Baby Huey teams up with production great Curtis Mayfield and allows the listener to explore his struggles, especially his physique and his poverty. Being 6'2 and 320 pounds at the age of 16, people were easily intimidated by the gentle giant. Hard Times would later be sampled by many artists, including Ice Cube and a Tribe Called Quest.

The song was covered by John Legend and The Roots on their 2010 album, ‘Wake Up!’.

Hard Times also featured in Season 1, Episode 8 of the FX TV series, Atlanta, as well as Netflix’s ‘Hip-Hop Evolution’.