DaniLeigh is moving on from her tumultuous relationship with ex-boyfriend DaBaby and focusing on her music career, unveiling a new single called “Dead to Me” on Wednesday (May 10).
“You know you dead to me/ Never kept your word with what you said to me ]/ You know you dead to me/ I ain’t got no more time for toxic energy,” she sings in the chorus.
In a moving new interview with iHeartRadio’s Angie Martinez that premiered on People, DaniLeigh — born Danielle Leigh Curiel — opened up about motherhood, DaBaby and “Dead to Me.” Most notably, she reflected on the Instagram Live she had with the “Rockstar” rapper in November, which she described as a “very bad time” in her life.
In the since-deleted video, the former couple were seen having a heated argument while DaniLeigh nursed their newborn daughter, who is now eight months old. According to Rolling Stone, DaBaby and DaniLeigh exchanged insults, with the latter claiming that the rapper hadn’t been around since their daughter was born, and that he was now trying to make her leave his apartment.
The next day, DaBaby went on Instagram Live again, where the duo continued to argue about their relationship. According to Rolling Stone and local CBS affiliate WBTV, the rapper told law enforcement on both days that Curiel had assaulted him; she was charged with simple assault.
“It was very triggering, very sad,” the 27-year-old star told Martinez of the situation. “I wish it didn’t happen because I don’t want my baby to see that later on in life.” The “Easy” singer says the way she’ll explain the video to her child “depends on the type of person she grows up to be.”
“The only responsibility I have is to raise her to be a strong woman. She’ll feel how she feels, she’s her own person,” Curiel explained. DaniLeigh also shared that it was “very selfish” to get into that fight, and that DaBaby has not apologized. “He’s like that though,” she said of her ex-boyfriend.
“I’ve learned to love myself so much more,” she said of her mindset since the end of the relationship. “Because I feel like I really did love him so much that I was just giving it all to him … I didn’t even focus on my career.”
Listen to DaniLeigh’s “Dead to Me” below. The song is set to appear on her upcoming EP, My Side, which does not yet have a release date.