[4] Jackson announced she had founded her own label, Rhythm Nation, becoming the first African-American female recording artist to do so, while also planning the album to be distributed by BMG, as well as preparing herself for a new world tour in the same year.

Jackson was already working with choreographers and dancers at the studio when she told the producers, "You know, it would be cool to have one more uptempo funky record that I can really dance to", and the result was "Dammn Baby".

[15] Desiree O from Brit + Co website gave the song a positive review, saying that "with shades of the signature Jackson sound, a totally fun beat and a chilled-out breakdown mid-song, this could very well be your fave jam of the summer.

[18] Rob Tannenbaum from Billboard magazine noted that "Dammn Baby" and another song on the album, "2 B Loved", were "pretty explicit nods to DJ Mustard's "ratchet" sound".

[21] In a more balanced review, AllMusic's Andy Kellman noted that the song's "probing synthesizers, booming bass, and relatively detached vocal" came across as "conscious concessions to commercial radio".

The Fader's Ben Dandridge-Lemco commented that the video "features classic group choreography, some more abstract solo steps from Jackson during the breakdown, and interesting uses of lighting all around".

[25] Carey O'Donnell from Paper deemed it "a doozy of a video", while also noting that the "icon busts some seriously stellar dance moves, and shows us her prowess is utterly timeless".