The Best DaBaby Songs, Ranked

DaBaby is on a hot streak. From “Baby Sitter” to "Suge," here are his 20 best songs, ranked.

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Image via Getty/Steve Jennings

dababy getty steve jennings

Years from now, when we look back on the rappers that defined 2019, we’ll think of DaBaby.

At this point, there’s no denying that the 27-year-old Charlotte artist is the year’s biggest breakout rapper. Since dropping his album, Baby on Baby, in March, DaBaby has bulldozed his way into the upper echelon of the rap game. Over the summer, he scored his first top 10 hit on the Billboard 100 with “Suge,” before ruling the charts with a string of stellar guest appearances: upstaging A-list rappers like J. Cole (“Under the Sun”), Chance the Rapper (“Hot Shower”), and Post Malone (“Enemies”), as well as rising stars Megan Thee Stallion (“Cash Shit”), Lil Nas X (“Panini (Remix)”), and Lizzo (“Truth Hurts (Remix)”), on their own singles.

This fall, DaBaby’s meteoric rise culminated with the September release of his second album of the year, Kirk. In addition to debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the project achieved another career high for the rapper. With all 13 songs from Kirk charting on the Hot 100, DaBaby tied Post Malone for the most entries among all artists this year (20). 

In celebration of DaBaby’s hot streak, here are the 20 best songs in his catalog, ranked. 

20. DaBaby f/ Nicki Minaj, “iPhone” (2019)

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Album: Kirk

Producer: SethInTheKitchen


Before the release of Kirk, there was a running theory that “every DaBaby song sounds the same.” While “POP STAR” has received shine as the album’s premier pop cut, “iPHONE” is the best display of the Charlotte rapper’s crossover potential. Alongside one of the genre’s best vocalists, Nicki Minaj, he steals the show with an infectious hook that’s good enough to make the formulaic subject matter—the role that smartphones play in relationships—a moot point.

19. DaBaby, “Up the Street” (2018)

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Album: Baby Talk 5

Producer: Sean Da Firzt

Considering how fast and thrilling his ascent has been, it’s easy to forget that DaBaby dropped 13 mixtapes over a three-and-a-half-year stretch, between spring 2015 and fall 2018, before he delivered his debut studio album, Baby on Baby, last March. His 12th mixtape, June 2018’s Baby Talk 5, serves as the beginning of his transition from Baby Jesus to DaBaby—underground rap star to national A-lister. And if there is one track that introduced the world to the North Carolinian rapper’s new persona, it has to be “Up the Street,” which saw DaBaby flexing his comedic skills over an eccentric beat that sounds like it was pulled straight from Super Mario World. 

18. DaBaby f/ Stunna 4 Vegas, “4x” (2018)

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Album: Blank Blank

Producer: Producer 20

Since joining forces on Blank Blank standout “4x,” DaBaby and Stunna 4 Vegas have collaborated often, trading bars on songs like Baby on Baby’s “Joggers” and Kirk’s “REALLY,” as well as a handful of tracks from Stunna’s 2019 project, Reel Goats (“Billion Dollar Baby Freestyle,” “Sticks,” and “Ashley”). Still, the pairing has yet to top the energy and rawness from one of their first collaborations, which is hardly surprising, seeing as “4x” captured the two rappers in a moment when they were as hungry as they’ll ever be, fresh from becoming regional stars, but still on the precipice of mainstream fame.

17. DaBaby, “Beeper” (2018)

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Album: Blank Blank

Producer: Sean Da Firzt

A standout cut from his 2018 mixtape, Blank Blank, “Beeper” was one of the first songs to prove that no one (short of Meek Mill) raps with as much boundless energy as DaBaby. The song’s trunk-rattling beat, courtesy of Sean Da Firzt, is reminiscent of the countless Jahlil Beats’ bangers Meek overpowered at the turn of the decade (see: “I’ma Boss,” “Burn,” and “Rose Red”). It’s fitting, then, that the relentless “Beeper” instrumental caters to DaBaby’s intensity, as he floats effortlessly over the track’s haunting synths and snares, thanks to his breathless, high-powered flow. 

