Forget the ‘99 and the 2000s, Juvenile, Mannie Fresh and Mia X are taking over for 2021 in this latest effort to drive COVID-19 vaccinations!
Per a press release sent to The Root, the three rap icons teamed up with BLK, the largest dating app for Black singles to promote one singular message: “dating is better in all the ways once you’re vaccinated.”
“We have a direct line to the audience that needs to internalize this message,” BLK Head of Brand & Marketing Jonathan Kirkland explained. “The song may be playful and fun, but the underlying message is as real as it gets.”
Added Juvenile, “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. 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.”
You better say that, Juvenile! In classic New Orleans-bounce fashion, “Vax That Thang Up” delivers the same level bars you know and love from the original. Only this time, the subject matter is slightly different.
A snippet of the chorus, as rapped by Juvenile:
Girl, you looks good. Won’t you vax that thang up?
You’s a handsome young brother, won’t you vax that thang up?
Dating 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:
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.
And of course, I couldn’t leave you without Mia X’s call to action:
“Now, now, now if you wanna get sticky and hot—go, go go, go and get the shot.”
I’d also just like to point out that there’s a shot of a woman in the video wearing a “No vaxxing, No vucking shirt,” and wow. Just wow. I love us, for real.
I don’t think I had Juvenile redoing “Back That Thang Up” to incentivize young adults to get vaccinated on my 2021 bingo card, but I’d be lying if I said this didn’t put a smile on my face.
I’d also be lying if I didn’t think that Juve may have a career comeback on his hands. It’s vaccinations now; maybe his next cause should be environmental justice next? “Save da Ocean for Me” to the tune of “Slow Motion” has a nice ring to it, dontcha think?