"Pound Town" is a single by American rapper Sexyy Red and American record producer Tay Keith, released on January 27, 2023. It became Sexyy Red's breakout song through going viral on the video-sharing app TikTok. An official remix of the song with rapper Nicki Minaj was released on May 26, 2023.
| "Pound Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Sexyy Red and Tay Keith | ||||
| from the album Hood Hottest Princess | ||||
| Released | January 27, 2023 | |||
| Genre | Dirty rap | |||
| Length | 2:09 | |||
| Label | Open Shift | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Tay Keith | |||
| Sexyy Red singles chronology | ||||
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| Tay Keith singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Pound Town" on YouTube | ||||
| "Pound Town (Spring Break Edition)" on YouTube | ||||
| Remix cover | ||||
 Cover art of the official remix featuring Nicki Minaj. | ||||
| Nicki Minaj singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio video | ||||
| "Pound Town 2" on YouTube | ||||
Background
editIn an interview with Complex, Sexyy Red spoke about the process of writing the song:
I was in the studio, just on some lazy stuff, and my people was like, "Come on, you got more songs to record." And I'm like, "I ain't got nothing wrote down, come on now." So I went in the booth, and this was my first time ever freestyling. I heard the beat and just started rapping from there. The whole thing was a freestyle.[1]
According to Red, she was describing what was happening in her life that day when recording the song,[1] in which she mentions looking for "hoochie daddies" and "dreadheads".[2] She also stated in the interview, "I honestly didn't even know it was going to turn up like that. When I was recording it as a freestyle, I'm like, 'It's tight,' but I didn't say, 'Oh, this is going to be a hit, this is going to go viral.' I just was like, it's a cool little fun song to sing with your friends."[1]
Release and promotion
editThe song was first released on January 27, 2023, through Open Shift Distribution.[3] When first promoting the song, Sexyy Red focused on the line "Too many bitches, where the niggas at?" because she had a dance to it. The song eventually attracted attention on TikTok, particularly due to the lyrics "My coochie pink, my booty-hole brown", which brought about lots of Internet memes in early 2023. Sexyy Red has said, "I be seeing the memes, I be seeing the captions, and I be laughing every time. I ain't think that was going to be the part of the song that they liked, though." As a result of the song's popularity, Sexyy Red has received co-signs from celebrities such as Cardi B, Post Malone and Kai Cenat.[1] The song also sparked the #PoundTownChallenge on TikTok.[4]
On social media, fellow rapper GloRilla posted a video of her rapping the song and singer Summer Walker also covered the song.[5]
Remix
editAn official remix of the song titled "Pound Town 2" was released on May 26, 2023, and has a guest appearance from Nicki Minaj,[2][4][6] who wrote in a message to fans: "I met with Sexyy Red & found her to be so down to earth & sweet. I couldn't hear myself on this song at first but once I let go & decided to just have fun with a bad b!ch, I ended up LOVING how it came out!"[6]
Noah Grant of HotNewHipHop stated, "The song was already pretty dirty, but the Queen of Rap found clever ways to make it even dirtier with her verse."[6] Shawn Grant of The Source commented that Nicki Minaj's verse "gives the music an unforeseen twist and increases the song's energy."[2] Jordan Darville of The Fader wrote, "The New York rapper's verse, full of sharp bars about her prerogative for pleasure on her terms, is a nice contrast to Sexyy Red's more conversational style, which feels more like a slightly oversharing friend is confiding in you."[7]
Charts
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 66 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[9] | 21 |
| US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)[10] | 17 |
| US Rhythmic (Billboard)[11] | 19 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2023) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[12] | 64 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Skelton, Eric (May 4, 2023). "An Extremely Unfiltered Interview With Sexyy Red". Complex. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ a b c Grant, Shawn (May 26, 2023). "Sexyy Red and Nicki Minaj Team for Spicy "Pound Town 2" Remix". The Source. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "Pound Town - Single". Apple Music. January 27, 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ a b Mendez, Marisa (May 26, 2023). "Nicki Minaj Gets 'Ratchet' On 'Pound Town 2' With Sexyy Red & Tay Keith". HipHopDX. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ Williams, Aaron (April 6, 2023). "Who Is Sexyy Red? Meet The Rising St. Louis-Based Rapper". Uproxx. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ a b c Grant, Noah (May 26, 2023). "Nicki Minaj Jumps On Sexyy Red's "Pound Town 2"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ Darville, Jordan (May 26, 2023). "Nicki Minaj joins Sexyy Red for the "Pound Town" remix". The Fader. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.