When DaBaby’s debut project dropped in March of last year, the Charlotte rapper was one of the most talked-about talents in Hip-Hop.

Tough as a wrecking ball, his spit-fire lyricism decimated everything in sight with laser-focused precision. “Suge” was a particular standout. Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, spit callous phrases about violence and sex with the sincerity of a pastor. As a result, his fans are devoted, they memorize the emcees every word as if it’s religious scripture. He also offered fans comedic relief. He appeared at 2017’s SXSW wearing nothing but a diaper, and during a performance at 2019’s Rolling Loud, he threw bags of fake weed into the audience just for kicks. His music videos were equally juvenile. In “Babysitter,” DaBaby and Offset, under the guise of a late 90s family sitcom, loosely star as irresponsible children who try to have sex with their new babysitter.

But DaBaby was not to be written off as a joke confined to 2019. He’s a master of his craft at just 28-years-old, and with his charm, wit and unmatched talents on the microphone, he’s dominated the mainstream rap charts. Fame fits him like a glove. Baby on Baby’s follow-up, Kirk, was much of the same braggadocious behavior, while initially advertised as a sentimental ode to his late father, the album was mostly a non-linear collection of radio hits, with Baby filling every inch of space available with snappy bars and mega guest features. The album exploded, went #1, and sold over 145,000 copies in its first week. Now in 2020, with both accomplishments in the rearview, the question still lingers as to whether he can switch it up.

DaBaby – Jump feat NBA Youngboywww.youtube.com

BLAME IT ON BABY is indistinguishable from the two albums that came before it. Baby is undoubtedly transparent about this fact, to his credit. He states plainly on album intro “Can’t Stop” that he’s just gonna get into it and that we can’t stop him. On the album’s bouncy title track, the rapper is in his comfort zone, bouncing off the walls and just f*cking around. He still breathes fire when he raps, but at the project’s halfway mark one can’t help but feel the artist is a one-trick pony. A coveted combo feature between Ashanti and Megan Thee Stallion on “NASTY” feels like a missed opportunity, with the former mostly singing “baby, baby, baby,” while DaBaby offers completely uninspired bars: “I take both her legs and I put ’em behind her head like she’s a pretzel.” “CHAMPION” offers much of the same: “I did it and did it again (What you did?) I started at one and I went up to ten.”

It’s the fleeting moments of quiet that reminds us what makes DaBaby such a compelling artist. “SAD SH*T” is jubilant, yet surprisingly versatile for a Baby song: a sign that the rapper has actually grown and occasionally can step outside his braggadocious box. On album closer “AMAZING GRACE,” DaBaby sounds completely locked in, speaking about his journey with frankness and sincerity. His transparency makes for a compelling finale: “Say I sound the same ’til my new sh*t dropped and they heard me switch the groove.” It’s true that there are small switch-ups on the rapper’s third outing, but not enough to change the tide.

From the album’s thematic trailer to Baby donning an N-95 mask on the album cover, the album was advertised as an attempt at being more narrative than rambunctious. Unfortunately, we mostly got more of the same. While these new tracks will undoubtedly dominate the charts, it’s a shame that what we got was another ambiguous collection of radio singles, with DaBaby rarely stepping outside his comfort zone.

BLAME IT ON BABY