2014–2018: Early mixtapes Kirk began taking music seriously between 2014 and 2015. Kirk got his big break after signing to Arnold Taylor, the president of the South Coast Music Group label, a big radio promoter. Taylor saw Kirk perform around
North Carolina clubs at the time he [Taylor] was launching his label. Taylor had been responsible for the early rise of
Southern rap stars including
Yo Gotti and
Future. In March 2019, Kirk's debut studio album
Baby on Baby, was released via
Interscope Records and South Coast Music Group in a
joint venture with both labels. The thirteen-track project features guest appearances from
Offset,
Rich Homie Quan,
Rich the Kid and
Stunna 4 Vegas.
Baby on Baby debuted at number 25 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart in the US. The song "
Suge" debuted on the
Billboard Hot 100 at number 87 on the chart, dated April 13, 2019, and reached the top 10 on the chart, dated June 8, 2019. Kirk featured on various hit songs throughout mid-2019, including
Megan Thee Stallion's "
Cash Shit" and
Quality Control's "
Baby", both of which reached the top 40 on the
Billboard Hot 100. In July 2019, Kirk was featured on
Dreamville's compilation album
Revenge of the Dreamers III, on the opening track, "
Under the Sun". He received acclaim for his guest feature, with various publications ranking it as his best verse of 2019, including
Complex magazine calling it a "defining breakout moment for a new rap superstar". In August 2019, he announced that his second album would be titled
Kirk, named after his surname. Its lead single, "
Intro", was successful, peaking at number 13 on the
US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Around that time, Kirk also made notable appearances on singles such as
Post Malone's
"Enemies", which peaked at number 16 on the
Billboard Hot 100, and on the remixes to
YG's "
Stop Snitchin",
Lizzo's "
Truth Hurts", and
Lil Nas X's "
Panini", released in May, August, and September 2019, respectively. In October, he made a cameo appearance in the music video for his protégé, Rich Dunk's single "High School". Kirk closed 2019 having 22 entries on the
Billboard Hot 100 for the year, the most of any artist that year.
2020–present: Blame It on Baby, ''My Brother's Keeper, allegations of homophobia, Baby on Baby 2, and Be More Grateful'' At the
62nd Annual Grammy Awards, held in 2020, Kirk received two nominations, both for
"Suge", in the categories
Best Rap Performance and
Best Rap Song. His third studio album,
Blame It on Baby, was released in April 2020. The album received mixed to positive reviews, and achieved commercial success, debuting atop the
Billboard 200 with 124,000
album-equivalent units, becoming Kirk's second number-one album. It produced his highest-charting song, "
Rockstar", featuring
Roddy Ricch, which spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number-one on the
Billboard Hot 100, and reached number-one in the United Kingdom. In June, Kirk was featured on the remix for the
Jack Harlow song "
Whats Poppin", which peaked at number two on the Hot 100 while "Rockstar" was still at the top. This made DaBaby the 20th act to occupy the chart's top 2 positions, and the first since
Ariana Grande in 2019. In July, Kirk was featured on "
For the Night" by
Pop Smoke and
Lil Baby, which debuted at number six on the Hot 100. As a result, DaBaby became the seventh act to chart at least three songs in the top six simultaneously. In July 2020, Kirk released a single with his signee
Stunna 4 Vegas, titled "No Dribble", included on the deluxe edition of
Blame It on Baby, which was released in August 2020, and described by DaBaby as a "brand new album". In November 2020, DaBaby released his debut EP, ''
My Brother's Keeper (Long Live G). It pays tribute to his late brother, Glenn Johnson, and features appearances from Meek Mill, NoCap, Toosii, and Polo G. Kirk contributed a feature on the remix of "Levitating" by English singer Dua Lipa. Though the remix was released in late 2020, the song began climbing up the charts and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2021. In January 2021, DaBaby released the single "
Masterpiece" alongside a music video for the track directed by Gemini Visions. The track includes references to his relationship with
DaniLeigh and to his past legal troubles. In February, DaBaby released a remix to
SpotemGottem's single
Beat Box, along with a music video. He released the June singles "
Ball If I Want To", and "
Red Light Green Light", and "Giving What It's Supposed To Give" in July. In July 2021, Kirk faced backlash for remarks largely regarded to be
homophobic. While performing at the
Rolling Loud Festival in
Miami Gardens, Florida on July 25, he said, "[If] you didn't show up today with
HIV/AIDS, or any of them deadly
sexually transmitted diseases that'll make you die in two to three weeks, then put a cellphone light in the air. Ladies, if your pussy smell like water, put a cellphone light in the air. Fellas, if you ain't
sucking dick in the parking lot, put a cellphone light in the air." In the wake of his remarks, DaBaby's scheduled appearance at
Lollapalooza on August 1 was cancelled and later replaced by
G Herbo. The fashion brand BoohooMAN ended its collaboration with Kirk. On August 2, the organizers of the
Governors Ball Music Festival announced Kirk had been removed from the 2021 lineup as a result of his comments. He was also cut from
Parklife Festival, Day N Vegas,
Austin City Limits Festival,
Music Midtown, and the
iHeartRadio Music Festival. Radio stations substituted a version of the "
Levitating" remix without his contribution, resulting in his credit being removed on the
Billboard Airplay Charts on August 9. On August 24, he also addressed being "
canceled" in a freestyle over
Bia's song "
Whole Lotta Money". In March 2022, he released the mixtape
Better than You with
YoungBoy Never Broke Again. In September, he released his fourth studio album,
Baby on Baby 2. In 2025, DaBaby performed in
Russia, despite his record label (owned by
Universal Music Group) suspending all activities in Russia following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. On January 5, 2026, he announced his fifth studio album,
Be More Grateful. DaBaby said it would be a reflective album with more sensitive topics such as family and growing up. It released on January 16. ==Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment==