Lil Baby ‘Untrapped’ in new documentary

Four Pockets are, indeed, Full in “Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby,” (2022) the new Amazon Prime Video documentary on Dominique Armani Jones, better known by his titular stage name.

The film, which premiered for streaming today after screening at Tribeca Film Festival in June, relays a brilliantly-crafted story of an artist who overcame doubt, oppression, poverty and racism to escape the “Trap” — an all-too-common suffocation by systemic and institutional racism in his home city of Atlanta.

On Wednesday night, Amazon held an early screening of the recut documentary in Los Angeles. The Cinemark of Baldwin Hills in Crenshaw lit up with lights and signs eager to persuade people to see the trials and tribulations that Jones  overcame to reach superstardom.

The decision to host a screening in L.A. followed a trend seen across the nation, as filmmakers and Amazon’s engagement directors sought to connect people of color in historically oppressive urban centers such as Houston, Philadelphia and Chicago with Jones’ story. As the Michigan Chronicle explained in their coverage of a screening in Detroit Wednesday, special efforts were made by producers in many cities to invite youth leaders and members of BIPOC organizations to view the film.

“We hope to encourage, uplift and motivate the young men attending this documentary screening,” said Ian Conyers, Amazon’s Head of Community Engagement for Detroit as quoted in the Chronicle’s coverage. “They will not only be filled with hope and aspiration but will also be able to share the experience among their own peers.”

The film, directed by Karam Gill and narrated by Jones himself, begins with a description of Jones’ youth. From these introductory scenes, Jones highlights a major theme of the work, that the lack of a father figure in his youth heavily influenced him to play an active role in his childrens’ lives. Throughout the film, it’s made evident that Jones cherishes the time he spends with his children. Towards the middle of the film, he explains that though his world has constantly changed since achieving fame, his children provide a priceless consistency to his new lifestyle.

Growing up, Jones found himself inspired by those in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta that were distributing and selling drugs. Jones goes on to explain that because most of the friends he made while gravitating toward the dealers in his neighborhood were older than him, he was viewed as the child or “Baby” of the group, hence his rap name, Lil Baby. 

It was at this point in the documentary that Jones reveals a bombshell: He never intended to rap in the first place. After seeing so many neighbors and peers struggle to make ends meet, Jones felt prepared to pursue an illicit lifestyle like the older dealers he had been socializing with. He explains that for him, “slow money was no money,” and the slow rise through the rap game would be long — and uncertain.

As the documentary masterfully portrays, Jones’ lifestyle did provide him with the luxuries he desired since he was a kid, but they came at a cost. 

Despite advice to distance himself from illegality from his childhood friend Jeffery Lamar Williams (better known by his stage name Young Thug) Jones’ drug involvement led to a two-year prison sentence in 2014. It was this time spent in prison, which he described as “meditative,” that allowed him to rethink his current lifestyle — to listen to those around him that encouraged Jones to rap. 

Fresh out of prison, Jones gave a childhood mentor, Pierre “P” Thomas, a call. It was during this time that P’s independent music label, “Quality Control,” was taking off thanks to the immense popularity of members like Migos. The audience is shown footage from Lil Baby’s first studio session in 2015, as five jumping fans in a tiny venue fill the screen, juxtaposing immediately with his sold-out stadium shows in the present day.

Later in the documentary, Jones discusses his first interview with the popular radio show “The Breakfast Club.” As Gill weaves in confessionals and behind-the-scenes clips with the radio interview, it’s made clear to the audience that Jones had difficulty becoming Lil Baby.

Amid shyness, insecurity in his writing ability, and uncertainty following his two-year separation from the spaces he’d known all his life, his biggest growing pain was an inability to find his own voice. In Atlanta, a city hallowed for its endlessly evolving rap sound, Jones was unsure how to separate himself from all the other innovators in town.

That was until he heard the beat for his breakout song “My Dawg.” The perfect breakout single, it not only solidified Lil Baby’s lyrical and vocal presence but painted him a unique persona as “Atlanta’s most wanted.” Lil Baby dropped hit after hit following “My Dawg,” which in 2018 landed him a feature from one of the most influential rappers of our generation, Drake. 

Following Drake’s feature on “Yes Indeed,” Lil Baby became one of the hottest rappers in recent years. As explored in the film, this rapid propulsion to the heights of rap fame was immensely turbulent for Jones, who in just two years had gone from incarceration to superstardom.

With this momentum from 2018, Lil Baby went on to drop the highest-selling album across all genres of music in 2020. However, as the filmmakers’ remark, 2020 was anything but consistent. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jones was unable to fully experience his place at the top of the rap game. With tours and award shows postponed, Lil Baby couldn’t see the impact that his work had on the country and world — or even on his community in Atlanta.

Shifting to the present, the documentary lingers on a starkly emotional Jones, who elaborates that he spent his time in quarantine like many of us, inspired to make a difference. After witnessing the murder of George Floyd on national television, Jones said his artistic intentions began to shift. No longer would he aspire for wealth in his lyrics but for empowerment. As he summarizes in an intimate close-up, he realized he “has a voice that can inspire change.”

At the end of the film, this realization inspires him to create and release his grammy nominated song “The Bigger Picture.” Unlike anything he has released before, “The Bigger Picture” was a social commentary on police brutality and institutional racism in the United States.

With Jones’ artistic journey effectively captured, the audience is left with a closing sentiment to enjoy along with new footage of his Grammy performance. The performance, Jones explains, meant much more to him than any award or sold-out show. The performance, and further the documentary, serve as enduring video proof that a kid from the West End neighborhood of Atlanta could make it out of the trap.

“Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby” is available for streaming now on Amazon Prime Video and is free to view with an Amazon Prime Subscription.