Lil baby The Bigger Picture Song Review
By Isaac Adeyemi (Politics,Philosophy, Economics)
This song is a powerful display of unity in the community. Amassing 156 million views up to date. Lil baby a decorated artist shows solidarity with the BLM movement not only by declaring this in his lyrics but by actively being involved in protesting on the street in the video. The song is titled the Bigger Picture and after listening to the song I fell it was called that to show the listener the black community isn’t just angry at a single shooting e.g., Breonna Taylor or George Floyd that it’s the bigger picture of why the policemen who commit these crimes are getting away with it & why the victims are treated that way in the first place.
Lil Baby raps “It’s bigger than black and white, it’s a problem with the whole way of life, can’t change overnight” suggesting the anger is not toward “white people it’s much bigger than that, it makes the listener question the “way of life” the systems that allow people to get away with these crimes. The last part of the line is very meaningful and suggests these systems won’t change easily and will take a lot of action and tearing down to finally change. The video starts with protestors on the street holding up their fists while news reports of shootings are played in the background. Many protestors wearing the BLM t-shirts are displayed throughout the video which brings attention to/ promotes the cause.
Throughout the song Lil Baby raps very meaningful lyrics like “so many mothers just grieving, they are killing us for no reason “. These lyrics highlight the unrest and devastation that unlawful police activity can cause to a community’s stretching way further than the victim all the way to their neighbourhoods. Lil Baby makes it clear he’s not trying to cause division or make it a white people vs black people battle by saying “All whites not racist” as some people feel that is what is implied by the BLM movement.
Throughout the video there are many crowds filled with people of different races, genders & ages standing together supporting the BLM movement. This shows inequality can unite people to take a stand together against it. This is contrasted by the cuts to violent demonstrations including burning fires, people looting, throwing objects, and clashing with the police to show even though many people are protesting peacefully they are very angry. I feel this shouldn’t have been shown as violent protests are never called for in my opinion. The song is very catchy and easy to listen to while being very meaningful and touching almost emotional a great piece of work.