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DaBaby Doubles Down: ‘I’m Better Than Drake, Kendrick and J. Cole’
In an Apple Music interview, DaBaby declared he’s better than Drake, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole — saying he can match them on the mic and wants to collaborate to prove it. The claim arrives alongside his new project Be More Grateful and a June 13 festival in North Carolina.
Comparisons are the sport of hip-hop — fans, critics and rappers themselves have been ranking bars and cultural impact for decades. Lately, DaBaby has jumped headfirst into that conversation, refusing to sit politely on the sidelines while listeners argue over Drake, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole — the trio many shorthand as the “Big 3.”
Speaking to Nadeska Alexis on Apple Music in an interview that premiered on YouTube on April 24, the Charlotte-bred rapper didn’t hedge. He delivered a blunt, sustained claim about his place in rap’s hierarchy and circled back to it throughout the conversation.
“A thousand percent. A thousand percent.” DaBaby said, pausing between breaths. “Like you can go back to when I first started… I always say like — and I know a lot of people say they’re the best — but, like, I’m the best muthaf**kin’ rapper. Like, I’ve been saying it… I definitely do mean it.”
“And you know, it ain’t no of course I feel like everybody should feel like they’re the best, but that’s not — I’m not talking like that — when I say that. Like, I’m better than these ni**as. Like, I really mean that,” he continued, insisting his confidence isn’t just talk but something he backs up on the mic.
“I feel like I have the ability to, you know, go anywhere, you know what I mean, musically. Like I can literally do it. Even if we strip everything else away and just go back to being in front of a microphone and putting music on, like I can I can get in there with the best of them,” he concluded.
That last line is the kind of statement that sits better when you can point to body of work and headline moments. DaBaby has those: his 2019 breakout single Suge, two fast-following albums Baby on Baby and KIRK, and the chart-topping feature Rockstar with Roddy Ricch that pushed his profile into mainstream territory. But calling himself superior to three artists who have each commanded sustained critical praise and cultural sway is a different level of provocation.
He didn’t frame the comment as a challenge meant to burn bridges. He said he wants the rooms — the studio sessions and collaborative records that would let him test that claim directly.
“And it ain’t no, you know, it’s nothing to be frowned upon or whatever,” he explained. “I would love to work with these guys. Like it take me saying that type of s**t and then putting it on display with the music and you know putting it out for those doors to open up for these you know for me to end up in the rooms with these guys and on the records with these guys.”
Elsewhere in the conversation DaBaby rooted his braggadocio in craft: freestyles, live performance and a belief that his flow and charisma translate across sounds. That confidence is consistent with his public persona — quick-tongued, confrontational and theatrically self-assured — but it lands differently when aimed at artists who are commonly used as shorthand for lyricism and legacy.
Timing matters. DaBaby is promoting a freshly released project, Be More Grateful, and gearing up to headline the Be More Grateful Festival on June 13 in North Carolina. The lineup reads like a who’s-who of regional and veteran names: 50 Cent, Boosie BadAzz, BigXThaPlug, Trick Daddy, Waka Flocka Flame, Trina, Moneybagg Yo and more. A festival like that gives him a platform to remind fans — and potential collaborators — what he sounds like on stage.
Whether his proclamation shifts anyone’s opinion of Drake, Kendrick or J. Cole is a different question. Those artists carry arguments that aren’t just about punchlines: catalog depth, cultural moments, and, for Kendrick and Cole especially, reputation among critics for narrative and lyrical complexity. DaBaby’s claim reads, in part, as a statement about versatility — the ability to occupy different musical spaces and still assert dominance.
Either way, he’s invited the conversation. If he gets in the studio with any of the three, listeners will have concrete tracks to judge. Until then, the line between bravado and proof remains exactly where he put it: bold, public, and impossible to ignore.
Watch DaBaby’s interview with Nadeska Alexis on Apple Music below.
