Dababy’s new EP, My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G), pays tribute to his brother Glenn Johnson, who committed suicide earlier this month. 

The surprise seven-track EP contains a few songs with a much more somber and heartfelt tone than any of the Charlotte artist’s previous projects. This tone is especially prevalent on songs like “Brother’s Keeper,” “Shanyah,” and “8 Figures,” which features Meek Mill. 

It’s clear that most of the songs on the EP were written after his brother’s passing, but these three in particular focus heavily on the pain and emotions that Dababy and his family have been dealing with.

One of the most common criticisms of Dababy is his lack of unique flows and sounds, but this EP shows off his ability to take on more serious subject matter and change up his beat selection and style.

This isn’t to say that there are no signs of his old style, as songs like “Handgun,” featuring Polo G and NoCap, and “More Money More Problems” are much more reminiscent of his previous flow and beats. But are still very enjoyable tracks.

“Bidness,” which features fellow North Carolina rapper Toosii, is a unique track with a beat featuring an upbeat sample that DaBaby does particularly well on.

All of the features on this EP have impressive verses on their respective songs, and DaBaby is able to keep up — whether he uses his tried and true flow, or switches it up and takes on a more unfamiliar style.

This EP serves as a musically pleasant surprise in the wake of a tragedy, and it shows off the pure rapping ability of DaBaby, which many have called into question due to his continuous use of very similar beats and lyrics over different songs.

DaBaby has been able to use that formula to see plenty of success, and there really hasn’t been any reason for him to switch up his flow because it’s been doing so well. However, it seems that more and more fans are starting to recognize the need for DaBaby to switch his style moving forward. 

This EP, as well as his previous album, Blame it on Baby, lay a great groundwork for him to explore more avenues of music. 

Depending on the success of this album, we may see a more serious tone coming from DaBaby in the future.