| Born | 22 December 1991 (age 34 years), Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Lyndale Kirk |
| Education | University of North Carolina Greensboro, Julius L. Chambers High School |
| Religion | Christian |
What religion is DaBaby?
DaBaby is an American rapper and songwriter who has publicly identified with Christian beliefs.
DaBaby built momentum through several mixtapes from 2014 to 2018 before signing with Interscope Records in January 2019. His debut studio album, Baby on Baby (2019), featured the breakout hit “Suge,” which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, his second album, Kirk, topped the Billboard 200 and produced strong singles like “Intro” and “Bop.” He also appeared as a guest on Post Malone’s “Enemies” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cash Shit.” In 2020, Blame It on Baby became his second consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Its lead single “Rockstar” (featuring Roddy Ricch) dominated the Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks during the height of the George Floyd protests and nationwide conversations about race and justice. The song later earned 5× Platinum certification and a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.
He continued his run with major guest features that year, including the remix of Jack Harlow’s “What’s Poppin” and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” both peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100. After facing significant backlash and career setbacks in 2021 due to homophobic comments made during a festival performance, he returned in 2022 with the collaborative mixtape Better Than You with YoungBoy Never Broke Again, along with his fourth album Baby on Baby 2. More recently, DaBaby released his fifth studio album Be More Grateful in 2026, which includes the top-40 single “Pop Dat Thang.”
Early life
DaBaby was born Jonathan Lyndale Kirk on December 22, 1991, in Cleveland, Ohio. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was raised and spent the majority of his formative years. He is the youngest of three brothers. He attended Zebulon B. Vance High School, now known as Julius L. Chambers High School, in Charlotte and graduated in 2010. After high school, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, attending for two years at his parents’ insistence. He ultimately dropped out, later explaining that he only went to college to make them happy and never felt it was the right path for him. Growing up, DaBaby and his two older brothers were heavily influenced by rappers like Eminem, 50 Cent, and Lil Wayne, which helped shape his early interest in hip-hop. Tragically, DaBaby’s father passed away in 2019, shortly after his mainstream breakthrough.
Career
DaBaby’s music career began in 2014 when he decided to pursue rap seriously, initially performing under the stage name Baby Jesus. He introduced himself with the mixtape NonFiction in 2015 before building a loyal following through projects such as the God’s Work series, Baby Talk, Billion Dollar Baby, and Back on My Baby Jesus Sht*. As his popularity grew, he changed his stage name to DaBaby, believing the original name had become a distraction. His breakthrough came in 2018 with the mixtape Blank Blank, which featured the viral single “Walker Texas Ranger.” The project generated industry buzz and led to a distribution partnership with Roc Nation before sparking a major-label bidding war. Soon after, DaBaby signed a lucrative recording contract with Interscope Records while also launching his own imprint, Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment, giving him greater creative control over his music.
In 2019, DaBaby exploded into the mainstream with his debut studio album, Baby on Baby. The album produced the smash hit “Suge,” which climbed into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and earned multiple Grammy nominations. Its success transformed him into one of hip-hop’s fastest-rising stars. Later that same year, he released his second album, Kirk, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The project featured popular tracks such as “BOP,” “Intro,” and “VIBE,” further establishing him as one of rap’s biggest commercial forces. He also appeared on hit songs by Lil Nas X, Post Malone, Chance the Rapper, and Camila Cabello.
DaBaby reached another career peak in 2020 with his third studio album, Blame It on Baby. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and included “Rockstar” featuring Roddy Ricch, which became one of the year’s biggest songs. “Rockstar” spent seven consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, received Grammy nominations, and established DaBaby as one of the most commercially successful rappers of the pandemic era. During the same period, his guest appearance on Dua Lipa’s remix of “Levitating” became another worldwide hit, topping charts in several countries and introducing him to an even broader international audience.
Following his remarkable run, DaBaby released Back on My Baby Jesus Sh!t AGAIN (2021), the collaborative project Better Than You with YoungBoy Never Broke Again (2022), and his fourth solo album, Baby on Baby 2 (2022). Although controversy affected his mainstream momentum, he continued releasing independent music, including the EP Call Da Fireman (2023) and the mixtape How TF Is This a Mixtape? (2024). In 2026, he returned with his fifth studio album, BE MORE GRATEFUL. The album produced the single “Pop Dat Thang,” which peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was commercially successful worldwide.
Personal life
DaBaby has four biological daughters born between 2017 and 2021. He’s dealt with some heavy losses over the years. His father died in 2019 from heart issues, just after his first major album came out. He paid tribute by naming his second album Kirk after his dad’s last name and putting an old photo of the two of them on the cover. Then, in late 2020, his older brother Glen Johnson tragically died at 34 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
On the relationship side, he dated fellow artist DaniLeigh in 2020. They broke up in early 2021, and shortly after, a viral video and Instagram posts confirmed they had a daughter together. Politically, he showed support for Kanye West’s 2020 presidential bid, though he didn’t actually vote, and later backed Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
DaBaby was involved in a fatal shooting inside a Huntersville, North Carolina Walmart. A 19-year-old was killed. DaBaby maintained he acted in self-defense to protect his daughter and her mother after being approached by armed men. The charges were dropped, though he was later convicted of a minor misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon.
In April 2022, an intruder trespassed onto DaBaby’s massive estate in Troutman, North Carolina. DaBaby took matters into his own hands, shooting the intruder in the leg on his football field before calling emergency services. He was not charged, as local authorities deemed it a justifiable defense of property and family.
