Music lovers have fallen hard for Ella Mai’s infectious r&b single “Boo’d Up,” making a remix an inevitability. Nicki Minaj announced last night (July 3, 2018) that she and Quavo had been tapped by Mai to add some edge to the song that everyone enjoys singing along with.
Even before the song dropped, response to the news wasn’t positive and when the song went live today (July 4th), the negative chatter didn’t die down, rather it amplified.
Part of the push back is simply because the song while still very popular is now post peak and thus a remix feels late to the party. As well, fans of the song complained that adding rap bars didn’t do anything to elevate the song or bring out a new element. In comments on social media, many wrote that it would have been more appropriate to remix the song with r&b artists with Jhené Aiko, Chris Brown, Khaled and SZA frequently mentioned as candidates.
And then there’s just the simple fact that Minaj is having a moment where the culture just isn’t feeling her. Her controversial comments around sex work on Elle magazine didn’t help and neither did her recent Twitter DM exchange with a Karen Civil intern, who ended up being fired for her comments.
Still, some of the negativity very much feels like people jumping on a “hate train” as described by Minaj in her “Chun Li” single. In rap it’s often said there’s only room for one woman at the top and there are times when it feels like Minaj is being pushed out mainly because rap culture has chosen Cardi B to hold the top spot, leaving no room for Minaj.
Check out the remix below and see what you think.
