DaBaby and his go-to creative team Reel Goats are known to put out a cartoonishly fun video or two, hearkening to the days of Busta Rhymes with exaggerated imagery over a relentless dance beat. Each new visual seems to lean more into the Charlotte-based rapper’s unabashedly sillier side as he tests the boundaries of his own creativity. Also, they’re just really damn fun, and we could always use more of that.
His latest effort is his ascent to the next level: a Broadway-scale take on his sleeper hit “Bop” from his 2019 album, Kirk. “BOP On Broadway” centers the theatrical elements that have always existed within hip-hop and gives it just a little bit of a showbiz boost, complete with a huge dance number, a dash of athletic twerking, and, well, DaBaby himself, who is an absolute character in his own right. And just as you’re taking a moment to appreciate the grand display, the crowd parts to welcome the masked musketeers of dance, the Jabbawockeez. As the performance winds down towards the end of the short (why are all the good videos so short?!) performance, DaBaby proudly takes center stage to raise two fingers in the air while a message tells the audience that this arc will continue and to give them a few days. Fine, man, we’ll wait.
DaBaby has appeared in a number of high profile collaborations lately, adding his flavor of hype to songs for the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, Chance The Rapper, and Lil Nas X. He had enough guest verses this year alone for Billboard to rank them back in September. There’s still six weeks left in the year, which gives him plenty of time to hop on a few more hits—right after he wraps up this lovely bit of theater, that is.