The Nicki-Cardi Effect: How Rap’s Reigning Queens Are Helping Support Regional Hits and Rising Stars

Before “Whole Lotta Money” became her signature hit, BIA was grinding just left of rap’s mainstream. In 2016, she earned her first major hit with her featured turn on J Balvin’s “Safari,” but did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 until the release of 2020’s “Best on Earth” (with Russ). That year saw the release of For Certain, her sophomore EP, which did not yield a Hot 100 entry until sixth single “Whole Lotta Money,” however, thanks to the song’s quick-rising TikTok virality — which resulted in a nine-week run on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. During that period, the song pulled an average of four million official on-demand U.S. streams per week, according to Luminate. Eventually peaking at No. 3 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, “Whole Lotta Money” entered the Hot 100 at No. 16 on the chart dated July 24, 2021, thanks to an “Itty Bitty Piggy”-interpolating Nicki Minaj remix.

In its first week of availability, the Minaj remix of “Whole Lotta Money” pulled 11.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams — the best streaming week of the song’s entire run. Minaj’s version of “Whole Lotta Money” has out-streamed BIA’s original every week since its release. The song spent 17 weeks on the Hot 100 and reached the top ten on Streaming Songs (No. 9), Digital Song Sales (No. 6) and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 6) — BIA’s first appearance in that region on any of those charts.

Prior to the “Tomorrow 2” takeover, Memphis rapper GloRilla had both the streets and the summer on lock with “F.N.F.” — the gloriously raucous Hitkidd-produced kiss-off anthem that would earn GloRilla her first Hot 100 entry (No. 42) and first Grammy nomination (best rap performance). A series of singles followed, including the original solo version of “Tomorrow” and “Blessed,” but none made much of a commercial impact — partly due to the sustained momentum of “F.N.F.” In the weeks preceding Cardi B’s seismic remix, “Tomorrow” pulled an average of two million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate, crossing the three million mark just once.

On September 23, 2022, just a few weeks before the release of her Anyways, Life’s Great… EP, GloRilla unveiled the retitled and Cardi B-assisted “Tomorrow 2.” In its first full week of availability, “Tomorrow 2” collected 17 million official on-demand U.S. streams — the song’s best streaming week ever. The Cardi remix of “Tomorrow 2” quickly became the most dominant version of the song, both commercially and culturally. “Tomorrow 2” averaged over ten million official on-demand U.S. streams for eleven consecutive weeks, and Cardi’s verse simultaneously became the hottest party anthem of the season and the new blueprint for Instagram captions. The remix debuted and peaked at No. 9 on the Hot 100, becoming GloRilla’s first top ten entry on the chart and her highest peak to date. The Cardi remix also helped the song reach the top five on Streaming Songs (No. 3), Digital Song Sales (No. 2), and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 3) — GloRilla’s highest peaks on each of those tallies.

It simply cannot be overstated how rapid Ice Spice’s rise to mainstream dominance has been. From the release of her breakout single “Munch” in August 2022, the Bronx rapper has risen through the ranks of both hip-hop and pop stardom with impressive ease. She kicked off 2023 with the release of her Like..? EP, which housed her first unaccompanied Hot 100 entry in “In Ha Mood” (No. 58), and of the year’s earliest smash hits: “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2” a Jersey club/U.K. garage fusion with Brit singer-songwriter PinkPantheress. Upon release as a part of the Like..? EP, “Princess Diana” pulled 3.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams in its first week of availability. That number dwindled steadily week after week, slipping to 1.3 million the week before Ice enlisted Minaj for the song’s remix.

In its first week of release, the reworked Minaj-featuring “Princess Diana” earned a whopping 20.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams, while the original pilled 1.6 million. Minaj’s version of the song boosted the track to a lofty No. 4 debut on the Hot 100, helping Ice return to the region for the first time since “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2.” Three weeks into the remix’s lifespan, the original version of “Princess Diana” dropped below one million streams per week, while the remix has remained above 4 million every subsequent week. “Princess Diana” has gone on to become Ice’s best-performing song from her own catalog on Streaming Songs (No. 6), Radio Songs (No. 31), and Digital Song Sales (No. 1).

