Dave Blunts

Last updated

Dave Blunts
Kanye West and Dave Blunts.jpeg
Blunts (left) with Kanye West in June 2025
Background information
Birth nameDavion Blessing
Born (2000-07-01) July 1, 2000 (age 25)
Salt Lake City, Utah, US
Origin Davenport, Iowa, US
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2018–present
Labels
  • Listen to the Kids
  • Foundation [1]
Website daveblunts.co
Signature
Dave Blunts sig.svg

Davion Blessing (born July 1, 2000), known professionally as Dave Blunts, is an American rapper and singer. He gained popularity in December 2024 after videos of him performing while using an oxygen tank went viral and yielded public concern for his health.

Contents

Blunts began recording and releasing music in 2018. In 2024, he started uploading videos to TikTok, quickly gaining popularity. His 2024 song "The Cup" went viral on the platform. In June 2024, Blunts released his debut studio album, Well Dude Here's My Thing. His second studio album, If I Could I Would, was released in October.

In April 2025, Blunts released his third studio album, You Can't Say That. That same month, Blunts would begin working with American rapper Kanye West, writing the majority of his upcoming studio album, In a Perfect World . Blunts has been reported as the sole songwriter for the album's three singles, "WW3", "Cousins", and "Heil Hitler". [2]

Early life

Blunts was born in Salt Lake City, Utah [P 1] :1:26 on July 1, 2000. [3] When he was around three years old, he moved to Davenport, Iowa. [P 1] :1:31 He has two sisters and one brother. Their father died when Blunts was eight. He began recording and releasing music to Facebook in 2018, alternating between several different accounts before adopting the stage name Dave Blunts. [4] [5]

Career

2024: Initial virality

After contemplating quitting music in late 2023, Blunts began uploading videos to TikTok in 2024, quickly gaining popularity. [5] He released three projects between February and March, as well as the single "The Cup", which received support from rapper Lil Yachty. [6] Blunts later signed to the Los Angeles label Listen to the Kids. On June 28, 2024, he released his debut studio album, Well Dude Here's My Thing. [7] He would release his second studio album, If I Could I Would, on October 18. [1]

In November 2024, Blunts performed at Juice Wrld Day, a concert commemorating late rapper Juice Wrld, while using an oxygen tank. [8] Videos of the performance went viral. [9] [10] During the performance, he directed criticism towards rapper Snoop Dogg, who had previously insulted Blunts in an Instagram post. [9] [11] Snoop Dogg later apologized for his comments. [7]

2025: You Can't Say That and work with Kanye West

On an episode of Bradley Martyn's Raw Talk podcast posted to YouTube on December 17, 2024, Blunts announced that his upcoming third studio album would be titled Exactly So Shut Up. [12] The album was ultimately titled You Can't Say That, and was released on April 18, 2025. In the album, Blunts raps about his health struggles, record deals, previous feuds with other artists, and former girlfriends. [13] [14] In a Instagram post accompaniying the album's announcement, Blunts complained about people who've accused him of being too vulgar, saying that "these are the harsh realities of my life and I’m not gonna Kidzbopify my lyrics because the shit I go through is not sunshine and rainbows." [13] The album received generally positive reception, with Vibe praising the record for being "littered with moments that leave you with no choice but to sing and jam along". [14]

In February 2025, Blunts met fellow rapper Kanye West through the latter's agent, and they started working on an album together. [15] [16] According to West, he and Blunts would spend hours talking each day, and the latter would write songs based off their conversations. [17] Blunts has been reported as the sole writer for West's upcoming album In a Perfect World, starting after the former previewed the single "WW3". [18] [19] The album's second single, titled "Cousins", was fully written by Blunts. [20] Blunts has denied that the album is antisemitic, describing it as being "about one man going between hurt, betrayal and pain". [19] He has also published several references track created for In a Perfect World online. [21]

While hospitalized in May 2025, Blunts surprise released his fourth studio album, Change or Get Changed, via SoundCloud. [22] [23]