16. DaBaby, “Next Song” (2018)

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Album: Blank Blank

Producer: Sean Da Firzt

DaBaby’s pre-Kirk intros, from Baby Talk 5’s “Today (Intro)” to Blank Blank’s “Next Song” to Baby on Baby’s “Taking It Out,” sound like iterations of the same song. When you line them up chronologically, however, they form their own identities: “Today (Intro)” catches DaBaby right as he’s becoming a local star; “Next Song” represents his transition into the national spotlight; and “Taking It Out” is a snapshot of the Charlotte rapper’s coronation. So, it makes sense that “Next Song” is a fan favorite. Beyond DaBaby’s Olympic performance and Sean Da Firzt’s exceptional production, the track is significant because it took place before the rest of the world discovered North Carolina’s diamond in the rough.

15. DaBaby, “There He Go” (2019)

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Album: Kirk

Producer: London on da Track & Dez Wright

Although “XXL” is slotted as the final track on Kirk, the album’s penultimate song, “There He Go,” acts as the true outro. Assisted by London on da Track’s haunting production, DaBaby delivers his curtain call, contrasting his newfound fame and celebrity with humble beginnings. His chest-thumping boasts reach a crescendo on the opening verse, as he raps about everything from buying Lambos and walking around with $45,000 worth of cash in his pockets, to doing shows out in London and going platinum with his debut single, “Suge.”

14. DaBaby f/ Kevin Gates, “Pop Star” (2019)

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Album: Kirk

Producer: CashMoneyAP & Ambezza

On Kirk, DaBaby didn’t need to “go pop” in order to become a bigger star; he’d already scored a top 10 single on the Hot 100 (“Suge”) by rapping his ass off. As such, the only thing surprising about his pivot to a pop-leaning sound on his sophomore album, was how refreshing it was. On “Pop Star,” backed by some of the brightest production in his catalog, DaBaby proved that he could excel without performing a rap clinic on top of a hooky beat. Instead, he coasts over Cash Money AP’s instrumental with the strength of his natural bravado.

13. DaBaby, “Pull Up Music” (2017)

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Album: Back On My Baby Jesus Shit

Producer: Sean Da Firtz

“Pull Up Music,” the final track from DaBaby’s 10th mixtape, 2017’s Back On My Baby Jesus Shit, sees the rapper making the leap towards rap stardom in real time. After spending nearly three years paying his dues in the up-and-coming Charlotte hip-hop scene, he shows flashes of his superstar potential, while delivering an infectious hook and numerous punchlines over a screwed-down horn loop.

12. DaBaby f/ Offset, “Baby Sitter” (2019)

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Album: Baby on Baby

Producer: Go Grizzly & MariiBeatz

In some ways, it’s hard to believe that “Baby Sitter” wasn’t the single that launched DaBaby to superstardom. Sure, “Suge” is a superior record, but are we sure it breaks into the top 10 of the Hot 100 without its viral music video? We’ll never know (though I’m glad it did). Still, anyone who says they knew, after only a few listens of Baby on Baby, that “Suge”—not the equally catchy “Baby Sitter”—would be DaBaby’s breakout single, is probably lying. “Baby Sitter” goes hard.

11. Dababy & Lil Baby, “Baby” (2019)

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Album: Quality Control: Control the Streets, Vol. 2

Producer: Wheezy

Going toe-to-toe with his biggest competition among “baby” rappers, DaBaby outraps hip-hop’s reigning Rookie of the Year, Lil Baby, on “Baby,” the Wheezy-produced first single from Quality Control’s 2019 compilation album, Control the Streets Vol. 2. After Lil Baby goes through the motions on the track’s opening verse and hook, DaBaby swipes the song out from under his counterpart with lewd punchlines and a bold delivery, comparing his Billion Dollar Entertainment label to the Bad Boy Records empire in the ’90s. “I tell my bitch I’m faithful, but I still got the hoes/Baby gettin’ jiggy, on stage with the Glizzy/Baby CEO, he shake the game like he Diddy/You would think it's Mardi Gras, I got these bitches showin’ titties.”

