DaBaby “Rockstar” hit #1

Rockstar DaBaby with Roddy Ricch

Writer(s): Jonathan Kirk, Rodrick Moore Jr., Ross Portaro IV (see lyrics here) Released: April 17, 2020 First Charted: May 2, 2020 Peak: 17 BB, 110 ST, 19 RB, 16 UK, 11 CN, 16 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.8 UK, 9.74 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 933.13 video, 1669.06 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Jonathan Lyndale Kirk (stage name DaBaby) was born in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rapper released several mixtapes between 2014 and 2017 before signing to Interscope Records. He released two albums in 2019 followed by Blame It on Baby in 2020. It was his third platinum release and second chart-topper. The album featured “Rockstar,” his second single from the album and his first #1 in the U.S. It also reached the pinnacle in nine other countries. The single featured Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr. (aka “Roddy Ricch”), a rapper born in 1998 in Compton, California. He also released some mixtapes before his album debut in 2019. However, he had already reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 a few months earlier than “Rockstar” with his own hit, “The Box.” On the original, the two rappers “draw a parallel between their hip-hop gangster lifestyles and those of rock stars.” SF DaBaby also used firearms to stand in for guitars. He also rapped about an incident in which he was with his two-year-old daughter at Walmart and fatally shot a would-be robber. SF In June 2020, DaBaby released the BLM (Black Lives Matter) remix of the song. It substituted an extra verse for the original intro. It concerned the George Floyd protests that started in May 2020 and DaBaby’s personal experience with police abuse. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for DaBaby DMDB encyclopedia entry for Roddy Ricch SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 4/10/2024; last updated 10/14/2024.

 

Roddy Ricch “The Box” hit #1 for first of 11 weeks

The Box Roddy Ricch

Writer(s): Rodrick Moore Jr., Samuel Gloade, Adarius Moragne, Aqeel Tate (see lyrics here) Released: December 6, 2019 First Charted: December 21, 2019 Peak: 111 BB, 113 ST, 112 RB, 2 UK, 110 CN, 4 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.2 UK, 13.21 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 663.60 video, 1854.88 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr. (aka “Roddy Ricch”) was born in 1998 in Compton, California. In 2017, he released the mixtape Feed tha Streets. A year later, he released Feed tha Streets II, which reached #67 on the Billboard album chart and achieved gold status. The latter featured his chart debut, “Die Young,” which peaked at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100. A guest spot on Mustard’s 2019 song “Ballin’” gave Roddy Ricch his highest charting hit yet (#11). He followed with his debut album, Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial. The first three singles made the Billboard Hot 100, but none got higher than #56. The fourth single, however, was “The Box.” It spent a whopping 11 weeks atop the chart. The album also reached #1 and achieved double platinum status. “The Box” was the last song Ricch made for the album. He recorded it in roughly fifteen minutes WK at seven in the morning after already recording all night. SF Ricch raps about “his gangsta life on the streets including his affiliation with Los Angeles gang, the Crips.” SF The title can be a reference to jail or a woman’s genitalia. SF The song became identified by the “eee err” squeaky ad-lib Ricch added throughout the song after it was finished. He said he was inspired by Michael Jackson. WK Mitch Findlay of Hot New Hip Hop said it was “creative and soon-to-be-iconic.” WK Josh Svetz of Hip Hop DX said, “The appeal to Roddy is simple; the kid can write a hell of a hook…Roddy excels at producing choruses that stick and only get better with repeat listens.” WK It was nominated for Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Rap Song. It was Apple Music’s most streamed song of 2020. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Roddy Ricch SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 4/11/2024.