Rapper DaBaby (real name Jonathan Kirk) was taken into police custody and questioned by authorities on New Year's Eve during a trip to Miami, FL.
The "Bop" rapper, who hails from Charlotte, North Carolina, traveled to Miami for a scheduled appearance at the a popular local nightclub called the Cafe Iguana Pines. However, a conflict with the venue's promoters led to a physical altercation.
A police report that Refinery29 obtained from Miami Dade Police Department says that although the club had promised Kirk $30,000 USD to perform, the rapper claimed that he had only received $20,000 USD. According to the report, when Kirk began to demand the rest of his payment, both parties began arguing loudly until the argument escalated into a physical fight. Kirk allegedly struck one of the promoters, and his team allegedly put hands on the other.
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The report also alleges that the rapper's team also made off with several of the promoters' belongings, including an iPhone 7, a credit card, and $80 USD. The Cafe Iguana Pines employee told police that someone in Kirk's posse "doused him with apple juice" during the fight.
Kirk was arrested and taken into police custody, but he was not charged with robbery in relation to the Cafe Iguana Pines altercation. Upon arriving to police headquarters, however, authorities discovered that he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Texas. He was subsequently booked on battery charges for the Texas incident and will remain in Miami Dade PD's custody until further notice.
Just a few weeks earlier, Kirk had been arrested for possession of marijuana in his stomping grounds of Charlotte; police stopped the rapper and his team on their way to a performance and found less than half an ounce of the drug in his vehicle.
Just spoke to DaBaby about his arrest @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/TiUQr5h42V
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) December 24, 2019
Following his release in Charlotte, Kirk took to Twitter to call the arrest an "attempt to make a bad example out of [him]."
Aside from his legal troubles, the rapper has also made headlines for his professional success. Just one year after the debut of his first studio album Baby on Baby, Kirk received several 2020 Grammy nominations for his song "Suge," which put him in the running in the"Best Rap Performance" and "Best Rap Song" categories.
Refinery29 has reached out to Kirk for comment.