Rappers Sugarhill Ddot and Star Bandz have the kind of natural, easy friendship where it doesn’t take a whole lot for them to understand each other. They had a feeling it would be like this: The second Ddot sent Star “My Baby,” a song from his album 2024 album 2 Sides of the Story, and asked her to jump on the remix, something told him they were meant to collaborate. “I just always felt like she would be the right person for this,” he says. “And I always thank her for hopping on that song and being part of my album.”
They met in person when they were shooting the video “We didn’t know each other when we were filming, but I feel like we became friends really quickly,” Star says. “We had a lot in common right from the beginning.” For starters, both are 16-year-old artists who showed a knack for music early on. Ddot, whose real name is Darrian Jimenez, has been making music since he was about 12 years old, and Star, née Star Ana Flowers, began rapping early on, influenced by her upbringing in Chicago. Though Ddot was born and raised in Harlem, they both have Latin heritage and found they had a lot of the same references and backgrounds — even their parents instantly got along.
The rest of the world noticed their chemistry, too. It didn’t take long for “My Baby” to go wildly viral, eventually scoring 22 million views and making both rappers talent to watch in drill. From there, it seems like the two of them have only gotten tighter as they take on more of the music world together: They recently teamed up again for “Energy,” which Ddot released a couple weeks back. They also joined forces for a few shows at colleges around the country.
This week, the two rappers announced that things are about to get bigger for them: They’re heading out on the road as part of New Wave Tour 2025, where they’ll be by each other’s sides, along with New York rapper DD Osama. The tour will take them to Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, New York, in addition to other major cities. “I’m hyped to start my first co-headline tour with my friends,” Ddot says. “I’ve been working hard to put on a good show for my fans and can’t wait to meet everyone.”
Editor’s picks
Star, meanwhile, is just as excited: “It’s going to be real cool to show everyone what we are all capable of and be able to perform with my friends. It’s about to be lit and I am excited to have all my people around me on this tour,” she says.
Trending Stories
Watching the two of them interact, they can seem a little like ying and yang. Ddot is laidback and soft-spoken, while Star is chaty and upbeat. But even hanging out in the Rolling Stone offices recently, they bounce around and energize each other, a dynamic you can hear when they’re in the studio together. But they’ve also helped each other out as they navigate the industry together: “He’ll tell me little things, like how important it is to greet everyone in a room when you walk in and seeing how to hype a crowd up when you’re performing,” Star says.
They’re harnessing all that energy for the tour, and for anything the rest of 2025 brings. Both have a pretty positive outlook on things. For Ddot, 2025 is a chance to keep making moves. “This year I wanna level up and show the world more of my artistry,” he says. Star has a feeling that there’s even more on the horizon. “I feel like in 2025 I’m going to accomplish a lot. I’m going to make this my year.”
