When people say rappers these days have dumb names I wonder how people felt the first time they heard a nigga call himself Ol Dirty Bastard, Juicy J, or even “Biggie”. Rap names are dumb until rappers abilities prove otherwise.
This brings me to DaBaby. First things first it’s mad grown rappers who call themselves Baby. The crotchety “my joints pop more than fireworks on the 4th of July” side of me is annoyed with this. However the open “I refuse to acknowledge my age and responsibilities” side of me wanted to give him a shot. Plus I went to middle school in North Carolina, and DaBaby has the most hype an NC rappers had since Petey Pablo. I will never forget how proud white (potentially racist) radio DJs were when they heard Petey shout out small NC towns.
So with that I gave a spin to DaBaby’s new tape, Baby on Baby.
First things first, this nigga Baby legit can’t wait to rap. Every song starts at a frenetic pace because the second the beat drops Baby is rapping. You know that feeling you get when you text someone you like and they text RIGHT back? Thats what this feels like. DaBaby can’t wait to rap and it comes off hella earnest.
DaBaby doesn’t waste bars, everything ha says has a purpose; he really wants you to know that he’s funny and that he will shoot the shit out of you. Seriously, this nigga is hilarious and he’s killed people (out of self defense). That’s like the perfect combination for an up and coming rapper. Now some people might be uncomfortable with the fact that a murder makes him seem more “legitimate”, but him my eyes he’s making the best out of s bad situation. He lives a life where niggas will try to kill him occasionally, best thing he can do is rap about it.
DaBaby reminds me of an 90s action star, he never starts trouble but he will finish it and give you a funny one liner. Hopefully he can leverage this rap career into becoming the next Schwarzenegger, actually he’s hella short so he might be able to finesse his way into being the next Stallone. If Common can go from rapping about love for Deaf women to selling Cell Phones, DaBaby can be an Action Star.
Baby on Baby goes by in a blur, it is 30 minutes long but it feels like it’s 10. I feel like if this tape was 2 songs longer we would’ve heard DaBaby pass out in the booth. This is a lot of content in a short period time. Personally I appreciate it.
If I had to think of a criticism I’d say he doesn’t really have a radio single. It’s not that he swears too much, it’s more that nothing he says is catchy enough to get stuck in your head. Say what you will about Thotiana (it’s trash), but that joint is catchy as hell.
If you told me 10 years ago that I would be hype to hear a rapper who used to wear a giant pamper rap, I would’ve stopped smoking weed and went to crack; this is not what I expected to be into. But here I am, fully supporting DaBaby and telling you to do DaSame.
Baby on Baby is fun, definitely give it a spin when you get a chance. I give it 7.5 Pull Ups out of 9.