DaBaby’s last year has been quite busy. From breaking out of an unfortunate long standing position in the southern regional rap game into international stardome, he has undergone a wave of both online praises and criticism. It seems you either love DaBaby and his constant Trillers, or you complain he remakes the same song over and over. Although that is left to opinion, one thing is for sure.
A lot of people seem to like that “one song.”
The mainstream rap scene has seen a lot of unconventional changes in the past few years; Nicki Minaj retired, meme page admin Lil Nas X has proved his longevity on the Billboard charts, mumble rap has taken over, and it seems just about anyone can record a freestyle in their bathroom and upload it to Soundcloud and link it under viral tweets. Many rappers have been accused of rapping about crime, murder, and drugs while not being involved in any of it. In the midst of such changes, Dababy provides us a comforting consistency we can appreciate; rough rap and vulgar lyrics, with an attitude that can’t be described as anything but authentic.
Dababy’s second album this year, Kirk, is exactly the type of project we’ve come to expect from him. Fast paced, in your face lyrics matched with his signature flow that seem to steamroll over any kind of beat grace all thirteen tracks of the project. This album would be the perfect addition to any workout playlists, or a great soundtrack to play while fighting someone in a public space. He doesn’t depend on mumbling or hiding behind producers, DaBaby provides an on point and intentional delivery.
Starting off with Intro, the only song released with a music video, Dababy talks briefly about the passing of his father and its correlation with his single Suge hitting Number One. Addressing his family and children, these are probably the most heartfelt lyrics we’ve heard from him.
Not to worry, the self reflection on serious emotional topics doesn’t last long. Immediately after, we hear OFF THE RIP (with a cute line from his daughter) and BOP, perfect songs for boys to play uncomfortably loud in their dorm rooms for no reason. We do see some musical experimentation (I guess he did read the negative tweets) in his sound effects and beats such as THERE HE GO, and GOSPEL, which features piano riffs behind verses by Chance the Rapper, Gucci Mane, and YK Osiris.
Looks like YK Osiris’s out of place singing in his 2019 XXL Cypher attracted the right kind of attention.
Other notable features include Moneybagg Yo, Migos, Kevin Gates, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Baby. Despite having impressive stars on his tracks, Dababy is talented enough to hold his own next to them. He ends Kirk with his Freshman XXL Cypher, which was arguably one of the better cyphers from that class.
Overall, Dababy’s Kirk holds the traditional stereotypical aspects of a rap album, while adding more individuality to it than we’ve seen in his last projects. If you’re looking for songs to sing aggressively with your friends in the back of an Uber, any track off Kirk will do.
Overall Rating: 8.9/10
Streaming on: All Major Platforms
