DaBaby made the switch from MJ to Prime Time in a recent video as he unboxed a complimentary pair of sneakers from Deion Sanders. “Hey OG – I appreciate ya always checking on me, chiming in [and] making sure my head in the right space. I’m rocking with Prime, n-gga. I f-ck with MJ but he ain’t ever sent me sh-t. Yo public service announcement. I rock with MJ. I f-ck with MJ but he ain’t never sent me sh-t and at the Hornets games when the players will come and I had my courtside seats, y’all ain’t never let me shoot the ball. So I’m f-cking with Prime. They let me throw the ball when I went out there to Colorado," DaBaby said on Instagram.
DaBaby's relationship with the Colorado head coach stems back to last season. It all began when DaBaby hit up Coach Prime while attending a Panthers' game against the Saints with his kids. “PRIME WE NEED YOU IN CAROLINA AFTER YOU BRING THAT CHAMPIONSHIP TO COLORADO. Hit my line coach, let’s talk. @deionsanders.” Deion responded sometime later, inviting the rapper up to Boulder. “Lolololol. I’m good here. I need u here my brother. And bring the babies. Prime loves the kids.” The rapper then led the Buffaloes onto the field against USC.
DaBaby Reflects On 2021 Homophobia Controversy
Furthermore, some people noted that Sanders' willingness to associate with DaBaby meant that the rapper was no longer "canceled" after his 2021 homophobia controversy. It's an incident DaBaby himself spoke about last year. Appearing on The Shop Uninterrupted, DaBaby was asked if he would handle the controversy differently if he could. "Absolutely," DaBaby began, "That's what came out my own mouth and said as of late, not even as of late, I would maybe handled it the way he handled it. I apologized but I didn't mean to apologize because I'm this type of person. I'm gonna fight to the tooth and nail, like if I, you know what I mean? My character and my intentions - that's something I am never going to let you make me out, I'm not a bad person. I'm unfaltering on that." While it is a sign of change in the rapper's mentality since 2021, his comments on The Shop weren't exactly a denouncement of his hateful comments in 2021.
Music professionals came out both in support of and opposition to DaBaby at the time of the controversy. While the likes of Boosie, T.I., and Nick Cannon defended the rapper, he was condemned by the likes of Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, Elton John, QuestLove, and Madonna. DaBaby did eventually formally apologize on Instagram in early August, but fans noted that the apology was deleted less than a week later. Additionally, DaBaby was dropped from several festivals prior to his apology. The rapper has since said that the incident cost him somewhere in the region of $200 million.
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