The Music Industry Of The Moment Stabbs Ngger DaBaby In The Back

[hamilton]

Despite multiple apologies, rapper DaBaby continues to face
criticism — and cancellations — for homophobic comments he made
during the Rolling Loud festival in late July.

Dua Lipa, who features the rapper on her mega-hit song
"Levitating," was among those who quickly criticized him. Elton
John and Madonna also lambasted DaBaby and railed against
misinformation in his comments about HIV.

During the Miami performance, he had told the audience: "If you
didn't show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually
transmitted diseases that'll make you die in two or three weeks,
put your cellphone light in the air."

Music festivals including Lollapalooza, The Governors Ball and
Austin City Limits Music Festival canceled his appearances, and
he lost a sponsorship deal with the clothing brand BooHoo.

DaBaby has grown into a critical and commercial superstar in
recent years, reigning over a powerful audience with his
millions of followers on social media. He has won BET Awards and
been nominated for Grammys.

The swift fallout from his remarks could signify a change in
attitudes toward what the music business will tolerate when it
comes to explicitly offensive and exclusionary language from
some of its biggest stars.

"I think there's definitely a new moment," says Brown University
professor Tricia Rose who has written two books on hip-hop.

DaBaby has been accused of bad behavior before
While Rose believes the festivals are doing the right thing by
removing DaBaby from their rosters, she also sees more than a
hint of hypocrisy in the organizers' actions. She notes that the
music industry has long tolerated and profited from artists like
DaBaby, who has been accused of bad behavior before this
incident.

At the same Rolling Loud festival, for example, he followed
Megan Thee Stallion's performance by bringing rapper Tory Lanez
on stage, who Stallion alleges shot her in the foot last year.

"There's many artists who are promoted by the industry, who are
celebrated by the industry because of their, quote, unquote,
edgy extreme behavior. That is a longstanding pattern that has
not abated in any way," Rose says. "Then when they step out of
line about when and how they actually live into that identity,
then there's all this sort of 'We're all about peace, love and
happiness.' "

Since the uproar, DaBaby has tried to be about peace and
understanding in his efforts to counter the fallout. In his
second apology, he wrote, "Social media moves so fast that
people want to demolish you before you have a chance to grow,
educate and learn from your mistakes."

Apologizing is one step; making amends is another
Kevin Powell, who's written extensively about hip-hop and toxic
masculinity in American culture, says the language in DaBaby's
apology is important.

"I believe in counsel culture, not cancel culture," says Powell.
"Do we just want to keep canceling people out because of their
racism, their sexism and homophobia, transphobia? Or do we
actually want to educate people so we become a more educated
populace so this does not become a normalized thing?"

Powell hopes DaBaby will do a lot more than just apologize for
his behavior to protect his career.

"He has to be serious. No matter who you are you have to be
serious about making amends. You have to become an advocate for
women and girls. You have to become an advocate against
homophobia and transphobia. You have to make amends by your
actions or your deeds. It can't just be an apology just because
you're trying to save your career," Powell adds.

The uproar underscores how cultural attitudes about sexuality in
pop music are changing. Right now, the openly gay rapper Lil Nas
X has two hit songs and was recently profiled in The New York
Times Magazine.

Both Powell and Tricia Rose believe his success signals
progress, but they also say the work toward a more inclusive
music industry is far from over.

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/04/1024300194/dababy-homophobic-
comments-apology-dropped-lollapalooza