''Out on Bond'' is the fourth solo

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) by the American rapper

BabyTron James Edward Johnson IV (born June 6, 2000), known professionally as BabyTron, is an American rapper, member of hip hop group ShittyBoyz. Born and raised in Metro Detroit, specifically Ypsilanti, Michigan, he rose to prominence following the rele ...

. It was surprise-released by The Hip Hop Lab Records and

Empire Distribution Empire Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (stylized as EMPIRE) is an independent American record label, distribution and publishing company founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami. Based in San Francisco, EMPIRE has offices in New York, London, ...

on February 24, 2023. After being arrested in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

for

drug possession The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. An area has a prohibition of drugs when its government uses the for ...

, BabyTron was released on bond and began working on ''Out on Bond''. It was recorded on the road and at his house with production handled by Certified Trapper, Damjonboi, Enrgy Beats, and Hokatiwi; the former also makes a guest appearance on the EP. Sonically, the EP is random and consists of unpredictable moments atop

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

-esque production. Its cover artwork is an edited version of BabyTron's

mug shot A mug shot or mugshot (an informal term for police photograph or booking photograph) is a Portrait photography, photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is placed under arrest. The primary purpose ...

, with a fake mustache and hat added to resemble the video game character

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

. ''Out on Bond'' received a positive review from ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'', who praised the EP for being a high-energy and concise release.

Background and composition

On February 8, 2023,

was arrested in

during a

traffic stop A traffic stop, colloquially referred to as being pulled over, is a temporary Detention (imprisonment), detention of a driver of a vehicle and its occupants by police to Criminal investigation, investigate a possible crime or minor violation o ...

for

while on tour in support of his fourth studio album '' BIN Reaper 3: New Testament'' (2023). On February 15,

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

users posted about his arrest, making his

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

on the platform. Some fans became worried about BabyTron's legal status and commented "Free BabyTron" during his

Instagram Live Instagram is an American photo and short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters, be organized by hashtags, and be associated with a location via ...

video. After being released on bond later in February, he began recording ''Out on Bond'' while on the road and finished it at his home. Production was handled by Certified Trapper, Damjonboi, Enrgy Beats, and Hokatiwi. ''Out on Bond'' is a 12-minute long

(EP) that contains five tracks. Its randomness in sound brings unpredictable moments for the listener. Peter A. Berry of ''

'' highlighted the EP's "mischievous stanzas and technicolor flexes" and thought that its production sounds like it could be in a

. ''Out on Bond''s opening track is "Out on Bond", which begins with BabyTron mocking his fans who were worried about his legal status: "Stop saying free me, I was out the next day — that's a broke problem". The song's lyrics also contain humor-filled quips: "Worried if I'm locked up, make sure that your rent paid / All my mans around me fresh like next year we in 10th grade". Berry highlighted the lines that show BabyTron rhyming locations such as

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

with lines like "too majestic" and "lose the credit" on the following track, "A2Z". He also described Certified Trapper's vocal performance on the third track, "Long Nights", as "lackluster". The penultimate track, "Ice Spice", is a reference to the American rapper of the same name. The final track, "Overthinking", consists of reflective lyricism.

Release and reception

''Out on Bond'' was surprise-released on February 24, 2023, by The Hip Hop Lab Records and

. Its cover artwork features BabyTron's mug shot, edited with a fake hat and mustache resembling the video game character

. Its title is a reference to the fact that he was released on bond. Following its release, it received a positive review from ''HipHopDX''. Berry praised the EP for being a high-energy and concise release; he felt that its brevity helped keep it fresh and avoid the monotony that can sometimes come with BabyTron's longer releases.

Track listing

References

{{BabyTron 2023 EPs BabyTron albums Empire Distribution EPs