Rap superhero
DaBaby became famous for his larger-than-life personality and an infectious rhyme style defined by cartoonish confidence and an air of lighthearted excitement. His seven-song EP
My Brother's Keeper (Long Live G), however, is a completely different side of the rapper, sadly inspired by his brother Glen Johnson's suicide in November of 2020. Before this project,
DaBaby rarely rapped about anything even remotely serious, but these heart-wrenching songs go deep into inspecting the complex feelings associated with this loss. Opening track "Brother's Keeper" cuts directly to the point, with pained bars about mental health, depression, grief, and picking up the pieces.
DaBaby doesn't shift the musical energy of his previous material, even while his lyrics are focused on despair. It's an interesting experience to hear banging, uptempo instrumentals and
DaBaby's patented fast and rowdy flows applied to crushing lyrics about crying with his nieces at the hospital as his brother died. Several friends contribute solid features (
Polo G and
NoCap on "Hangun,"
Meek Mill on "8 Figures"), but they're outshined by the weight of sadness and complex emotions that billow out of every performance
DaBaby gives on these songs. While not overly somber or in keeping with the usual drained, broken delivery that often accompanies albums about death,
My Brother's Keeper (Long Live G) is all the more genuine for it. Even in the depths of personal tragedy,
DaBaby is still doing what he does best, attacking his songs about losing his bother with all the voracity and muscle he brings to his dumbest party-starting tracks. The vulnerability of the songs adds an unforeseen dimension to what felt before like simple formulaic fun, and results in what's easily the most honest and searing music
DaBaby has made. ~ Fred Thomas