Over the past year, fans have known what to expect from DaBaby. After starting the year out hot with his two albums “Baby on Baby” and “Kirk,” alongside his hundreds of features from Tay Money, YG, Lil Nas X and many others, he has somewhat established his sound. It comes out in his new album “Blame It On Baby,” but with an exciting twist: DaBaby tries singing. While far from perfect it’s refreshing to hear an artist, especially a trap rapper, try something so off-center for him.
It seems like a good time for DaBaby to try and mix it up. Last year, he was the go-to artist for any feature or remix. Those requests somewhat pigeonholed DaBaby into this artist that rapped in modified triplets, trap beats and repetitive piano accents. While his singing on “Blame it on Baby” doesn’t stretch throughout the whole song, usually featured more in intros and choruses, it easily blends his old rapping style with his new experimentation.
The beginning four tracks are so typical DaBaby that these songs could have come off “Baby on Baby.” In some ways, these songs are a regression from “Kirk.” The lyrics are even more jovial than lines in the past and also have no real memorable tracks like “Bop” or “Vibez” — tracks that demonstrated his lyricism as well as his signature flow. “Can’t Stop” is a lackluster start to the album. This track is another example where DaBaby flaunts his ability and ends with repeating the line, “can’t stop.” It also sounds like any basic trap song repetitive flute loop over massive bass drums.
The album gets interesting when DaBaby gets to the song “Sad Sh*t.” He abandons the kick drum and deep voice for a falsetto over a simple synth progression in the major key. The track finds itself somewhere in between a ballad and a trap song, which is what the continuation of the album finds itself in as well.
The lead single “Find My Way” gave us a hint to this change in direction for DaBaby. We hear DaBaby flip his style completely, flipping his voice between tenor and alto over a harmonious picking guitar and killer kick drums. The lyrics, though, aren’t very different from classic DaBaby, stunting the women he gets and the relationships they have.
The features are the icing on the cake. “Rockstar (feat. Roddy Rich)” and “Nasty (feat. Ashanti and Megan Thee Stallion),” are two standouts. “Rockstar,” shows DaBaby and Roddy Rich’s progression throughout the entertainment industry over more guitar thrum. What’s great about this track is that it shows two stars from last year continue their growth. The change in DaBaby’s sound is definitely positive while Roddy Rich adds another flare with his contrasting high voice. “Nasty” sounds more like an older DaBaby song, flaunting his unique variation of triplet rapping. Although that is nothing new, the addition of Ashanti’s melodic “baby” over blaring kick drums is. The addition of Megan Thee Stallion also matches the similar energy that DaBaby projects.
DaBaby has shown a willingness to be different with “Blame It On Baby.” He also shows that he is capable of more than rapping and that he is more than just a deep voice. The variety that comes off this album demonstrates that DaBaby is not a two-dimensional artist. Hopefully, he continues to evolve this style of his persona.