Rapper Juvenile has teamed up with artists Mannie Fresh and Mia X to help combat COVID-19 by releasing a new vaccine anthem remixing an old classic.
BLK, a dating app for Black singles, joined forces with the artists to transform Juvenile’s 1999-hit “Back That Thang Up” into “Vax That Thang Up.”
“I just wanted to do something positive for my people and to stand in the front to show that I’m willing to sacrifice my life not just for me but also for my family,” Juvenile shared in a statement on Wednesday, according to CNN. “We don’t know what we’re facing right now but we really do all need to be vaccinated so we can continue to do our thing and survive.”
The creators hope the message will help encourage more people to get vaccinated.
“We hope this video is both entertaining and actionable,” BLK stated in a description under the new video.
Juvenile opens up the song with the following line: “You finna online date yeah, find a mate yeah, open up BLK yeah, okay yeah.”
The chorus builds on the original lines, focusing on people getting vaccinated to date in person. The chorus in part includes:
“Girl, you looks good, won’t you vax that thang up, You’s a handsome young brother, won’t you vax that thang up. Date in real life you need to vax that thang up, Feeling freaky all night you need to vax that thang up.”
Mannie Fresh’s verse includes the following lines:
“I know you can’t stand it, no holding hands chick, But when we get the shot, we gon’ be romancing. Girl you can be the queen, after quarantine, We could meet up at the spot and we could do the thing.”
In the video, viewers can see Juvenile holding up a COVID-19 vaccination card then throwing several vaccination cards in the air.
“I lost it, when they had Juvie throwing Covid vaccine cards like dollars,” one person commented on the video on YouTube.
The video also includes what appears to be a COVID-19 vaccination-related station in the middle of a neighborhood with a woman dancing in scrubs wearing a face shield, mask, and gloves. In addition, the scene features different people walking around with their vaccination cards in a lively environment.
The video has already reached more than half a million views within one day of being posted on YouTube.
“The message is clear: dating is better in all the ways once you’re vaccinated,” BLK Dating shared in a video description on YouTube.
The collaboration is a “historic one,” according to BLK.
“This track marks the first time in music history that artists from Cash Money Records and No Limit Records have collaborated in any official capacity,” BLK shared on YouTube. “At BLK we are all about making connections, even beyond dating.”
BLK also stressed the importance of vaccines in a statement.
“Black adults under the age of 40 are the most likely group to avoid the Covid-19 vaccination, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,” the statement said, NBC reported. “Distrust of doctors and government, less access to vaccination centers, and online misinformation each play a role. We hope this video is both entertaining and actionable.”
It’s a new release that has prominent figures like Jemele Hill sharing the remix on social media.
“I didn’t know much I needed this until I saw it #VaxThatThangUp,” Hill wrote on Twitter as she reposted the video.
Meanwhile, some people were thrown off guard by what they considered to be an unexpected collaboration, while some found it cringe-worthy and others found it hilarious.
“Juvenile making a “Vax that thang up” song was not on the list for 2021,” one Twitter user wrote.
“So we’ve gone from Vax Girl summer to #VaxThatThangUp,” another person tweeted.
If you haven’t already, check out the full remix video below:
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