I paid for every video I ever shot.
— DaBaby
When you got a sound that don't sound like nobody else and it's brand new, you've got to feed it to ‘em. You've got to force it on ‘em.
I'm an early 1990's baby, so I had the pleasure of going through a lot of eras in music.
I don't play the ugly game, I think everyone is beautiful and I see it in me now more and more.
It's just the risk that I take and the sacrifice that I make: Putting myself, my career, my family's peace of mind on the line just to do right by my fans. It ain't no gray area: You're either with that and willing to go out of your way to make people who contribute to your dreams coming true happy or you aren't.
My Internet presence was definitely bigger than the music. I'm so good at marketing, so once I knew I had them looking, I turned up with the music. I knew what I was doing - it was premeditated.
Charlotte, it's what somebody from New York or L.A. would say is a small town, but it isn't. It's right in between being a small town and a city. It's more of a city.
The music I make, it's so hard. I listen to it 100,000 times before it even drops.
There was so much music growing up. But definitely Lil Wayne was a big influence because I had more of an understanding of what I was listening to when I was getting older.
Any '90s baby, The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin had to be your favorite wrestler.
I've been broke my whole life, you get what I'm saying? I'm scared of the bank.
I just had that mindset to never settle. That's a credit to my pops, too. He used to say 'the sky's the limit' every time we talked.
I like pressure.
I'm all the way hands-on when it comes to my videos.
You can't cheat the game. You can't cheat the grind. You get out what you put in at the end of the day.
I'm a force to be reckoned with.
I'm pretty sure my expectations are higher than the average person's. It just sets standards.
I am the type where I don't worry about anything else but how to top what I did yesterday. My main goal is to top what I did before.
People are unpredictable at the end of the day.
Some songs I rap before the beat even play and I enjoy doing that. I like walking the beat down.
He's from Fayetteville. I'm from Charlotte. We got two different upbringings. All in all though, I love J. Cole's perspective and I love his music. I love his approach. It's just two different things.
I don't even listen to peoples' music… I'm really in-tune with my craft, I listen to me all day long.
Early on in my life, I got two older brothers; we used to listen to Eminem, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne.
Anything I do, I'm doing it for a reason.
When it comes to the music, the traits you got to have in order to make lit music, club music, to have the swag with it, to have the lingo - I got those traits, you know what I mean?
And I'm the type of person, if I ain't wrong, I'm gonna stand on that.
Now that I'm a XXL Freshman, you know, I feel like that sets high standards for me, and I feel like I have to deliver.
I didn't know of any rappers in Charlotte. Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I brought the music scene alive and shed the proper light on it. I took it to a whole other level when I started rapping.
No, I wasn't a bad kid. I was always intelligent, and strong-minded, and outgoing, like I am now.
I love it when you have to perform at a certain level or else. That's when I'm at my best.
I used to think I was ugly because I was the baby.
My name was originally Da Baby Jesus, but I changed it like two years into my career because I didn't want to offend anyone; although I feel like my purpose in the game is related and still is, I didn't want my name to be a distraction from the music.
When I started coming on my music the way I was coming on freestyles - just relentless, at your neck, as soon as the beat starts, that's when everything really clicked.
Anybody that is trying to go into business with me, of course, I'm gon' do my research on them.
Everything is organic. I got the wordplay, I got the vocabulary to really, really rap.
I was all about touching people and influencing people, I always been that type of person. I was the one teaching people things, I just always had a way with my words and I always spoke with substance.
I made that a point when I was creating my sound from the beginning, I didn't want to sound like anybody. Once I kind of found my own sound, I mastered it.
It's just the way I'm set up, being that once-in-a-generation, once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-an-era type of star.
The way I make something out of nothing, I got that from my mama. That's 100% her.
When I get bored with something, I'm done with it.
I like to have fun with my videos and performances, that's the most fun part when it comes to the music. I get to show off my character.
I definitely am the best rapper alive, mark my words.
