blackball

Things just aren’t the same for DaBaby these days. The rapper’s empire fell in the summer of 2021 during his Rolling Loud performance. He decided to bring out Tory Lanez as his special guest — just before Megan Thee Stallion. Still, his homophobic comments shortly after overshadowed the Tory bit. It didn’t take long for corporate sponsors, collaborators and others to denounce the rapper.

Ultimately, this played a significant impact in the way his music was received. Not just from fans but the industry, at large.

Akademiks and Ebro have gone at it on Twitter for nearly 24 hours after the former accused the latter of blackballing the North Carolina rapper. Ebro denied that he prevented DaBaby from getting on any Apple Music playlists. However, it seems like others believe the industry politics is what’s really hindering DaBaby’s career.

Meek Mill chimed in on the matter on Twitter, writing, “They blatantly black balling da baby .. not my business but ima observer.”

Boosie, who worked closely with DaBaby on several occasions, said that “something is definitely going on” behind the scenes.

“Ain’t no way my n***a @DaBabyDaBaby supposed to sell 16k after selling almost 150k his last first week he one of the BIGGEST n this shit I DONT KNOW WHATS GOING ON BUT SOMETHING IS DEFINITELY GOING ON,” wrote Boosie on Twitter.

A similar point was initially raised by Akademiks, who noted the influence that playlist has on Billboard charts. DaBaby’s last album, 2020’s Blame It On Baby, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 124K in its first week. The album before that, Kirk, reached the top of the charts with 145K.

Kirk and Blame It On Baby arrived before the Rolling Loud incident, which he’s since apologized for. Still, even back then, fans expressed concerns about his formulaic flow.

Is it the industry politics or the music itself that’s holding DaBaby back? Let us know in the comment section below.