BabyTron, light of my life, fire of my loins. Your favorite rapper’s rapper. Bay-bee-tron: a keyboard tap of B slipping to A, returning to B before pitter pattering up to Y and T, where Spotify autofill grabs the wheel. He is James in the morning, standing five feet seven in Yeezy slides. He is Bin Reaper in the scene, James Johnson III on the dotted line. But in my AirPods, he is always BabyTron. Did he have a precursor? He did, indeed, he did. In point of fact, there might have been no Babytron at all had I not loved, one dark winter, an initial Detroit scam-rapper (Teejayx6.) In a princessdom by the quad. Oh, when? Only three years after BabyTron entered the mainstream. You can always count on a music blogger for ignoring AP style. Ladies and gentlemen of the readership, exhibit number one is what the Pitchfork writers, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged Pitchfork writers, envied. Look at this tangle of bars.

This Nabokovian ode to BabyTron ends—but also begins—here.

As this summer faded into autumn, BabyTron took over my life. Alongside butternut squash soups and pumpkin cream cold brews is James Johnson III, better known as BabyTron. I believe I have listened to his track “Frankenstein” over one hundred times in the past two and a half months. It’s impossible to not yell out: “Hit yo bitch then disappear like I’m Criss Angel.” And why wouldn’t I want to feverishly exclaim this? BabyTron is a musical gift that keeps on giving. Upon initial listening, his voice and flow stirred memories of Teejayx6, a Detroit rapper who gained notoriety for teaching people how to commit credit card fraud (Went and got a VPN, Just bought another BIN”) through his lyrics. An episode of HBO’s Generation Hustle, “A Scam with a Beat,” follows Teejayx6 throughout his scamming career, chronicling how he utilized rap as a how-to for committing financial crimes. BabyTron’s music isn’t centered around scamming, but, nonetheless, he writes lyrics like, “Me and Stan just fucked up AT&T (Woo),” and named a single “Scam Season” with the Western Union logo as the cover art.

A member of the ShittyBoyz collective, BabyTron has an extensive discography. He’s raking in millions of streams across all platforms and boasts over 1,000,00 monthly listeners on Spotify. BabyTron has yet to have a single debut on the Billboard Hot 100, but his October 2022 album, Bin Reaper 3: Old Testament, peaked at 69 on the U.S. charts. He occupies the exciting territory between legitimate recognition in the industry and becoming a household name, perhaps best compared to a pre-500 B.C. Fivio Foreign.

BabyTron’s voice switches over any flow thrown at him. “The Lost World” is a fantastic display of this. “Oh shit, that’s a Danny G beat!” begins the song as the Jurassic World theme song plays behind BabyTron’s voice. Two minutes and twenty seconds into the song, he takes off. His bars fly, joke after joke, beat after beat. Other tracks have silly, twinkling keys, triangle chimes, and 80s synth samples—see “Jesus Shuttlesworth”—that deliver immediate sonic whiplash when heavy, trappy drums arrive. His frequent producers have mastered the art of creating almost the same song but then throwing in an off the cuff beat switch up to save face. I’ll admit, sometimes the songs blend into each other. Still, I come back each and every time.

BabyTron stands out for implementing what he may not realize is a profoundly comedic exploitation of nostalgia. His inspiration, interpolation, and sampling of throwback songs or old television shows and movies is done with a meticulous blend of half-assery and a firm understanding of his audience. “Jesus Shuttlesworth” samples Freez’s “I.O.U.,” working an 80s classic onto an album titled Bin Reaper. “Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy” is a shoddy track, but a tasteful use of the SpongeBob Squarepants soundtrack works as a helpful distraction. He calls in the Jurassic World score on the aforementioned “The Lost World,” and works in the John Williams crafted “Imperial March” and opening theme of Star Wars. Williams’ work appears more often in BabyTron’s tracks than the average rapper’s. BabyTron mixes the excitement of nostalgia with his signature playful bars. He’s enthused behind the mic even when his voice itself may sometimes stray monotone.

I’ve yet to finish my pilgrimage through BabyTron’s full collection of singles, mixtapes, and albums but I can only imagine that this passion for his music will only continue. I have an itch that only his voice can scratch with his exquisite balance of monotony and carelessness with electric fun and flavor. His puns, his jokes, dare I even call them bits, continue to impress. Each reference, whether it be to a cartoon character or NBA player—Giannis Antetokounmpo has received mentions across multiple songs—is strategic and smart. BabyTron knows what he’s doing, and he’s doing it damn well.

BabyTron: light of my life, fire of my Spotify Wrapped.