The 8th Wonder of the World’s rise to fame

How Michigan rapper BabyTron became a top rapper in the game

Abe AlvArez STAFF WRITER

James Johnson III, formerly known as BabyTron, is a 22 year old phenom was born and raised in Ypsillanti Michigan. His rap career started alongside his friends, TrDee and Stanwill, with them forming the group Sh**y Boyz in 2017.

Many people have started to take notice of his music over the past couple of months, including Drake’s “Forever,” Outkast’s “Ms.Jackson,” and Dr. Dre’s and Snoop Dogg’s “Still Dre.” Whether it is the iconic Harry Potter theme from “Half-Blood Prince” or Darth Vader’s Imperial March on “Sith Lord,” Tron has shown his ability to rap over a variety of different beats, and those songs are on his most streamed album, “Bin Reaper 2.” BabyTron has produced nine albums since 2019, and has been featured on hundreds

Tron’s biggest track, namely, “Jesus Shuttlesworth,’’ “Paul Bearer,” and “Top 2 Not 2.”

Through some of these songs, he comes out with lines that push people to chase dreams and push their limits.

“I took that L, picked it up and turned it into a dub,” Tron rapsin his song “Jesus Shuttlesworth.”

With that, he is stating no matter what the situation is, even if he is losing, he will find the good in any situation.

Said Thurston, “I think BabyTron is a lifestyle for real. And BabyTron really affects the way people think and how they live their life and be successful.” recognizing his talent as he becomes one of the top rappers today.

The much anticipated album, “Bin Reaper 3,” was released on October 28 and was well received. The album established Tron himself to be one of the rap game’s best rappers and lyricists. He combines his unique beat selections with the Detroit style of rap, which is the artist saying statement after statement and feeding off fast beat switches.

BabyTron references pop culture and NBA players in his lyrics quite often which causes some people to think Tron is a ‘meme’ rapper.

Senior Bryce Cornelius, a BabyTron fan, noted how his music stands out.

“I think his flow is really nice. It’s unique and I think it helps that he is a Michigan artist,” Cornelius said.

Tron has rapped on multiple beats from other songs to movie beats, of songs.

Sophomore Eric Thurston expressed his thoughts on BabyTron’s albums.

“My favorite is Bin Reaper 2. Because like it’s all bangers, like there’s not one miss on that whole album. Like, I could really say that whole album word for word,” Thurston said.

“Bin Reaper 2” reached number eight eight in 2021 in Rolling Stone’s rankings of the year’s best albums. With the Halloween theme of the Bin Reaper collection, Tron has kept it to a minimum for gimmick rap and yet maintains a spooky and dark flow throughout.

Tron released each album in the Bin Reaper trilogy all around Halloween to keep the Halloween vibe relevant.

This trilogy produced some of

Tron started making music in high school, gaining recognition during his sophomore year and never looking back.

Senior Lukas Hartley, a consistent listener of BabyTron, voiced his thoughts.

“I really never get tired listening to him, he stays consistent with dropping music, which is massive W,” Hartley says.

Tron is steadily dropping something new every week, averaging four music videos for recent songs according to or in the recording studio every day sampling songs, writing lyrics or just freestyling and messing around with new ideas. His next highly anticipated album, “Bin-Reaper 3: The New Testament,” within the next few months will only solidify his dominance in the rap game.