AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets.
Doors: 6:00 PM
Show: 7:00 PM
BIGBABYGUCCI
BigBabyGucci describes his own music as multidimensional, and it’s a fitting assessment. Across his near-decade-long career, the 27-year-old rapper has experimented with different sounds and scenes, all of these explorations leading up to his new album, Baby 5. Densely produced and lyrically evocative, the project is BigBabyGucci’s opportunity to build a new world around his Baby 5 persona. Ostensibly presented as an alias or a moniker, the concept expands out to include a visual experience not unlike a series of television networks. Inspired by shows like Tyler the Creator’s Loiter Squad, and the long-running sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, the presentation of Baby 5 will be as if the listener has been stuck in the visual and aural world of Baby 5.
Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, BigBabyGucci has been working and reworking the theme of his new album to perfection. Baby 5 considers all aspects of his life and career. Being from a Southern region, specifically, has taught BigBabyGucci to appreciate music on a deeper level, which is apparent through his artistic expression. He also had the advantage of visiting his mother’s side of the family in New York as an adolescent, which exposed him to MCs like Big L, MF Doom, and the Notorious B.I.G. But there’s no place like home—BigBabyGucci looks up to fellow North Carolina rapper J. Cole, as well as soul singer Anthony Hamilton, who hails from Charlotte. In May 2024, BigBabyGucci was selected as the visual cover of The Carolinas hip-hop radio station on Pandora. “I’m happy people are looking at North Carolina,” he says. “A lot of kids out there that are like me, that grew up there, it’s not easy to showcase that. Anything I can do to get more eyes on it.”
“I feel like the project takes you on a ride of really different emotions,” he says. “It has a youthful feeling to it, but it’s still mature. I wanted to basically control how the listener feels instead of just dishing out a bunch of random songs.” Sonically, Baby 5 is a journey through hyper-rap, alternative hip-hop, and R&B. Chronologically, the album transitions from phase to phase, sound to sound, giving fans an opportunity to delve further into each listening experience. “I’m still getting better,” he says. “I’ll always keep the basis of what my music will be or what it is, but I feel like you don’t know what you’re going to listen to once you press play on one of my songs.” Tracks like “Black Sheep” and “Captain Crashout” home in on BigBabyGucci’s penchant for crafting high-energy records, while “Petty Queen” and “Chanel” focus on his ability to appeal to a female audience. Altogether, it’s an experience that feels decidedly like BigBabyGucci. “The music that I actually put out through platforms, it’s like a piece of me,” he says. “That’s how I look at it: It’s not just a song, regardless of whatever the context is. It’s a piece of me.”