Feud with 50 Cent

In July 2025, Blunts would start feuding with rapper 50 Cent after the latter mocked West for showing up at Sean Combs' trial. 50 Cent had made other statements towards West in the same year, mainly in response to the song "Cousins". [24] Blunts would begin feuding with 50 Cent to defend West, with both exchanging posts about each other on social media. After 50 Cent said he would push Blunts "down the stairs" if he ever saw him, the latter previewed a diss track aimed at the former, named "Hey Curtis" in reference to the rapper's legal name, on Instagram. In the track, Blunts calls him an "actor" who doesn't "really want no drama", as well as accusing the mother of his children of going to Combs' freak off parties. [25] [26] Blunts also mocked 50 Cent's appearance in the 2011 film All Things Fall Apart, writing it off in comparison to his own weight loss, as 50 Cent "lost all that weight for that weak ass movie and nobody watched that shit." [25] The song's music video, previewed a few days before its release, parodies the video for 50 Cent's 2003 promotional single "Many Men (Wish Death)", with Blunts working out while a trio of nurses examine him. [27] The diss track would be officially released on August 23, 2025. [28]

Musical style

Blunts has said that his favorite topics to rap about are "women, my friends, traumatic experiences, and controversial topics". [5] Complex noted that his songs, "full of out-of-pocket one-liners, are often reminiscent of a teenager yelling the most shocking things they can think of through an Xbox headset". [5]

Health concerns

Blunts' Juice Wrld Day performance prompted widespread concern for his well being due to his morbidly obese condition and being dependent on an oxygen tank while on stage. [10] [9] Blunts reportedly weighed over 600 pounds during this period. [29]

In a September 2024 interview, Blunts said he weighed 600 pounds (270 kg). [P 2] :0:00 He suffered heart failure in 2023. [8] Blunts was hospitalized a week before his Juice Wrld Day performance, [30] although he later stated it was for a checkup. [P 3] :13:33

On December 24, 2024, Blunts pledged to better his health, throwing away his signature purple tracksuit. [31] He caught the flu shortly afterward, and was hospitalized again after his symptoms worsened. He would later post to X that he's "not giving up as long as you guys don't give up on me." [32] [33] [34]

In March 2025, Kanye West pledged to help Blunts lose weight by connecting him to his own personal trainer. [35] In June, Blunts would work out with AMP streamer Agent, who declared that the rapper would have "abs by November." He would later post photos of him with celebrity trainer Bradley Martin, captioning it "One Step At a Time". West would congratulate Blunts on his progress, texting him that "Nobody can fuck with you. Best rapper on the planet." According to Blunts, he had lost over 200 pounds during his last hospitalization. [29]

Due to his health, Blunts announced that he would "[take] a brief hiatus from the internet, from music, and truly just focus on exercising, eating right and bettering myself. Not for the fans, not for the bitches, myself." [29]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details
TitleStudio Album details
Well Dude Here's My Thing
If I Could I Would
  • Released: October 18, 2024
  • Label: Listen to the Kids, Foundation
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
You Can't Say That
  • Released: April 18, 2025
  • Label: Listen to the Kids, Foundation
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Change or Get Changed
  • Released: May 13, 2025
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Streaming (SoundCloud) [23]

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected details
TitleEP details
Cabeza de Guapo [36]
  • Released: September 29, 2020
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Hungry for Fame [37]
  • Released: June 30, 2021
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Life Without Anosha [38]
  • Released: February 18, 2022
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Stranded in Mexico [39]
  • Released: June 17, 2022
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Hopped the Border [40]
  • Released: September 8, 2022
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Through the Oxygen [41]
  • Released: November 1, 2022
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Illegal Immigrant [42]
  • Released: February 10, 2023
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Green Card [43]
  • Released: February 22, 2023
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Anybody Can Be Somebody's Hero [44]
  • Released: May 15, 2023
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
From an IEP into the ICU [45]
  • Released: August 19, 2023
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Bigger Than I Ever Was [46]
  • Released: October 13, 2023
  • Label: Self-released (initial release); Listen to the Kids (re-release)
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
FTBZ [47]
  • Released: November 30, 2023
  • Label: Self-released (initial release); Listen to the Kids (re-release)
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Jayce and His Undying Quest to Find His Dad [48]
  • Released: December 15, 2023
  • Label: Self-released (initial release); Listen to the Kids (re-release)
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
You Are Not That Special [49]
  • Released: February 1, 2024
  • Label: Self-released (initial release); Listen to the Kids (re-release)
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
I Can Do What You Can Do [50]
  • Released: March 7, 2024
  • Label: Self-released (initial release); Listen to the Kids (re-release)
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
I Would Like to See You Try [51]
  • Released: March 28, 2024
  • Label: Self-released (initial release); Listen to the Kids (re-release)
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

