Wax-A-Million dropped his sole studio album Who You Think It Is via Diamond Ring Records in 2001, and now, over two decades later, one of its tracks is going viral thanks to a TikTok trend.
The Detroit rapper’s “Ain’t Got No Panties On,” which can be heard below, received regional airplay and minor national attention in the early 2000s thanks to a music video that aired on the music video block BET: Uncut.
It first dropped in 1998 and later appeared on Wax-A-Million’s 2001 debut album. It wasn’t a hit at the time, but that’s changing now thanks to thousands of TikTok posts featuring the track.
At the time of this article being published, the song has appeared in over 290,000 videos on TikTok. It’s even starting to translate to success on streaming services, too. It currently occupies the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s Viral 50 – USA playlist, beating out tracks from Morgan Wallen and recent viral success Big Ro6, who experienced a major breakout hit with his pirate-inspired song “Decisions.”
The viral success of the track can be attributed to so many aspects of the song, whether it be the slightly eerie production or the decidedly lo-fi sound of the repetitive hook. Either way, the track is clearly striking a chord with the TikTok generation.
Check out some of the popular TIkToks soundtracked by the song below.
Meanwhile, Addison Rae, dubbed a “fucking genius” by leading pop avant-gardist Charli xcx, will launch her debut studio album on Friday (June 6). But before that, she’s opened up about what on what led her to this point, including her breakout success on TikTok.
Speaking with Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli for The New York Times‘ Popcast for a recently released, nearly 90-minute interview, Rae reflected on the false narrative put forth by some that she’s “just a TikTok dancer” whose own music doesn’t come from a place of authenticity.
This spurred a larger conversation about the impact of TikTok on the music industry, leading to Rae’s reveal of labels offering her “like 20 bucks” earlier into her rise to share clips soundtracked by their artists’ songs.
“I actually remember getting little brand deals from labels paying me to post to the songs when I was in college,” Rae said when asked what she learned while being prolific on TikTok, particularly earlier into the app’s own rise to prominence. “They jumped on that really fast.”