“Pound Town,” 2023’s outrageously vulgar and undeniably hilarious unofficial song of the summer, was already dominating the streets before a remix entered the picture. Just like her past viral hits “Ah Thousand Jugs” and the Sukihana-assisted “Born by the River,” Sexyy Red’s brash persona and savvy quick-wittedness drove “Pound Town” to TikTok dominance. Upon its January 27 release, “Pound Town” debuted with a little over 37,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. As the song’s profile grew, that numbered ballooned to 2.4 million streams in the week preceding the release of Minaj’s remix.

In its first week of availability, the newly minted “Pound Town 2” collected 4.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams, a figure that remains the song’s biggest streaming week of all time. The success of the remix helped “Pound Town 2” debut on the Hot 100, becoming the first entry on the chart for both Sexyy Red and Tay Keith. Since its May 26 release, the updated version of “Pound Town” has averaged around 3 million weekly streams. Stunningly, the original version of the song has remained steady, slightly increasing to a little over 2 million weekly streams. Through a combination of the song’s irresistibility, Sexyy Red’s magnetic personality and nuanced understanding of social media, and Minaj’s star power, “Pound Town” has grown into a phenomenon that has bolstered the performances of both versions of the song. “Pound Town 2” is now Sexyy Red’s highest-charting song entry on Digital Song Sales (No. 1), Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 21) and Rap Airplay (No. 12).

Last year, after years of toiling outside of rap’s mainstream, Latto finally broke through with the massive Grammy-nominated hit single “Big Energy,” which flew to No. 3 on the Hot 100 and became Latto’s signature song. In the months following the multi-format success of “Big Energy,” Latto struggled to deliver a proper follow-up hit. All of her subsequent 777 singles, standalone songs, and collaborations (save for her turn on Megan Thee Stallion’s “Budget”) failed to enter the Hot 100. Nonetheless, by the beginning of 2023, Latto returned to the Hot 100 with her Lu Kala-assisted “Lottery” (No. 83) and her and Yung Miami’s remix of Lola Brooke’s “Don’t Play With It” (No. 69). Although “Put It On Da Floor” did not enter the Hot 100 upon its April 21 release, the song was already making cultural waves: Latto debuted the song live during her Teyana Taylor-helmed Coachella set, and between the song’s sly disses and the meme based on its opening line — fans have been literally ripping themselves out of plastic both online and in the club — “Put It On Da Floor” quickly became an indisputable street hit.

In the weeks preceding Cardi B’s remix, “Put It On Da Floor” pulled an average of 3 million official on-demand U.S. weekly streams. Once the retitled “Put It On Da Floor Again” arrived, the song collected 14.6 million streams. Cardi’s remix helped the song enter the Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at No. 13 — Latto’s highest peak on the chart since “Big Energy.” Every week since its release, “Put It On Da Floor Again” has averaged over 7 million weekly streams, while streams for the original have fluctuated between 1.7 million and 4.3 million. Thanks to Cardi’s endlessly quotable verse (“N—a, cry for what? / B—h these are Denim Tears/ I’m sexy dancin’ in the house, I feel like Britney Spears”), “Put It On Da Floor Again” has grown into Latto’s most dominant hit since “Big Enegy” — especially from a cultural standpoint.

Chicago drill rapper FendiDa Rappa released her debut album Str8 From Da Raq in 2021, and two years later her ominous “Point Me to the Slut’s” began to show signs of a potential crossover from a regional hit to legitimate national prominence. In its first month of availability, “Point Me To The Slut’s” collected under 1,000 official on-demand U.S. streams per week. As the song’s chorus continued to gain traction on TikTok, that figure reached a peak of 943,000 streams in the week ending May 11, and dipped to 734,000 streams in the week preceding Cardi’s remix.

The Cardi B-minted “Point Me 2” is the youngest remix in this wave, but it has already emerged as one of the most successful tracks of the bunch. In its first week of release (July 7-13), “Point Me 2” earned 6.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams — easily the song’s biggest streaming week. “Point Me 2” is now FendiDa Rappa’s first appearance on any Billboard chart, including the Hot 100 (No. 82), Hot Rap Songs (No. 14), and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 20).