took, like, a couple of songs that I already got leaked and just created a whole album around it. Most of the leaks don’t be, like, the real versions of s**t anyway. But, like, people already got it, so we just go with the leaks.”
If history is any guide, Lil Baby’s momentum suggests his next releases will also make a major impact. My Turn may have set a new standard, but it looks like fans won’t be waiting long to see what comes next.