10. DaBaby, “Vibez” (2019)

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Album: Kirk

Producer: Neeko Baby, Jasper Harris & JetsonMade

Backed by one of the best beats on Kirk, DaBaby bodies “Vibez” with the undeniable confidence of an veteran. While JetsonMade’s bass-heavy, chime-drenched beat takes center stage, Baby operates on cruise control, rapping about how he’s rich enough (and good enough) at Intercourse to steal your girl, yet somehow still comes off as likeable. And for that, the Kirk standout is, at the very least, proof that DaBaby can’t lose.

9. DaBaby, “Bop” (2019)

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Album: Kirk

Producer: JetsonMade & Starboy

Backed by the most mesmerizing flute loop since Future’s “Mask Off,” DaBaby comes close to recreating the energy of his signature hit, “Suge,” on Kirk highlight “Bop.”  This is not to say that the song is all punchlines and ad-libs, though. The beginning of DaBaby’s second verse finds him displaying acute self-awareness like never before, as he addresses the prime criticism he receives for being monotonous: “Ayy, when you gon’ switch the flow? I thought you’d never ask/N****s ain’t fuckin’ with me and ain’t ‘bout what the fuck they be rappin’ ‘bout with their lil’ scary ass.” Sheesh.

8. DaBaby, “Pony” (2019)

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Album: Baby on Baby

Producer: Pyrex & Cubeatz

Had DaBaby blown up prior to releasing Baby on Baby, there’s a good chance the album would’ve produced a handful of top 10 singles on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. Beyond “Suge,” which peaked at No. 3 on the chart, DaBaby’s debut LP featured potential smash hits like “Goin’ Baby,” “Pony,” and “Baby Sitter,” among others. Built around one of the most experimental beats on the album, the Pyrex and Cubeatz-produced “Pony” hinges on a hypnotic flute riff, which DaBaby glides over effectively with a sing-along hook and a pair of rapid-fire verses. 

7. DaBaby, “Blank Blank” (2018)

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Album: Blank Blank

Producer: Sean Da Firtz

Although Blank Blank dropped last November, it didn’t reach a national audience until January, when one of the mixtape’s best songs, “Walker Texas Ranger,” became a viral hit thanks to its hilarious music video. If Blank Blank had served as most people’s introduction to DaBaby, however, there’s a good chance the tape’s title track would’ve been an early standout. Bolstered by Sean Da Firzt’s tenacious production, DaBaby raps tirelessly for nearly three minutes, delivering boast after boast, over an infinite horn loop. “Blank Blank” was a warning shot, albeit one that went mostly unheard for months, as the rest of the rap game was too busy sleeping to notice the birth of hip-hop’s next great discovery. 

6. Megan Thee Stallion f/ DaBaby, “Cash Shit” (2019)

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Album: Fever

Producer: LilJuMadeDaBeat

On “Cash Shit,” a standout from Megan Thee Stallion’s project, Fever, DaBaby proved himself to be the rare male rapper capable of matching Megan’s raunchiness, bar for bar. Never one to get outshined on her own song, Hot Girl Meg sets the tone on the intro (“I’m in my bag, but I’m in his too”) and opening verse (“Yeah, that's my dawg, he gon’ sit down and listen/Call him a trick and he don't get offended/He know he giving his money to Megan”), before Baby delivers a stellar guest spot full of risque quotables and memorable one-liners like, “You know why these bitches love me?/‘Cause Baby don’t give a fuck.” Months from now, when we look back at DaBaby’s breakout year, it’s likely we’ll remember his verse on “Cash Shit” as the moment he pulled ahead in rap’s 2019 Rookie of the Year race.

5. DaBaby, “Walker Texas Ranger” (2018)

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Album: Blank Blank

Producer: Producer 20

We always love to see a relatively unknown rapper burst from obscurity on the strength of a viral, low-budget music video. It happened in the summer of 2014, when “Hot N***a” made Bobby Shmurda an internet phenomenon. And two years earlier, when “I Don’t Like”  introduced the world to Chief Keef, and, by extension, Chicago Drill, which is arguably the decade’s most important rap subgenre. Hip-hop’s latest DIY-turned-viral music video was “Walker Texas Ranger,” which hit YouTube on New Years Day, launching DaBaby into the zeitgeist. Beyond its instant classic visual, the track itself demonstrated the Charlotte rapper’s over-the-top personality, as he matches a breathless delivery with rhymes filled with crude humor: “Could’ve fucked your bitch, n***a/She make my dick soft.” The reign of rap’s most lovable villain in years, begins here.