As lead artist

TitleYearAlbum
"I Can't Sleep" [52] 2019Non-album single
"It's Complicated" [53]
"Never Sober" [54]
"Failed Gym Class" [55]
"Shrek Flow" [56]
"McLovin" [57] 2020
"Dying Inside" (featuring E$ave) [58]
"Que Mierda!" [59]
"Never Sober, Pt. 2" [60]
"Egirls" [61] 2022
"Talking to the Sun"2024Well Dude Here's My Thing
"Purple Stuff"Green Card & Well Dude Here's My Thing
"The Cup"From an IEP into the ICU, Well Dude Here's My Thing, & If I Could I Would
"Summer Ends" (with DC2Trill)Non-album single
"Bundle of Sticks"If I Could I Would
"Solar Sunday"
"10 Percs"
"Check on My N****s"
"Vices" (with the Missing Peace)2025Non-album single
"Thinking of You"You Can't Say That
"First Day Out the Hospital"
"Balcony"

References

  1. 1 2 "If I Could I Would by Dave Blunts on Apple Music". October 18, 2024. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  2. Horvath, Zachary (March 7, 2017). "Dave Blunts Says Writing Kanye West's "HH" Made Him Feel Like "Oppenheimer"". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. Blunts, Dave [@iluvyoudaveblunts]; (July 1, 2025). "I just woke up to my ex calling me and playing victim today is my birthday I turn 25 birthday not off to a good start 🤦🏽‍♂️" via Instagram.
  4. "Dave Blunts on Growing Up in Iowa Homeless Shelters, Dad Passing Away After Choking on Food (Part 1)". YouTube . March 6, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Skelton, Eric (July 31, 2024). "Meet Dave Blunts: Interview About Going Viral, Life Story..." Complex. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  6. Leib, Rebecca (December 4, 2024). "The internet can't put down Dave Blunts' 'I Can't Put Down The Cup'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Bennett, Jessica (December 2, 2024). "Who Is Dave Blunts? An Explainer Of The Rapper And His Problem With Snoop Dogg". VIBE.com. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Meet Dave Blunts, the 500lb rapper who went viral after Juice WRLD Day". South China Morning Post . December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Sharma, Muskaan (December 2, 2024). "Morbidly obese rapper Dave Blunts performs with help of oxygen tank in Chicago, fans worried". Hindustan Times. HT. Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Rapper Dave Blunts performs with oxygen tank in Chicago; netizens express concern". The Times of India. December 2, 2024. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  11. "Snoop Dogg Reacts to Viral Rapper Dave Blunts Calling Him..." Complex. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  12. "Dave Blunt's on Being Hospitalized, His Beef w/ Snoop Dogg & Recent Heartbreak w/ Solar". YouTube . December 17, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Horvath, Zachary (April 18, 2025). "Dave Blunts Unleashes On His 20-Track Solo Effort "You Can't Say That"". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Brown, Preezy (April 18, 2025). "Dave Blunts, JID, Key Glock, And More New Hip-Hop Music To Soundtrack The Weekly Grind". VIBE.com. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  15. Horvath, Zachary (April 15, 2025). "Kanye West Claims He & Dave Blunts Are 'Almost Finished' With 'WW3' Album". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  16. Dope As Usual Podcast (June 17, 2025). Dave Blunts Weight Loss Journey, Putting Down The Cup & much more! | DOPE AS USUAL Podcast. Archived from the original on June 18, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025 via YouTube.
  17. Brown, Preezy (April 24, 2025). "Ye Confirms This Rising Rap Star Ghostwrote His New 'Cuck' Album". VIBE.com. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  18. "Ye Drops "WW3" Amid Copyright Lawsuit by German Singer". RapTV. Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  19. 1 2 Blake, Cole (April 22, 2025). "Kanye West Reveals Dave Blunts Wrote The Entirety Of His New Album, "Cuck"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  20. Rajagopal, Mekala (May 9, 2025). "The First Rule of Touring With Dave Blunts? No Shitting On the Bus". Interview Magazine. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  21. Paul, Bryson "Boom" (June 14, 2025). "Dave Blunts Previews 50 Cent Diss Track After The Mogul Trolled Kanye West". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  22. @iluvyoudaveblunts; (May 13, 2025). "I JUST DROPPED A NEW ALBUM FROM THE HOSPITAL ON SOUNDCLOUD TITLED "CHANGE OR GET CHANGED" 15 NEW SONGS I MADE SUM THESE MFS IN THE HOSPITAL LOL YOU CAN HEAR THE HEART MONITOR BEEP ON A FEW SONGS 🤣💯 BUT SHIIII IN LIFE YOU EITHER CHANGE OR GET CHANGED I GUESS IM AT THE POINT WHERE LIFE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE ME IF I DONT CHANGE 🤷🏽‍♂️link in bio for new albummmmmmmm 🤝🤝" . Retrieved May 19, 2025 via Instagram.
