Local Review: Baby Giant — Why Am I

Baby Giant
Why Am I
Lipsync
Street: 06.13.2026
Baby Giant = Kid Cudi + Larry June

Despite being raised on folk music in the red-rock farmtowns of Utah, I’ve grown to appreciate the true talent and soul required to produce quality hip-hop and rap tracks.

This being said, while living in the heart of the city I’ve found that hip-hop and rap are some of the more underrated and underrepresented sounds in Salt Lake’s local music scene. While the lines between endless subgenres can begin to blur to the untrained ear, Baby Giant’s debut follows a lucid flow of electronic mixes and universally vulnerable verses that have caught the attention of hip-hop heads across the West.

Why Am I opens with the intro “In My Head (Intro),” a 20-second cybersynth-heavy welcoming that sets the tone for the rest of the 9-track release. Listeners are then ushered into the namesake song  “Why Am I,” one of the most insightful songs on the album when diving into the true identity behind Baby Giant. Best represented by verses like: “Got adopted and dropped in Salt Lake City with the odds against me / I’m just tryna cope, maybe find some hope, put some light inside my soul / Billions of people on this planet and I still feel alone,” these bars shine light onto the artist’s personal struggles and resilience in resisting assimilation in Utah’s predominantly purist (and ethnocentric) society.

With this authenticity established, we then dive into “My Creations” and “My Energy,” two of the catchier earworms on the release. Following a few sets of effortless 8-bar verses, fans begin to see Baby Giant’s carefree truth as the artist emphasizes how far he’s come, and his focus on prioritizing himself despite those who may have doubted him. This is best shared in simple verses such as “I need space cause I’m a star / Fuck a facade, be who you are.” One of my favorite lines in “My Energy.”

Weaving between versatile beats and vocal-focused vulnerability, listeners are left with a flow cognate to Larry June paired with the simplicity of 2000’s Kid Cudi; however, I also found that the overall sentiment within this album carried a vibe akin to Cudi’s newest release HAVE U BN 2 HEAVEN @ NITE?

“After Midnight (Interlude)” continues Why Am I with another funky intergalactic intermission that is hard not to bob your head to. Despite being beyond my personal preferences, I actually enjoyed the inclusion of these remixes within the intro, interlude and outro. Though remixing elements can be found throughout the entire album, these specific tracks allow listeners to identify two distinct sounds from the artist and their rudimentary marrying to create an album that is well balanced and packed with potential.

With this I noticed that a complete listen through of the album caused some tracks to blend when played back-to-back. While these songs may stand out to listeners when played on their own, they can begin to drown each other out when played in sequence, making these remixes some of the most interesting points within the album. In future releases, I’d love to see more sound variety in song production whether that be a focus on producing energetic and effortless earworms that people can cut loose to, or challenging Baby Giant’s lyricism and flow to go above and beyond basic 8-bars.

Now whether or not the album is good is ultimately subjective to the listener; however, with a countless flow of new sounds and creators circulating Utah’s music scene, it’s not every day that we get to review an artist who’s committed to expanding Salt Lake’s presence in the realm of rap and hip-hop against all odds. With a recently concluded tour across the West featuring Wrekonize, Hiway and BLU, it’s safe to say that Baby Giant is just getting started, and Why Am I has potential to be the beginning of something much bigger! —Juno McKell

Read more local music reviews:
Local Review: The Snarlin’ Yarns — The Remedy
Local Review: World Record — Fighter

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