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Bay Swag attends HOT 97 Summer Jam 2025 on June 20, 2025 in New York City.

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Key Takeaways

• The attractive drill sound is evolving, and Bay Swag helps outline its melodic edge.
• His viral hit “Fisherrr” with Cash Cobain marked a significant increase in his buzz.
• Damaged Thoughts options Meek Mill, Quavo and Young Thug, and displays Bay’s private and musical development.

Queens drill rapper Bay Swag is prepping for the discharge of his debut album, Damaged Thoughts, providing a glimpse into the tumult he’s endured on the best way to Hip Hop stardom.

Bay Swag’s profession actually took off after showing on Cash Cobain’s buttery-smooth 2024 hit “Fisherrr.” The duo seamlessly traded strains, and the viral hit assist create a brand new subgenre referred to as “sexy drill” within the course of. The track made Bay a sizzling commodity, however you’d be mistaken to suppose he was new to the music business.

In a Rolling Stone feature, Bay mentioned his father’s affect on his profession. His dad, Lloyd “Bay Lloyd” McKenzie, was a celebration promoter who labored with A Tribe Called Quest and Swizz Beatz, however has been incarcerated since 2017 — serving an 85-years to life sentence for a 2012 homicide tied to a cocaine smuggling ring. He maintains his innocence, and Bay addressed the scenario in his 2017 track “Saucin.”

Bay credit “Saucin” because the second he determined to take his craft critically — a shift that’s culminating in his debut album. “My thoughts were damaged a lot from just growing up, seeing the things I’ve seen,” Bay instructed Rolling Stone. “Just having to deal with so much hate and envy.”

The manner Bay tells it, he’s lengthy been a identified identify within the music business. He’s a part of Christian “King” Combs’ CYN collective and is on nice phrases with New York Hip-Hop legends like Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Jadakiss. With Damaged Thoughts he’s making his personal manner — however stays cautious of the cruel realities that usually lie past the glitzy aspect of the enterprise. Case in level: the late PnB Rock, a buddy who was murdered in 2022. His dying was sobering.

“That f**ked me up,” Bay instructed Rolling Stone. “Being an artist is the most dangerous s**t in the world. You gotta post where you’re going to be… S**t crazy, bro.”

Plenty of eyes and ears can be on Damaged Thoughts, which is out July 25 through UnitedMasters. The album options from 42 Dugg, Sheff G, Quavo, Kyle Ricch, Young Thug and Meek Mill, who seems on the one “Seventeen.”