Lawyers representing rapper DaBaby—a.k.a. Jonathan Lyndal Kirk—are speaking out following the recent publishing of never-before-seen video footage by Rolling Stone, that seemingly calls into question the “Bop” rapper’s stance of self-defense in connection with a deadly Wal-Mart shooting back in 2018 that resulted in 19-year-old Jaylin Craig’s death.
Despite what the footage may insinuate to viewers, DaBaby’s attorneys, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, explained that the footage was in fact “reviewed by prosecutors” and insisted that it falls in line with what their client explained back in 2018.
“Witnesses were interviewed and corroborated Mr. Kirk’s statement,” Findling and Goldberg explained to TMZ. “The entirety of the surveillance video was viewed and determined to corroborate Mr. Kirk’s statement...Mr. Kirk was protecting himself and his family at the time of the shooting.”
As previously reported by The Root, on Monday, the “Going Baby” rapper also seemingly responded to the footage in a series of tweets and Instagram posts, saying in part: “The niggas preying on me can’t fuck wit the people praying for me!”
He later elaborated, “Like damn, bruh. Niggas done took $30 million from me, lie on me once a week, want my fine ass BM’s [baby mommas] to hate me, want me to lose fights I don’t start, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM MEEE?”
The footage was brought forth in accompaniment with an in-depth exclusive by Rolling Stone that featured interviews with Craig’s family, several people and agencies connected with the case. In speaking with the outlet about the case and the tragic loss of her song, Craig’s mother LaWanda Horsley explained:
“I feel like they just swept it up under the rug. [Kirk] knows what he did. I’m not doing this for no fame or anything, because at the end of the day, Jaylin Craig is gone.”