DaBaby recently dropped a blistering freestyle where he admits he only gets half of what he used to get for a verse now.
DaBaby Keeps It Real in New Freestyle
On Tuesday (April 16), DaBaby appeared on Power 106 in Los Angeles for Justin Credible’s Freestyles segment. During the appearance, which can be seen below, the North Carolina rapper spits a lengthy freestyle over Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” beat. The spirited rap finds DaBaby keeping it real about how his fall from grace affected his pockets.
“Knocked a n***a out and hurt my hand, I think I hit him wrong/Just got sent $150,000 and did a song,” he raps. “Used to get $300,000 in 2020 but I’m shaking back/I could start a war with that little money, you n***as play, you wacked.”
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DaBaby’s Fall From Grace
DaBaby was one of the hottest artists in the rap game in 2020, even surpassing Drake in monthly Spotify listeners in May of 2021. However, during his Rolling Loud Miami 2021 performance that summer, he made a fateful statement that changed the course of his career.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexual transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, put your cell phone light in the air,” he inexplicably told the crowd. “Ladies, if your p***y smells like water, put a cell phone light in the air. Fellas, if you ain’t suckin’ d**k in the parking lot, put your cell phone lights in the air.”
After being called out for being homophobic, he tried to defend his comments but that only made things worse. In the wake of the comments, DaBay became a pariah and was dropped from several festival dates, which Baby claims cost him millions of dollars. That August, he met with multiple HIV awareness organizations. He also joked that he would have to switch to R&B after being canceled.
In the years since then, DaBaby has been making more headlines for lawsuits, beef and shootings than music. His ticket and album sales have also suffered. Last May, he called the incident a blessing in disguise.
There are signs DaBaby is getting back in music fans’ good graces. His 2023 single “Shake Sumn” was his highest-charting single since the incident, peaking at No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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See DaBaby rhyme below.
Watch DaBaby’s Justin Credible’s Freestyle
See How Much It Costs for a Verse From Your Favorite Rapper
Any guesses on dollar amounts before you look?