On February 19, DaBaby dropped a new music video called “Beatbox Freestyle,†in which the Charlotte rapper remixes the viral 2020 track “Beat Box†by SpotEmGottem. This probably wouldn’t have made any major waves — it’s no Megan Thee Stallion collab, or anything — if it weren’t for a line halfway through the song, when DaBaby holds up a picture of JoJo Siwa on his iPhone and raps, “you a bitch, JoJo Siwa, bitch.†This is a baffling diss, if that’s even what DaBaby intended it to be. DaBaby is a full-grown 29-year-old man, who just last month was arrested for carrying a loaded firearm. JoJo Siwa is a 17-year-old Nickelodeon star who records songs for children and sells sequined bows at Target. Recently, Siwa publicly came out and opened up about her girlfriend, so the internet was feeling especially protective of her when “Beatbox Freestyle†dropped. Twitter users expressed confusion at why DaBaby would come for a children’s entertainer; Genius user veduta suggested that “Siwa†just might be wordplay on the words “see why.†Or maybe it’s the fact that DaBaby has a young daughter, and he might just be annoyed with Siwa’s music the way parents get annoyed with Baby Shark. Either way, the memes dunking on DaBaby — especially the ones emphasizing how Siwa is presumably both richer and taller than him — have been bountiful and hilarious.
Update: In a tweet Sunday, DaBaby clarified that he has no problem with JoJo Siwa. “All love on my end shawty,†he tweeted. And those fans that thought his lyrics were intended as an insult towards the singer? He can “Siwa†they didn’t get what he was going for. “Don’t let em trick you into thinking id ever have a problem with you,†he writes. “My word play just went over their heads.â€