CJ isn’t about to let the momentum of his “Whoopty” success slip away. After dropping a pair of well-received remixes — the “Whoopty NYC Remix” featuring French Montana and Rowdy Rebel, and the “Whoopty Latin Mix” with Anuel AA and Ozuna — the Staten Island native is following up with a new video from his debut EP, Loyalty Over Royalty. In the “Real One” video, CJ performs solo in an empty warehouse with moody lighting, with sultry shots of models seducing the camera cut in.
Lyrically, CJ insists that a romantic interest “wanna f*ck with a real one,” rhyming in a singsong flow to boast about his sex appeal and newfound success. It’s a short but effective song that shows his versatility, slightly departing from the catchy vocal sample and spare rhythms of his drill hit, but not so much that it might alienate the fans of that song who helped drive it and its multiple remixes to over 250 million cumulative views on YouTube.
Meanwhile, with songs like “Bop” and “Politics” racking up some respectable streaming numbers of their own, it looks like CJ has the tools to dodge one-hit-wonder status — although he should probably look into switching up his video locations and concepts sometime soon.
Watch the “Real One” video above.
CJ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Just when you thought “Whoopty” mania had reached its peak, Staten Island rapper CJ comes out of nowhere with a surprising new remix to extend the shelf life of his breakout hit. This time around, he offers a “Latin Mix” of his runaway drill smash featuring two of Latin music’s hottest stars in Anuel AA and Ozuna.
Rather than write a new verse for this version, CJ talks a little smack in Spanish then steps back to let his guest stars hold the limelight. Both Anuel and Ozuna go on extended, rapid-fire, bruising lyrical runs, with Anuel name-dropping Kobe Bryant and claiming he’s a real son of a gun while Ozuna flexes his watch collection and delivers a fatalistic outlook on life. The video, meanwhile, takes place at an underground fight club, which apparently has both male and female divisions for its brutal, bare-knuckle brawls.
The Latin mix is the second remix of CJ’s popular hit after the New Yorker shared a Big Apple-centric remix earlier this month featuring French Montana and Rowdy Rebel. The infectious beat for “Whoopty” has also provided the backdrop for a wide-spanning array of colorful freestyles from the likes of Compton’s Westside Boogie, Chicago’s Polo G, and Philadelphia’s Tierra Whack.
Watch the video for CJ’s “Whoopty Latin Mix” featuring Anuel AA and Ozuna above.
Now that seemingly everyone and their momma has rapped over SpotemGottem’s “Beat Box” beat, you could argue the trend has reached its peak and it’s all downhill from here. However, it looks like Polo G has found a way to mix it up and keep the party going for just a little bit longer. The Chicago journeyman’s “For My Fans (Freestyle)” video, in which he goes in on “Beat Box,” also includes beats from more contemporary hits like CJ’s “Whoopty” and Coi Leray’s “No More Parties.”
The three-part video, directed by Ryan Lynch, follows Polo and his crew as they roam the city, doing the dances from the songs’ various viral challenges — i.e. the Junebug on “Beat Box” — and has Polo switching up his delivery to match the respective beats. On the first, he’s got an aggressive, yell-rap style that plays with the aggressive 808s of “Beat Box,” then a mellower flow over “Whoopty,” until finally, he shows off his hum-rap on “No More Parties.”
Polo is just the latest rapper to try his hand at rapping over the “Beat Box” instrumental. Previously, DaBaby, Deante’ Hitchcock, and Mulatto all rapped to the track, with DaBaby’s and Mulatto’s videos causing minor controversies. DaBaby was censured by JoJo Siwa fans for name-checking the teen pop star, while Mulatto sparked a back-and-forth with Renni Rucci that had fans buzzing on Twitter.
Watch Polo G’s “For My Fans (Freestyle)” video above.
Staten Island rapper CJ has a bonafide hit on his hands with his Bollywood-sampling single “Whoopty,” tightening drill’s stranglehold on the New York rap scene. Now, he looks to further ingratiate himself with the Big Apple’s rap fans by giving them a remix of the song just for them. The “Whoopty NYC Remix” features a pair of Empire State stalwarts in the Bronx-bred, underrated hitmaker French Montana and the recently-released rabble-rouser Rowdy Rebel.
Featuring a slightly re-worked sample, the remix sees the three rappers delivering updated verses boasting of their money, fame, and respect in the rap game. When the original came out, I was struck by how similar to French Montana I thought newcomer CJ sounded; on the remix, that comparison is heightened and enhanced, but it also shows just how versatile both rappers really are to not completely step on each other’s toes (the effect is similar to when Ghostface did a song with Action Bronson, and suddenly everything just clicked for the younger rapper).
Meanwhile, Rowdy Rebel’s comeback campaign appears to be proceeding swimmingly. After surviving a six-year bid, he’s returned with a more polished flow and gameness to take on any and all new musical trends, unwilling to become the out-of-touch oldhead that laments how much things have changed. It’s a good look for him and his feature has the added benefit of a cross-co-sign effect for CJ; the younger rapper gets the approval of older fans while the older rapper gets to stay cool in the younger generation’s eyes. It’s a win-win and to be honest, another collaboration wouldn’t go amiss.
