DaBaby's legal team has consistently maintained that Brandon Curiel was the aggressor, not their client. The defense argued Brandon instigated the confrontation and provoked the situation that day at the bowling alley.
Sources close to the situation say DaBaby and DaniLeigh's split got messy fast β with both sides airing grievances on social media before things escalated to physical violence. Blog posts about their feud circulated widely before the alleged attack.
Brandon Curiel testified in a deposition dated 2/9/22 that DaBaby said 'I just want to slap you up a bit. I just want to slap you around a little bit.' The lawsuit was filed over a February 2022 bowling alley incident in Los Angeles where Brandon claims DaBaby threw the first punch.
The deposition transcript is damning β those words don't exactly scream 'self-defense.' If this case goes to trial, DaBaby's team has an uphill battle explaining away his own alleged threats made just moments before the altercation.
We finally have black-and-white proof of what DaBaby allegedly said before things went down at that Los Angeles bowling alley in 2022. TMZ obtained the deposition transcript from Brandon Curiel β better known as Brandon Bill$, the brother of DaBaby's ex DaniLeigh β and it paints a damning picture of the rapper's mindset moments before an alleged beatdown that left him suing for damages. During his testimony dated February 9, 2022, Brandon explained the beef didn't start at the bowling alley β it started online.
He claims DaBaby was publicly "humiliating" his sister and speaking about their family in ways that crossed serious lines. Brandon testified he fired back by telling the rapper it would be 'on' when they saw each other in person, and that blogs picked up the exchange. So when fate put them at the same bowling alley, everyone knew a confrontation was coming.
According to Brandon's testimony, DaBaby approached him while he was chatting with Swae Lee β but here's where it gets interesting. When DaBaby tried to get him to come over with a "Let me holla at you real quick," Brandon refused and instead told the rapper to come closer if he wanted to talk. That's when DaBaby allegedly dropped the chilling words: "I just want to slap you up a bit.
I just want to slap you around a little bit." Those aren't exactly the words of someone looking for a peaceful resolution. Brandon claims DaBaby then threw the first punch, which prompted other members of his entourage to jump in. During the chaos, Brandon says a girl grabbed one of his gold chains β because apparently this whole thing needed a jewelry heist subplot.
The rapper's legal team has pushed back hard, arguing Brandon was the instigator and that their client acted in self-defense. The case got dismissed briefly but was revived shortly after, though no final ruling has been issued yet. Four years later, we're still waiting for resolution on what happened that night.
But one thing's clear from those transcript pages: DaBaby allegedly went to that bowling alley with violence on his mind, and the words he supposedly spoke don't align with any version of self-defense. When someone tells you they want to "slap you up a bit" before throwing punches, that's premeditation β not reaction. Brandon Curiel is seeking damages for what he claims was a coordinated attack. Whether he'll get justice remains to be seen, but at least now the public can read exactly what he says happened in his own words.
