Blame it on Baby - DaBaby (2020)

Blame it on Baby is the third studio album by Charlotte rapper DaBaby, and indeed his third album in just 13 months. This gives the impression that he is riding the wave of his quick rise to fame, especially when his numerous features also come into the argument, but have left some fans wishing for the ‘BOP’ rapper to slow his output and work on a project to produce something of increasing quality from the last. DaBaby’s first release Baby on Baby was a chart success debuting at 25 on the Billboard 200 in the US with the follow up Kirk peaking at 18 after showcasing what he is capable of with his hard hitting flow and aggressive bars with Jetsonmade producing the pick of the bunch of the beats DaBaby crushes on. Despite this rapid rise in popularity, coupled with the fact Blame it on Baby debuted at No.1, this is not his strongest of the three studio releases and there is definitely an argument for it being the weakest.

Don’t get it twisted however; there are definitely high points on the album, some that are a throwback to his mixtape days and others that show him attempting to “switch the flow” which is something he has been heavily criticised for. DaBaby made a comment after some fans slated the first single ‘FIND MY WAY’ by saying that he was going back to his Baby Jesus (his first alias) sound and the people who had been there since the start would like it. This song shares resemblance to the second single ‘ROCKSTAR’ with Roddy Ricch where DaBaby has slowed the flow down, as he has done on a couple more tracks too (‘CHAMPION’ being arguably his best performance), and let Ricch adopt a ‘Young Thug’ style on his verse. ‘ROCKSTAR’ is definitely the earworm track off the album due to its catchy chorus and tamer vocal melody than DaBaby fans are used to, however if one was to compare the most popular single off each of his releases, ‘ROCKSTAR’ would definitely be taking bronze due to the success and popularity of ‘BOP’ and ‘Suge’.

On the beat side of things, the album has its expected appearance of Jetsonmade on ‘LIGHTSKIN SH*T’ as well as famed trap producer London on da Track on two of the songs however these three beats are neither here nor there. The notable mentions are the six songs that DJ K.i.D. has a credit on; in an interview he claimed that he reached out for help from other producers via an Instagram story and received plenty of replies, enough that he made eight instrumentals out of the beats he was sent (two being left off the album) and produced them for Blame it on Baby, essentially outsourcing the work. It is not that the beats are bad, in fact the beat off ‘PICK UP’ is very DaBaby and hits hard, however it leaves you wondering why K.i.D. thought to do this, was it because he did not have any beats of his own or that he just wanted to incorporate ideas from other producers?

The standout tracks for me are definitely ‘ROCKSTAR’ for the reasons I have afore mentioned and ‘JUMP (feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again)’ as DJ K.i.D. and Rocco Did It Again! combine to produce a fire beat with NBA YoungBoy making most of the waves on this track with a flow enough to match DaBaby’s (something that is no easy feat). However, it has to be ‘NASTY’, DaBaby’s track with Megan Thee Stallion and Ashanti, that stands out the most – Megan Thee Stallion proves once again that she is not someone to be reckoned with but it is Ashanti’s part that caught my attention. Ashanti has not been in the limelight much in recent times but rolls back the years on this R&B beat, a section that would not sound out of place on a classic Ja Rule or Nelly track – the raunchy lyrical content is enough to keep up with Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby alike so, for me, is the most complete track on the album. As I said before, this is not a bad album, but I would not say it is an album that highlights the best of DaBaby’s abilities; the attempt to mix his flow up needs honing but there is hope for a different sound and it still contains the elements that fans love about his music. I reiterate, if he takes some time out to focus on his next project (this time more than seven months), the sky is the limit for him.