Although COVID-19 restrictions meant the BET Awards couldn’t be held in person as usual, the show still went on virtually with a series of well-produced performances. DaBaby generated the most discussion with a controversial performance of his Roddy Ricch-assisted hit, “ROCKSTAR.” The North Carolina rapper paid tribute to George Floyd, whose death at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers sparked international protests against police brutality.
In the video, DaBaby raps while on the ground in handcuffs with a cop’s knee on his neck. This is how Floyd died, leading to second-degree murder charges against former officer Derek Chauvin. Later on, he’s flanked by people wearing shirts that pay tribute to Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and others.
DaBaby performed the “Black Lives Matter” remix of “ROCKSTAR,” where he added a new verse that addresses police brutality issues:
Cops wanna pull me over, embarrass me
Abusin' power, you never knew me, thought I was arrogant
As a juvenile, police pulled their guns like they scared of me
And we’re used to how crackers treat us, now that’s the scary thing
The performance ended with a sample of Zeanna Oliphant, who made national headlines in 2016 with a tearful speech at a Charlotte, North Carolina city council meeting after Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed by a police officer. Joey Bada$$ previously sampled Oliphant on 2017’s “TEMPTATION”:
Although DaBaby earned praise for the strong political statement of his performance, some viewers thought recreating a Black man’s death on screen was insensitive given the current climate:
“ROCKSTAR” recently spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s a first for DaBaby, who previously peaked at No. 7 with 2019’s “Suge.”
Watch the performance above and read all the lyrics to DaBaby’s “ROCKSTAR” featuring Roddy Ricch on Genius now.
