Coachella 2022: No special guests, but Lil Baby still commanded the Coachella Stage

Lil Baby performs on the Coachella Stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., April 22, 2022.

Weeks after picking up his first Grammy as part of a collaboration, rapper Lil Baby hit the Coachella Stage for a solo effort Friday night, giving his fans a stripped down but powerful performance mixing party jams and poignant pieces throughout.

Lil Baby, Kanye and the Weeknd combined on the song “Hurricane,” which won the 2022 Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance. A fan of collaborations, many in the crowd were buzzing about who might jump up with him. Drake? Nicki Minaj? J. Cole?

A moment like that never happened, but the large crowd still went home happy as Lil Baby, real name Dominique Armani Jones, churned through some of his biggest hits, but did not follow the same set list as last week.

He played songs like “Pure Cocaine” and “Girls Want Girls” that he did not play during Weekend 1. He hit the crowd favorites, too, like “Yes Indeed,” “Close Friends” and “Emotionally Scarred.”

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He played the song “Baby,” which is a collaboration between Lil Baby and Da Baby. Interestingly, Da Baby was on the 2020 Coachella poster before the event got canceled and Lil Baby was not. When the 2022 poster came around, Lil Baby was on it and Da Baby was not. Did you follow that.

He also created a poignant moment by playing the song “Bigger Picture” while showing images of a Black Lives Matter rally for George Floyd. It drew cheers from the crowd, and it’s an emotional touchstone for him. Lil Baby actually accompanied George Floyd’s family on a trip to the White House in 2021.

Lil Baby performs on the Coachella Stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., April 22, 2022.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2022: No special guests, but Lil Baby still made an impact