DaBaby sat down with The Breakfast Club to discuss his four-year absence from music and the personal journey that led to his comeback album, Be More Grateful.
The Charlotte rapper got real about why he stepped away from the spotlight after reaching the peak of his career. His honesty cut through the usual celebrity talk.
DaBaby explained that his break wasn’t planned. He lost track of time while dealing with personal issues that started long before his career took off.
“I’m really not only in a season of gratitude, but, I guess it took me to be in a season of accountability prior to that,” he said. “That’s kind of like more so where I was last time I came to see y’all.”
The rapper faced a perfect storm of tragedy during his biggest career moments. When “Suge” hit number one, he got the call that his father died.
He named his second album Kirk in honor of his dad, watching it go number one while processing grief.
“Then I go with ‘Rockstar’ in the heat of covid number one record, Billboard, Hot 100, number one for like eight weeks straight, but I can’t move around and keep myself busy.” DaBaby recalled. “But this is as high as you can go as an artist. I got the top streaming song in the world. My brother committed suicide.”
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Just as the world reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns, DaBaby faced cancel culture backlash over homophobic comments he made at Rolling Loud Miami in 2021.
“You got the whole cancel culture It ain’t never been a a season for me, you know. It took Yeah. It took that whole four years,” he said.
DaBaby admitted he didn’t realize how much time had passed until he prepared to release new music. The gap between projects hit him hard.
“I didn’t even realize it was four years since I dropped the album until I really put it out and seen the date on this one and the date and I say, ‘Damn, four years.’ Like that’s crazy,” he said.
His fans never let him settle for less during his time away. They kept pushing him to return to form rather than play small.
The break forced him to rediscover his passion for music. He needed to find his heart again before he could create authentically.
“I had to find my love for this again and you know and and figure it out. Like when I do something, I like to do it. I like to put my heart into it. And I just wasn’t in a space, you know,” he explained.
DaBaby’s new album, Be More Grateful, dropped January 30, 2026, marking his first full project since 2022.
The rapper also launched DaBaby Cares, a nonprofit initiative focused on mental health awareness. He started the program during Suicide Prevention Month in 2024 to honor his late brother, Glenn Johnson.
DaBaby’s return comes with a different mindset about entitlement and expectations. He’s not looking for easy treatment from the culture or the music business.
“I don’t really feel entitled for nobody to take it easy on me. The culture, the business, none of that. When you do fall into that sense of entitlement, you ain’t doing nothing but distracting yourself from what it is you’re supposed to do,” he said.
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