Can a person be canceled if they never really went away? In the immediate aftermath of DaBaby’s homophobic, sexist and aggressively ignorant outburst at Rolling Loud Miami in July of this year, the rapper lost a series of major bookings—among them New York’s Governors Ball, Chicago’s Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits—yes. But in the months since his rant went viral, sparking the rightful ire of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, DaBaby’s career seems to be going even...dare we say...better than it was before, no?
After all, despite offering a dubious apology, which he seemingly then reneged on—twice—DaBaby has been defended by fellow celebrities (despite offending others), offered a seat at the teachable moment table by LGBTQ+ leaders and HIV advocates, unseated Jay-Z himself to earn a feature on Kanye’s latest album, and been brought onstage last week by 50 Cent at Rolling Loud New York (h/t NME). Now, it seems the hits keep coming for DaBaby, as less than four months since sparking controversy set at its Miami festival, Rolling Loud has announced it will be sponsoring the rapper’s next tour, the “Live Show Killa Tour,” which will “hit nearly two dozen cities across the U.S.,” according to Rolling Stone.
“Rolling Loud supports second chances and we believe DaBaby has grown and learned from his experience,” the company told Rolling Stone via a statement. “Everyone is welcome and we look forward to DaBaby’s fans seeing him live.”
How’s that for redemption?
No word on whether Tory Lanez, who allegedly shot Megan Thee Stallion and violated a restraining order when appearing alongside DaBaby in July, will be invited back for the tour. In not entirely unrelated news, Rolling Stone notes Lanez is due to testify in a preliminary hearing in that case next month.