Rapper DaBaby Surprises Students At Charlotte High School
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 28: DaBaby performs during iHeart Powerhouse 105.1 at Prudential Center on October 28, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
Rapper, DaBaby, surprised students at a Charlotte high school. He stopped in on Monday, April 22, to visit students and perform at Garinger High School.
WBTV reports say the Charlotte native is gearing up for the Lovin’ Life Music Fest in Uptown next month. Organizers of the event say the goal of the event is to generate more successful performers who will graduate and then perhaps perform on big stages around the country. During DaBaby’s visit, the festival organizer presented the school with a $10,000 check for its music program.
The staff says the money will go a long way especially since Garinger is a Title One school and has limited resources. Meanwhile, Principal LeDuan Pratt made sure to honor those students who had improved academically. Fifty students will get three-day tickets to the music festival as a reward.
Who Is DaBaby?
DaBaby’s real name is Jonathan Kirk, who was born in Cleveland, OH, but moved to Charlotte, NC when he was six years old. He went to Vance High School where he graduated in 2010. College life really wasn’t his passion; he attended UNC-Greensboro for a couple of years he says to satisfy his parents. He got into the music game by making a series of mixtapes — including God’s Work, Baby Talk, Billion Dollar Baby, and so forth. At that time he performed using the moniker Baby Jesus.
He got his big break after signing with a North Carolina record label — South Coast Music Group. It created a buzz around the South with DaBaby’s mixtapes and club shows. And after some major label bidding wars, DaBaby got a seven-figure recording deal with Interscope Records.
The award-winning rapper has gone on to produce hits such as “Rockstar,” “Suge” and “Levitating,” and is also frequently in attendance at other Charlotte events, such as Hornets games.
He’s headlined four of his own concert tours, won BET Awards, and BET Hip Hop Awards, and picked up several Grammy nominations. He’s started his own record label, Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment. It is based in Charlotte and currently has five artists signed to the label. DaBaby says he won’t rap forever so he wants to create other superstars.
DaBaby has been known to give back to his community. He hosts his annual “Santa Baby Christmas Giveaway” event, which he has held over the past few holiday seasons.
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