Yungeen Ace

Odds are, you have no idea who FastMoney Goon, Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, or Yungeen Ace are. But the odds are, you probably know Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” so the probability that you’ll soon learn about this crop of hot, young rappers shot up exponentially with their savvy sample of the 2001 pop hit for their new single “Who I Smoke.” Thanks to the chopped-up loop, the song is as inescapably catchy as it is ludicrously violent, and it’s got fans on social media amused and befuddled in equal measure, even though it isn’t the first time a rapper has cheekily appropriated the buoyant hit.

For one thing, the song’s cartoonishly reckless threats of violence clash so much with the bubbly mood of the original sample, it’s hard to figure out if we should be taking these kids seriously or laughing them off. Whoppa’s verse contains an extended riff on enemies he’s supposedly sent to meet their maker, while Yungeen Ace straight up croons about the deaths of foes, with both rappers naming names. It’s so beyond disrespectful that you almost hope they’re just, like, naming Gamertags and referring to Call Of Duty shootouts instead of real ones.

However, that hasn’t stopped the track from becoming a viral hit and inspiring a raft of memes, jokes, and bemused commentary on Twitter pondering the ridiculousness of the situation. As for who these four rappers are, Google has few answers for any of them except for Yungeen Ace, an up-and-coming rapper from Jacksonville who I’ve covered before in passing. Let’s hope that their joyful breakout doesn’t turn out to bite them as it did the members of GS9 back in 2014. For now, enjoy the song above and the memes below.