We’ll take any good during these uncertain, frightening times, and one of those things is coming from Cardi B. On March 10, Cardi B took to Instagram to share with her 60 million-plus followers how she felt about the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the nation. As like many of us, the rapper is “scared.”
“Let me tell y’all something. I ain’t even gonna front… I don’t know what the f-ck this Coronvirus is about. I don’t understand how that shit went from Wuhan, China and now all of a sudden this shit is on motherf-ckin’ tour. Let me tell y’all something. I ain’t even gonna front. A b-tch is scared. I’m a little scared. Shit got me panicking. A lot of you motherf-ckers think it’s a joke, like I was thinking, right?”
“But that shit right there,” she continued to say. “Just because you think you’re immune to it, guess what? Your pocket aint, b-tch cause a lot of shit comes from China, so if you’re wondering why you’re motherf-ckin’ weave or your Fashion Nova motherf-ckin’ packages haven’t arrived… Guess what, b-tch? I’m telling you, Shit is real. Shit is getting real.”
Shortly after posting the 46-second video, it went viral. The internet did what it did best and remixed her post visually and sonically. Days later, Brooklyn DJ and producer DJ iMarkkeyz, known for remixing memes and viral videos, noticed he was being tagged in the comments and being asked to remix Cardi B’s message-to which he did. He chose a beat he had already made on Ableton that he thought fit perfectly with the cadence of Cardi B’s tone. “When people tagged me in that vid, I [was] already chopp[ing] it all together in my head,” he told The New York Times.
Once the DJ uploaded the “Coronavirus (Remix)” on to streaming services, the song became somewhat of an anthem. As it’s made its way to the Top 10 of the US iTunes chart, TikTok users have recorded dances to it, starting an unofficial #CoronavirusChallenge.
With its traction, a Twitter uses suggested DJ iMarkkeyz and Cardi B donate the song’s royalties to those affected by the deadly viral crisis. “Yo if y’all are getting royalties off of this @iamcardib @iMarkkeyz maybe u could consider donating a part of it to food banks or shelters that are probably flooded with new people needing help? Just a thought. This shit is scary.”
To which both replied that they will. Cardi B replied by tweeting, “YES !THATS WHAT WE GOING TO DO ! Keep in mind you don’t get your money right away… but even months from now there would be families with financial issues for getting laid off due to the virus .We will Donate !”