There are some artists who live for battle raps and diss tracks. They pride themselves with being so crafty with their pens and delivery that when it comes to battling another artist—whether it be by taking the time to write out their lyrics or spit a few bars off the top of their heads—they jump at the opportunity. Not all rappers or emcees like to go tit-for-tat with their fellow artists, and in a recent interview, DaBaby revealed that he's chosen not to entertain rappers who attempt to come at him in hopes of receiving a scathing response.
When speaking about the new generation of rappers boasting that they're the best or the "greatest rapper alive," DaBaby stated that it's easy for them because we live in a social media-driven culture. Things are different from previous generations who let their music—not their Instagram—speak on their behalf.
"All that they had then was the music to back up what they were saying," DaBaby began. "When [Lil] Wayne said he was the best rapper alive, he didn't say that sh*t on Instagram. He said that sh*t on his album. Immediately after saying it, it was at the beginning of his song, he gave you music to back it. He gave you an entire song and repeated itself in the hook that he's the best rapper alive. And then, he gave you a complete body of work, a legendary body of work right after it."
DaBaby added that if a rapper states that they're the "greatest rapper alive" in today's culture, "it's so much easier for you to be a target." In his opinion, as soon as an artist boasts as being the greatest, another rapper will just jump on their phone to declare that they're better. "Then you're gonna change the whole narrative of everything you got goin' on. Now all people are gonna be worried about is you versus this person instead of you just becoming better and just thriving to be the best you are."
He did clarify why it's different when he makes the declaration of being the best rapper alive. "I don't gotta say I'm better than you or tell you the difference between me and you," he said. "I don't gotta do that in order to display who I am or how great I think I am." He added that when it comes to people tossing negative comments or bars his way, he's not worried about it. "I've been gettin' rocks thrown at me the whole time."
"You ain't gon' see me doin' no battle rap," he said. "You just don't get thrown into a rock throwing competition. At the end of he day, that's gonna distract you from the art. That's gonna distract you from the money, too. You can't talk about my mama and be in the same room as me. We ain't playin' like that. I can't even play like that, so I ain't even gon' sit here and act like I'm cool with that." Chack out his interview with RapPack below.
