DDG Addresses “Good Mom” Halle Bailey And Custody Battle On New Song “17 More Years”

DDG dropped his new project, Moo, Friday (Oct. 10), leading with a vulnerable track, “17 More Years. The song finds the rapper and streamer opening up about his turbulent relationship with ex Halle Bailey and their ongoing custody battle over their one-year-old son, Halo.

Turning personal pain into music, the “Moonwalking in Calabasas” artist gets candid about co-parenting and the emotional toll of their very public split. The song’s title nods to the 17 years they have left before their son reaches legal adulthood.

“I don’t wanna fight no more, tired of the court dates / Lawyers getting over on us, watching money go to waste,” he raps, while still acknowledging Halle as a “good mom” and expressing hope that they can eventually find peace for Halo’s sake. “If you ever needed money, you know I’ll give that,” he continues later in the song, before adding, “I can’t even call your phone or see where my kid at / I’m happy for you and whoever that you with / Long as he can treat you better than I did.”

DDG and Halle’s relationship has been tumultuous over the past year. In June, the Pontiac, Michigan rapper filed an emergency motion to prevent Halle from taking their son out of the country after she filed a restraining order against him.

According to TMZ, the motion was tied to Halle’s reported plans to travel to Italy with Halo for work. DDG requested an urgent hearing, citing concern over what she might do if she left the court’s jurisdiction. In the filing, he referenced several past incidents to support his request, alleging that while Halle was pregnant, she took his gun and left their home without telling him where she was going — though the weapon was ultimately unused.

He also claimed she attempted to terminate the pregnancy without his knowledge, but did not follow through, and that she once sent “a series of alarming text messages threatening to kill herself and suggesting that their infant son, Halo, might also be harmed.”

Allegations have come from both sides. Earlier this year, Halle accused DDG of physical abuse, submitting a complaint with photos she claims showed bruises from an incident in which he slammed her face into a steering wheel, chipping her tooth. Following the temporary restraining order, DDG was ultimately allowed to see Halo, but under the supervision of a professional monitor rather than Halle.

Most recently, the family division of the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles barred both parents from posting their son on social media. Court documents obtained by PEOPLE revealed that the 25-year-old Little Mermaid star and the 27-year-old rapper are prohibited from sharing any “photographs, images and/or information” of Halo online.

“For reasons discussed on the record, and with no objection from either party, the Court orders both parties to refrain from posting, uploading, or disseminating on the Internet or social media platforms, photographs, images, and/or information regarding the minor child or causing any other person to engage in such posting, uploading, or dissemination,” the documents state.

See DDG’s video for “17 More Years” above.