If DaBaby isn’t the best rapper alive, he’s well on his way following Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, Eminem and Ludacris. With an inventive rap style gaining attention across the entire music industry, the trash-talking hustler has certainly not had it easy, working on up to his place in the world.
DaBaby’s full name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk and he was born in Ohio in 1991. The American rapper and songwriter first gained recognition after releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018. His popularity rose on the first day of 2019 after he dropped the music video to his viral hit Walker Texas Ranger.
Weeks later, he signed with Interscope and released his first major-label debut studio album Baby on Baby. His second studio album KIRK, came months later in September and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. His third studio album Blame It on Baby, was released in August 2020 and became his second consecutive number one album in the US. It also included DaBaby’s highest-charting song Rockstar, featuring Roddy Ricch. The track spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Throughout his career, he has been featured with well-known musicians such as Tory Lanez, Lil Wayne and Post Malone. DaBaby also owns his own record label, Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment which has signed many artists including Stunna 4 Vegas and DJ K.i.D.
Aside from his music, DaBaby is well-renown for shooting and killing a man attempting to rob him in a Walmart in November 2018. There were various reports on the incident, with murder charges dropped soon after the event.
No doubt a rapper of many experiences, DaBaby is only going up with a quickly established music career. He has plenty to say of his journey so far and will help you get to the top of your game sooner then you ever imagined if you follow his lead.
1. I’m pretty sure my expectations are higher than the average person’s. It just sets standards.
2. I definitely am the best rapper alive, mark my words.
3. I’m the best and nobody’s fucking with me. Seriously.
4. When you reach a certain level, people don’t got nothing left to do but find a reason not to like you.
5. I’m a force to be reckoned with.
6. I am the type where I don’t worry about anything else but how to top what I did yesterday. My main goal is to top what I did before.
7. The overall structure that police operate on needs to change. It all needs to be changed from the inside out.
8. I love it when you have to perform at a certain level or else. That’s when I’m at my best.
9. No, I wasn’t a bad kid. I was always intelligent, and strong-minded, and outgoing like I am now.
10. Anything I do, I’m doing it for a reason.
11. When I get bored with something, I’m done with it.
12. I just had that mindset to never settle. That’s a credit to my pops, too. He used to say ‘the sky’s the limit’ every time we talked.
13. I like to have fun with my videos and performances, that’s the most fun part when it comes to the music. I get to show off my character.
14. You can’t cheat the game. You can’t cheat the grind. You get out what you put in at the end of the day.
15. My Internet presence was definitely bigger than the music. I’m so good at marketing, so once I knew I had them looking, I turned up with the music. I knew what I was doing – it was premeditated.
16. I’m all the way hands-on when it comes to my videos.
17. From my life experience, I don’t look at police as police anymore. I think they prey on people. Actually, I know they prey on people.
18. People think I’m more rowdy than I actually am. Just based on certain events and things, people think I walk around looking for trouble. But really, I’m one of the most laid-back, coolest people you’ll ever meet.
19. The way I make something out of nothing, I got that from my mama. That’s 100% her.
20. I’m the type of person, if I ain’t wrong, I’m gonna stand on that.
21. I don’t play the ugly game, I think everyone is beautiful and I see it in me now more and more.
22. The goal was to be the hottest artist on the planet, and I think I’ve done that.
23. I paid for every video I ever shot.
24. When you got a sound that don’t sound like nobody else and it’s brand new, you’ve got to feed it to ‘em. You’ve got to force it on ‘em.
25. When I started coming on my music the way I was coming on freestyles – just relentless, at your neck, as soon as the beat starts, that’s when everything really clicked.
26. Anybody that is trying to go into business with me, of course, I’m gon’ do my research on them.
27. I’ve been broke my whole life, you get what I’m saying? I’m scared of the bank.
28. Everything is organic. I got the wordplay, I got the vocabulary to really, really rap.
29. I was all about touching people and influencing people, I always been that type of person. I was the one teaching people things, I just always had a way with my words and I always spoke with substance.