5/10
Favorite Track: "Find My Way"
Least Favorite Track: "Drop (Feat. A Boogie wit Da Hoodie & London on Da Track)"
Last week on The Breakfast Club DaBaby discussed the recent criticism he has faced regarding his lack of versatility, to which he responded to with a claim that he could craft a conscious album equivalent to that of “a J. Cole or a Joyner Lucas”. However, his new album, BLAME IT ON BABY, isn’t a conscious album at all. DaBaby is a capable rapper, and that remains consistent on his new LP, but if this project taught me anything besides the fact that DJ Kid has the most memorable producer tag in hip hop, it’s that being a great rapper means nothing if you don’t have anything to say. Full disclosure; I love DaBaby’s 2019 project Baby on Baby, you can read my review of it, but sadly I feel as if his career has been on a downward spiral ever since then, despite his popularity spiraling in the opposite direction. Baby has been very open about the fact that he is making music for the charts, he has a daughter to support and bread to obtain. On one hand you have to commend the man's honesty and commitment as a father, but on the other hand I can’t help but feel like his undeniable creativity is being handicapped by his urge for #1 hits. BLAME IT ON BABY is DaBaby’s most obvious attempt to top the charts yet, partially because he has crafted a new lyrical niche that now obtains legitimate star power, but also because he buys into every trap trend he can on this LP. There are a few moments here where he seems to exemplify flashes of self awareness from a sonic standpoint but more often than not he doesn’t care enough to expand on those ideas. On “SAD SH*T”, he gives us a few seconds of a Thugger inspired autocrune and although it isn’t the most appealing, it’s a breath of fresh air, and more importantly something different. Five seconds later he exclaims “Fu*k that, I'm back on my pimpin", and suddenly the track transitions right back into everything we’ve already heard from DaBaby. If he would like to, DaBaby could spend the rest of his career making projects like this one and I don’t think I’d ever hate them, but I also think this is the point where he has to choose what he would like the rest of his career to be defined by; currency, consistency, or artistry.