DaBaby released his debut studio album Baby on Baby on March 1, 2019. Almost six months later on August 26, he revealed his next album's title to be Kirk, an homage to his last name. The cover art features DaBaby as an infant, sitting on his father's lap, who died sometime after the release of Baby on Baby.
The album's lead single, "Intro" was released on September 19, 2019. The song debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A music video directed by Reel Goats and shot in Hawaii was released the following day. On November 15, 2019, he released a Broadway-inspired, Reel Goats-directed "musical" video for "Bop", titled "BOP on Broadway ", which featured the Jabbawockeez. It was sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio on November 19, 2019, as the album's second single. The song peaked at number 11 on the Hot 100 chart, making it the highest-charting song from the album, and his second highest-charting song ever. On October 1, 2019, a music video for "Vibez" was released. It was later sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio on March 31, 2020, as the album's third single. The song peaked at number 21 on the Hot 100 chart.
Other songs
A music video for "Off the Rip", directed by Reel Goats, was released on November 1, 2019.
Critical reception
Kirk received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on seven reviews. Album of the Year assessed the critical consensus as a 69 out of 100. Danny Schwartz of Rolling Stone said that the album "shows why one of the year's most compelling breakout stars." Writing for NME, Kyann-Sian Williams' stating that "Although this record is often emotional, Kirk also races over snappy hit-hats and repetitive synths, showing off his giddy flow."
Commercial performance
Kirk debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 145,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, becoming DaBaby's first album to top the chart. In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, earning 78,000 album-equivalent units. In its third week, the album remained at number four on the chart, earning 55,000 more units. In its fourth week, the album remained at number five on the chart for a third consecutive week, earning 49,000 units bringing its four-week total to 327,000 units. Additionally, all 13 tracks from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with 12 tracks debuting the week following the album's release, led by "Bop", at number 19 . This helped DaBaby chart 22 songs on the Hot 100 in 2019, the most of any artist. Outside the US, the album reached the top 20 in six other countries, including Canada, where it peaked at number 2.
Track listing
Notes
signifies an uncredited co-producer
Every song title is stylized in all capital letters, for example, "Intro" is stylized as "INTRO".