  23. 1 2 "CHANGE OR GET CHANGED". SoundCloud. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  24. Fisher, Caroline (July 25, 2025). "Dave Blunts Slams 50 Cent For Trolling Kanye West After Diddy Trial Appearance". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  25. 1 2 Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie (July 23, 2025). "50 Cent Threatens to Push Dave Blunts Down a Flight of Stairs, Blunts Responds With Vulgar Diss". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  26. Sadler, Armon (July 22, 2025). "Dave Blunts Teases Diss Track Aimed At "Old Ni**a" 50 Cent And His Baby Mama After Weight Joke". VIBE.com. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  27. sourcestaff (August 18, 2025). "Dave Blunts Previews Diddy-ish Inspired Video Targeting 50 Cent" . Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  28. Nevares, Gabriel Bras (July 23, 2023). "Dave Blunts Officially Drops Ruthless 50 Cent Diss Track "Hey Curtis"". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  29. 1 2 3 "Dave Blunts Hits the Gym with Agent: 'Abs By November'". Complex. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  30. "Rapper Dave Blunts Responds to Haters After Performing Onstage With Oxygen Tank". E! Online. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  31. Andrews, Elias (December 25, 2024). "Dave Blunts Ditches Iconic Purple Tracksuit In Effort To "Better" His Health". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  32. "Dave Blunts Confirms Hospitalization After Leaked Video". Complex. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  33. Nevares, Gabriel Bras (January 2, 2025). "Dave Blunts Reportedly Hospitalized After Throwing Purple Tracksuit Out". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  34. "Dave Blunts Confirms Hospitalization After Leaked Video Surfaces". Yahoo Entertainment. January 3, 2025. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  35. Blake, Cole (March 10, 2025). "Kanye West Labels Dave Blunts His Favorite Rapper And Offers To Get Him A Trainer". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  36. "Cabeza de Guapo". Spotify .
  37. "Hungry for Fame". Spotify .
  38. "Life Without Anosha". Spotify .
  39. "Stranded in Mexico". Spotify . Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  40. "Hopped the Border". Spotify .
  41. "Through the Oxygen". Spotify .
  42. "Illegal Immigrant". Spotify .
  43. "Green Card". Spotify .
  44. "Anybody Can be Somebodys Hero". Spotify .
  45. "From an IEP into the ICU". Spotify .
  46. "Bigger Than I Ever Was by Dave Blunts on Apple Music". October 13, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  47. "FTBZ - EP by Dave Blunts on Apple Music". November 30, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  48. "Jayce and His Undying Quest To Find His Dad - Single by Dave Blunts on Apple Music". December 15, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  49. "YOU ARE NOT THAT SPECIAL by Dave Blunts on Apple Music". February 1, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  50. "I Can Do What You Can Do by Dave Blunts on Apple Music". March 7, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  51. "I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY by Dave Blunts on Apple Music". March 28, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  52. "I Can't Sleep". Spotify .
  53. "Its Complicated". Spotify .
  54. "Never Sober". Spotify .
  55. "Failed Gym Class". Spotify .
  56. https://www.amazon.com/Shrek-Flow-Explicit-Dave-Blunts/dp/B07ZRGQTGR
  57. https://www.amazon.com/McLovin-Explicit-Dave-Blunts/dp/B087PP73FR
  58. "Dying Inside". Spotify .
  59. "Que Mierda!". Spotify .
  60. https://www.amazon.com/Never-Sober-Pt-2-Explicit/dp/B08CVCM34V
  61. "Egirls". Spotify .

Primary sources

  1. 1 2 No Jumper (June 25, 2024). Dave Blunts on Coming Up in Iowa, Being the Plug, Being Big in Mexico & More . Retrieved December 17, 2024 via YouTube.
  2. Craft Culture (September 13, 2024). Dave Blunts: "I'm 600lbs with Heart Failure" | Craft Culture . Retrieved December 17, 2024 via YouTube.
  3. Bradley Martyn's Raw Talk (December 17, 2024). Dave Blunt's on Being Hospitalized, His Beef w/ Snoop Dogg & Recent Heartbreak w/ Solar . Retrieved December 17, 2024 via YouTube.