Released: 2019 • Features: Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo
“TOES” by DaBaby, featuring Lil Baby and Moneybagg Yo, is a hard-hitting anthem that celebrates their newfound wealth, status and indulging lifestyle, while also maintaining the street attitude that has been a key part of their personas. These talented rappers flex their success, and narrate the realities and paradoxes of the streets – from their harsh upbringing to their lavish lifestyle.
In the opening lines, DaBaby sets the tone. With phrases like “My heart so cold I think I’m done with ice,” he’s signaling his hardened outlook. This cold-heartedness is extended metaphorically to his lifestyle, encapsulated in the refrain: “What I look like with all them twenties?” Here, he is declaring his preference for large denomination cash reflecting his upgraded status while noting the contrast to his past.
Lil Baby’s verse expands on the theme, his lyrics “Walk in the bank with a M in a tote,” and “I had the Rover for a year, I don’t drive”, emphasize the extent of his wealth, to the point where he doesn’t even drive his expensive vehicles. The statement “I get ’em whacked, I don’t advise ’em to try it” could easily be interpreted as a threatening line on the surface. But in hip-hop and street lingo, it’s a stark warning to anyone daring to cross him.
On Moneybagg Yo’s verse, he celebrates his ascension from poverty to success. The lines “I used to be down, down, down, down, Waiting on taxes time”… “Look at me now, now, now, now, They pay me to flex and shine”, clearly tell his story of rags to riches. The transformation couldn’t have been more stark, from desperately waiting on tax returns to getting paid to show off his wealth.
The chorus from DaBaby, repeated throughout the track, further reinforces this narrative and ties the verses together. The hardened, cold-hearted chatter via lines like “My heart so cold I think I’m done with ice” and “Better not pull up with no knife, Cause I bring guns to fights” represents the hostile environments they’ve come from. The lines essentially depict the ‘survival of the fittest’ environment they have survived and managed to achieve success.
In conclusion, “TOES” is a chest-thumping anthem of conquered adversity, wealth and stature reflective of the artists’ journey from the trenches to the top of the rap game. Despite the opulent descriptions of their current reality, there remains a constant reminder of where they’ve come from, echoing in the closing line “Came from the bottom, toes”. The song is a vivid picture of their triumph over harsh realities and a testament to their determination and grit.
