Fetty P Franklin says a follow-up to Kirk Franklin, his joint project with DaBaby, is in the works. The Charlotte rappers are planning Kirk Franklin 2, Franklin said in a recent interview, though there is no release date, track count or further rollout information attached to the plan.

“Yeah, we planning on doing Kirk Franklin 2 for sure,” Franklin said.

The statement is concise, but it matters because the pair’s first release was not presented as an isolated guest appearance. Their working relationship has moved through several stages: a song on Franklin’s 2025 album FRANK, a seven-song shared project released on December 26, 2025, and live appearances that put Franklin in front of DaBaby’s audience outside their home city.

From “SDA” to a shared project

Franklin said he and DaBaby first met while filming the video for “SDA,” their collaboration from FRANK. DaBaby’s verse arrived only days before that album’s release, according to Franklin. The two then decided to return to the studio.

That decision produced Kirk Franklin quickly. Franklin said the duo assembled the first joint EP over two recording sessions, trading verses through the night. The project contained seven tracks, including “Close Friends” and “Money Blue.”

The title is a deliberate shared-name construction: “Kirk” comes from DaBaby’s surname, while “Franklin” refers to Fetty P Franklin’s stage name. It is also a useful shorthand for the collaboration itself. Rather than presenting one artist as the main act and the other as a featured guest, the name signals joint billing and a project built around both performers.

That distinction is worth keeping clear as talk turns to a sequel. A joint EP is a shorter release credited to two artists, generally functioning differently from a standard album feature. A feature can be a single contribution to another performer’s record; a joint EP asks the artists to sustain a shared identity across multiple songs. Franklin’s comments point to Kirk Franklin 2 extending that latter format, but they do not establish whether it will be an EP, an album, or another type of release.

A collaboration shaped by independent work

The prospective sequel also arrives after a long independent stretch for Franklin. In a June interview, he said he became a full-time rapper in 2025, at age 35. Before that shift, he had released music independently since 2018, personally covering recording sessions, videos and travel while receiving limited financial return.

Franklin has described FRANK as a turning point. “Jimmy N Johnny” reached a far wider audience, and DaBaby subsequently took notice. In Franklin’s account, the support gave him another route forward after years of uncertainty over whether the costs of pursuing music could remain sustainable.

“He put another ladder right there, and another one,” Franklin said of DaBaby’s support.

It is an image that captures the practical value of a higher-profile collaborator without overstating what has been confirmed. The available information does not promise a specific commercial result for Kirk Franklin 2. It does show a partnership that expanded Franklin’s opportunities: studio work became a full collaborative project, and the music relationship carried into live performances.

That kind of momentum can be especially meaningful for an artist transitioning from self-funded releases to full-time work. Recording costs and video production are only part of the equation; travel, audience development and repeated chances to perform also shape whether an independent career can keep moving. Franklin’s comments frame the DaBaby connection as an opening built on top of years of prior effort, not a replacement for it.

There is a related thread in the wider music conversation around artists gaining more control as their careers develop. Lucky Daye’s comments on management and creative direction offer another example of how the business structures around an artist can influence the next stage of a career. Franklin’s situation is different, but the central practical question is familiar: how does an artist turn new attention into durable room to create and perform?

What touring added to the partnership

Franklin’s work with DaBaby has not remained confined to the studio. DaBaby included him in the lineup for Be More Grateful Fest, where the bill also featured 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and other established performers. For Franklin, that meant a spot on a larger hometown event and exposure within a broader live setting.

He also said touring with DaBaby taught him how to work a crowd beyond Charlotte. On his first tour, Franklin had to learn to adapt to DaBaby’s fans and find ways to keep their attention.

That is a significant element of the story because a touring audience is not automatically the same as an artist’s own audience. An opening or supporting performer must establish momentum quickly, often for people who arrived primarily for someone else. Franklin’s remarks describe that adjustment as a learning process rather than treating the tour as a simple extension of local familiarity.

In performance terms, working a crowd means managing attention and energy in a live room: recognizing what an unfamiliar audience responds to, maintaining engagement and shaping a set so listeners stay with the performer. Franklin has not detailed a specific approach, and there is no reason to infer one. What he has made clear is that touring supplied experience he could not get solely from recording in Charlotte.

What is confirmed—and what remains open

The firmest point is Franklin’s own statement that a second Kirk Franklin project is being planned. The original seven-track release already provides a clear foundation for the name, and the artists’ connection now has both recording and touring history behind it.

Several major details remain unannounced:

  • No release date has been given for Kirk Franklin 2.
  • No format has been specified, so it is not yet confirmed as an EP or full-length album.
  • No songs, guest artists, producers, cover art or track list have been identified.
  • No new live dates or festival appearances tied to the sequel have been confirmed.

For listeners, that means the sensible expectation is continuation rather than prediction. The first project came from a fast-moving creative connection following “SDA,” with the artists recording together over two sessions. But that earlier process does not confirm how the next project will be made or when it will arrive.

Still, the direction is unusually straightforward. Franklin and DaBaby began with a late-arriving verse on FRANK, followed it with a shared seven-track release, and carried their association onstage. Franklin now says the collaboration is set to continue. Until more is announced, Kirk Franklin 2 is best understood as a planned next chapter in an already active partnership—not a scheduled release with confirmed details.