Watch the video for CJ’s “Whoopty NYC Remix” featuring French Montana and Rowdy Rebel above.
CJ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
We’re still waiting for Westside Boogie’snext album, but at least he’s making it as enjoyable as possible. The rapper has spent much of 2021 blessing listeners with great freestyles. On Wednesday, he returned with another. He chose fellow rapper CJ’s viral track “Whoopty” as the foundation, flinging off lines like, “If you ain’t lеt me hit then you really shouldn’t carе If I get at your friend / The more I get curved, the thicker my skin.”
Westside shared the track on Twitter, hinting that it may be his last for the time being. “Aight this my last week being a hood rat fr,” he wrote in the video’s caption. The latest freestyle is the rapper’s fourth of 2021. He kept things cocky at the start of the year with “Joe Exotic Freestyle,” whose video found him and some friends also adding some more bars to Moneybagg Yo’s track “Said Sum“. He also did one over Tupac Shakur’s “Do For Love.”
Prior to his freestyle run, Westside joined Reason, Joey Badass, Denzel Curry, and Jack Harlow to remix “Extinct” and later connected with Badass again for their collaboration “Outside.”
CJ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A bunch of new artists make debuts this week, while a pair of veterans continue to certify themselves within their given niches. Meanwhile, a fallen heroine makes a posthumous comeback, New York drill continues to establish its foothold, and the new wave of LA party rap favorites expands its influence.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending February 19, 2021.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
CJ — Loyalty Over Royalty
CJ
Staten Island drill newcomer CJ arrived with a splash last year thanks to his hit single “Whoopty.” He followed up earlier this year with “Bop,” proving he wasn’t just a one-hitter quitter. Now, he’s got a deal with Warner Records, and the eyes and ears of the world firmly focused on this debut EP to see if he can really stick.
Ghetts — Conflict Of Interest
Ghetts
UK grime mainstay Ghetts is on his third studio album, released under Warner Records. Featuring fellow British superstars Dave, Giggs, Skepta, Stormy, and Wretch 32 — talk about “star-studded” — his latest album is his most earnest and personal to date.
Lexii Alijai — Come Back Soon
Lexii Alijai
After passing away last year at just 21 years old, Lexii Alijai’s posthumous project arrives with much less fanfare than some other late, rising stars’ debut albums, but it’s just as appreciated by fans of her work, which included appearances on two Kehlani albums. Kyle Banks, P-Lo, and Wale make appearances to give a fond farewell to a powerful talent taken far too soon.
Lil Zay Osama — Trench Baby
Lil Zay Osama
Balancing tough trench talk and plainspoken vulnerability, Lil Zay Osama’s major-label debut (he signed to Warner in 2019) is replete with respected guest stars but offers a self-confident look at an artist who already has a strong sense of who he is and where he’s going. While Doe Boy, G Herbo, Jackboy, and Lil Tjay provide poignant counter perspectives to Osama’s, the story belongs to him alone.
Nef The Pharaoh — SINsational
Nef The Pharaoh
At this point, Nef The Pharaoh album releases have become an annual occurrence, as the Bay Area rapper maintains the consistency of his Vallejo mentor E-40. Here, he continues to walk the line between late-night function background music and truculent fight tunes.
Trippie Redd — Neon Shark vs Pegasus (Deluxe: Presented by Travis Barker)
Trippie Redd
Trippie wants to be a real rockstar and with the monstrous deluxe version of his already massive album Pegasus dropping today, he’s as close as he’s ever been. That’s thanks in part to Travis Barker, who produces the rock-heavy first half of the album, giving fans 14 all-new songs along with a pair of appearances from fellow Ohioan rapper turned rocker Machine Gun Kelly.
Singles/Videos
24kGoldn — “3, 2, 1”
After going to No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “Mood” in 2020, San Francisco sing-rapper 24kGoldn sets his sight on the chart once again with another bouncy, catchy, borderline schmaltzy tune designed to appeal to teenage emotions everywhere. Personally, I like a little schmaltz, and what 24k may lack in lyrical depth, he makes up in a gift for melody and genre-blending with a cross-demographic appeal.
BlueBucksClan — “Horace Grant”
Los Angeles party rap at its disrespectful, conversational, beat-jumping finest. The duo has rapidly developed up a reputation for turning things up and they live up to it here.
CJ — “Politics”
Smartly dropping another new single on the same day as his debut EP, Staten Island’s newest star continues to excavate new pockets for drill, filling them up with his slickly-worded boasts and distinctive, perfectly modulated voice.
Dusty Locane — “Intro 2 Me, Pt. 1”
If CJ is competing for drill’s still-vacant throne, Dusty might be his number-one rival, thanks to his polished storytelling and his voice, which is frighteningly similar to the throne’s former occupant’s. That voice is the primary draw on this drumless production, that lets him introduce himself clearly and concisely.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
