Brandon Dickinson (born July 10, 1994), known by his stage name Lil Bibby, is an American hip hop recording artist from Chicago, Illinois.Lil Bibby grew up on the east side of Chicago. He stated in an interview it was a hard place to grow up and he witnessed a lot of different things.
2012/2013 - Early Beginnings and debut mixtape
The Free Crack mixtape was released in 2013. The title of the album was said to have links to Kanye West's track, "Crack Music", which featured on his Late Registration album. Bibby and West are both from Chicago. He also cited Drake and Jadakiss as two of his favorite rappers. Vice stated that the debut mixtape had clear influences from both rappers.
His debut mixtape features guest appearances from Lil Herb, King L and others. The production is handled by DJ L, Hit-Boy, Black Metaphor, Young Chop, The Olympicks and others. DJ Scream hosted the mixtape. The mixtape combines a gruff and imposing voice, along with a solid delivery and flow. The tracks are hard-hitting with plenty of bass and strong lyrics from Bibby. One of the standout beats from the mixtape is "Whole Crew", which was produced by Hit-Boy. There have been released 4 music videos of the mixtape "How We Move" featuring King L, "Change", "Water" and "Tired Of Talkin'".
Following the release of the debut mixtape, Bibby featured in Vibe, which stated he was one of the rappers to watch in 2014. The article complemented Bibby, stating he had what it takes to be a major music artist, due to his maturity and his rapping ability.
2013-present: Upcoming EP, Freshman List, and Free Crack 2
In an interview with XXL magazine in December 2013, Bibby hinted that the next step for his career could be an EP.
In early 2014, it was also stated that the rapper Drake was a huge fan of Bibby and that they'd spoken in 2013, before the release of Bibby's debut mixtape. Bibby said it pushed him onto improve his debut release, adding the tracks 'Water' and 'Whole Crew'.
In January 2014, Bibby appeared on Sway's radio show 'Sway in the Morning'. On the show he spoke about the success of his debut mixtape, and also dropped a live freestyle.
During the same month, Bibby also featured on New York's radio station, Hot 97.During the same month, Bibby stated in an interview will Billboard that he was working on material for an EP, but was waiting on a couple of features.Bibby also appeared on the 2014 XXL Freshman class list.He was the last person selected to the list, due to Young Thug's last minute cancellation.In July 2014 he made two guest appearances on songs, having collaborated with Memphis rapper Juicy J and being featured on the official remix to "Main Chick" by Kid Ink.
After a few delays, Bibby's sophomore mixtape, Free Crack 2, was released on August 29, 2014. Free Crack 2 is hosted by DJ Drama and includes features from Lil Herb, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, Kevin Gates, Jadakiss, Anthony Hamilton and others. The mixtape has production from Juicy J, Honorable C-NOTE, Sonny Digital, DJ Pain 1 & others. The mixtape was released for free digital download and rapidly accumulated over 120,000 downloads.
Free Crack 2 was received with critical acclaim. XXL magazine awarded the mixtape an XL, praising the mixtape's authenticity, catchy hooks and production, while also commenting that the mixtape showcases Bibby's "growth as an artist. RedEye awarded the mixtape three stars out of four, commenting on the tape's maturity and versatility and praising the ability of the song 'Dead or in Prison' to let Bibby's "emotion and natural charisma do the heavy lifting. BET gave the mixtape a positive review, awarding it five stars while commenting on its "new level of depth and introspection, detailing the difficult balance of fame and authenticity and how that effects everyday life in some of America's urban war zones.