4. DaBaby, “Goin Baby” (2019)

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Album: Baby on Baby

Producer: JetsonMade, OJ Finessey & Eddie Priest

Baby on Baby opens with an incredible three-song stretch. But unlike most other notable three-song sequences, which are meticulously crafted to fit an overarching theme (see: MBDTF’s “Dark Fantasty,” “Gorgeous,” and “Power,” and TPAB’s “Wesley’s Theory,” “For Free?” and “King Kunta”) or soundscape (DS2’s “I Thought It Was A Drought,” “I Serve the Base,” and “Where Ya At,” and IYRTITL’s “Legend, “Energy,” and “10 Bands”), Baby on Baby proves that a great opening run can simply be three bangers in a row: “Taking It Out,” “Suge,” and “Goin’ Baby.” Despite following the exceptional one-two punch that opens the LP, “Goin’ Baby” asserts itself as a hit in its own right. Backed by a flute-injected beat, DaBaby displays his quick-witted ad-libbing prowess, and delivers one of the best verses of his entire career (so far).

3. Dreamville f/ DaBaby, J. Cole & Lute, “Under the Sun” (2019)

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Album: Revenge of the Dreamers III

Producer: Pluss, Christo & Nice Rec

“Under the Sun” represents the shining moment in an impressive feature run that has positioned DaBaby as rap’s Rookie of the Year in 2019. On a song that features a gorgeous soul sample and stellar opening verse from Cole, surprise uncredited vocals from Kendrick Lamar, and a well-crafted appearance by Dreamville mainstay Lute, DaBaby might have the best verse of them all. By the time he signs off, rapping, “I’m from Charlotte, you know how these n****s do, Baby,” you’ve witnessed a defining breakout moment for a new rap superstar.

2. DaBaby, “Intro” (2019)

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Album: Kirk

Producer: DJ Kid

If there is a specific moment when DaBaby proved his staying power, it has to be on Kirk opener “Intro.” Before the song arrived, some rap critics believed Baby to be nothing more than a technically skilled rapper who had found a winning formula, perfected it, and was going to ride that formula into oblivion. In other words, he wasn’t capable of this. “This” meaning abandoning the blueprint that made him famous—favoring memorable hooks and cartoonish lyrics over snappy beats—and giving us a real glimpse of the man behind DaBaby, which is exactly what Johnathan Kirk does on “Intro.” Released a week prior to Kirk, the song served as less of an introduction as a victory lap, as Baby ponders his newfound fame and considers how different it is from his past. “Thinkin’ ’bout my Grandmama and shit/I got the number one record, they acknowledged the jit,” he raps. “They goin’ crazy when they play it, head bobbin and shit And I’m just somewhere fucked up thinkin’ bout my father and shit.” Even more impressive than the subject matter on “INTRO,” though, was its commercial success. Last month, the song peaked at No. 13 on the Hot 100, proving that DaBaby doesn’t need to “go pop” to dominate the pop charts.

1. DaBaby, “Suge” (2019)

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Album: Baby on Baby

Producer: JetsonMade & Pooh Beatz

“Suge” features everything that makes DaBaby great, from its speaker-rattling beat and extremely catchy hook, to Baby’s undeniable charisma and rambunctious death threats (“You disrespect me and I’ll beat your ass up/All in front of your partners and children/I’m the type to let a n***a think that I'm broke/Until I pop out with a million /Take 20K and put that on your head/And make one of your partners come kill you”). When “Suge” topped Complex’s “Best Songs of 2019 (So Far)” list, back in June, our own Angel Diaz put it best: “This is what plays in someone’s head when DaBaby and his bodyguard are chasing their ass down the street.” And if you’ve followed rap closely this year, it’s likely “Suge” has been playing on an infinite loop in your head for the past eight months. Don’t be surprised if it remains that way for a while.

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