Ann Arbor’s Baby Booder – real name Daijon T. Munson – dropped “Champion” on March 27th, the second track off his 15-song album “P O I N T E”, a lyrical tribute to the neighbourhood he grew up in during Obama’s two terms. He has been writing since the age of seven, releasing music to SoundCloud since he was eleven, and has built over 300 released compositions independently through his own label, Substance Controlled. Outside of music, he has been a board member of Ann Arbor’s Neutral Zone youth nonprofit and an affiliate of the My Brother’s Keeper Washtenaw Chapter. “Champion” draws from Bad Boy Records, Mary J. Blige, and Freddie Gibbs, and reflects on the challenges and wins of 2025, recorded mainly at home to preserve that underground feel.
The story behind the song is one that doesn’t get told enough about Ann Arbor – a city known for its university reputation and relative wealth, but with pockets that don’t match that image. Booder grew up in a cul-de-sac, moved to an apartment complex surrounded by condos and medical centers, watched his parents work themselves to the bone while kids in the streets ranked each other in ways that turned dangerous. “Champion” is about coming out the other side of all that – stronger, wiser, and clear-eyed. The Bad Boy influence is in the production swagger, the Freddie Gibbs influence is in the unflinching honesty of the storytelling, and the lo-fi home studio warmth keeps it grounded rather than polished into something unrecognisable.
With shows already lined up across South East Michigan in April and May, Baby Booder is building in the right direction. “P O I N T E” has fourteen more tracks to go, and if “Champion” is any indication, it’s a project worth sitting with front to back.