Communities around the nation, and especially the majority POC communities, have exhibited a certain hesitancy and mistrust of the multiple iterations of the COVID-19 vaccine available right now. As President Biden urges community members to go door to door and inquire about their vaccination status, New Orleans rap legend Juvie has taken a more lighthearted approach in his partnership with the exclusively black dating app BLK.
Together, the collaboration released "Vax That Thang Up", a hilarious remix to Juvenile's 1999 hit "Back That Thang Up", to mixed reviews from celebrities and fans-- though Juvenile seems unfazed in his mission.
"Vax That Thang Up" sees Juvenile, Manny Fresh, and Mia X promoting the hot new app, though not before highlighting the attractiveness of being vaccinated. Juvenile flexes vaccination cards and makes it rain with them, all while rapping "Girl you'll look good once you vax that thang up."
Though Juvenile joins the expansive pool of celebrities and influencers that are pushing for fans and communities to get vaccinated, the rapper's efforts specifically are very important. According to TMZ, only 14% of African-Americans believe that the vaccine is safe; a staggering number as President Biden races to get 80% of adults vaccinated.
However, fans and celebrities have also come out against Juvenile and his message, which they see as ignorant to the past medical struggles of the black community. Notably, Chris Brown reposted a TikTok onto his Instagram story this week criticizing Juvenile for exploiting black people and advertising a vaccine that the TikToker felt could not be trusted.
In an interview with TMZ live, Juvenile cites this mistrust: "[The remix] is a great idea to get to some of the youth, a lot of the people that look like me... I'm vaccinated, but a lot of us are still not educated on it and are scared of it." He then asserts that he knows the remix will save lives: "just think about how many lives we will save and how many people will go out and get vaccinated because of this."
The new, more contagious Delta variant that is ravaging through country right now threatens to overwhelmingly affect these vaccine-hesitant communities. TMZ reports that positive COVID-19 tests and hospitalization rates have increased significantly in the African American communities of L.A. County- rising to 18% and 11% respectively over the past two months.
Still, BLK and Juvenile are trying to bridge this gap and foster trust in black communities, while making fans laugh at the same time.
Check out the video and Chris Brown's reaction below.