If you were unfamiliar with DaBaby (born Jonathan Kirk) before July 25, 2021, you’re likely all caught up on who the rapper is by now. Born in 1991 in Cleveland, OH, and hailing from Charlotte, NC, DaBaby rose to fame in 2018 and has since been a mainstay on urban radio.

Three years before his birth, rappers in the industry that he’s now a part of were watching HIV and crack cocaine take hold, and used hip-hop to spread knowledge and send messages of hope. Following Grandmaster Melle Mel’s lyrics on “The Message” in 1982, rappers embraced their role as griots who shared the truth about what was happening in their communities. Boogie Down Productions (B.D.P.), led by KRS-One and co-founded by D-Nice and Scott La Rock, were aware of what was happening in the Black community in 1988, and knew they had to say something. 

New York City was one of the epicenters of the HIV epidemic in 1988 with reported cases of people living with the disease over 17,000 in the city. Los Angeles was a distant second with over 6,000 cases, followed by San Francisco. The language wasn’t as refined then, but B.D.P. released their second album By All Means Necessary in May of that year, which included the song “Jimmy.” A slang term for penis, “Jimmy” encouraged men to consider their sexual health by wearing “Jimmy hats” (condoms), as HIV cases were raging within the Black community.

The lyrics in “Jimmy” are the very foundation that hip-hop culture was built on. The idea of speaking truth to power and finding a way out of no way; speaking about what was happening around you as both a way to cope and a way to inform, particularly during the Reagan years in the United States. 

Moving the Crowd

M.C. not only means “master of ceremonies” it also means “microphone controller” and according to Rakim, “MC means move the crowd.” Moving the crowd can take on many forms, and in 1996, one of those forms came as an album—America Is Dying Slowly.

Featuring a who’s who of hip-hop elite - Pete Rock, Wu-Tang Clan, and Mobb Deep to name a few - the album was a response to the impact of HIV on Black men. By the time that record was released, the culture had already experienced two deaths - DJ Sugar Shaft from X Clan and Eazy E. About the compilation, Stephen Hicks wrote “America Is Dying Slowly is an example culture can look to emulate. It was pivotal, remarkable for its use of peer-to-peer advice from urban artists to urban youth in an effort to save lives.”

It is with the knowledge of this history, and the weight that hip-hop carries in today’s culture, that DaBaby’s recent comments must be countered, even in light of his apology. Just like in 1988, today Black people are overrepresented in HIV statistics. Black men, and in particular, Black gay men and Black women, face enormous barriers to care and are two of the most vulnerable populations to HIV acquisition. 

What DaBaby did on stage wasn’t hip-hop, and it wasn’t rooted in Black liberation. I appreciate his apology, and at the same time, he isn’t absolved of wrongdoing. DaBaby needs room to grow from this. 

I hope that he’s more knowledgeable about HIV today than he was previously. Perhaps he should listen to B.D.P.s By All Means Necessary to understand the power that he has when he’s holding his microphone and the weight that the title of M.C. carries. It’s not an uzi, but it weighs a ton.

(Cover Image Photography of DaBaby by Michael Ellis via Sunlighter)