Remy Ma is nearly two decades into her career and her stock has never been higher. She's collaborating with everyone from A$AP Ferg to Mariah Carey. Between "Love + Hip Hop," last year's song of the summer contender "All the Way Up" and her scathing 7-minute Nicki Minaj diss "shETHER," Remy has improbably reasserted herself as one of the most significant rappers in New York City.
Let's explore the opening stages of Remy's career. Click through the image gallery to listen to a handful of her best verses, songs, & moments from 2000 to 2006.
Big L - "The Triboro" feat. Fat Joe, O.C., & Remy Ma (2000)
Remy initially rapped under the nom du guerre Remy Martin and scored a variety of high-profile NYC features in the year 2000, including on Big L's posthumous album The Big Picture. "Floss it, giving bitches lyrical abortions / Stay cautioned - my first shit was just a lil portion."
M.O.P. - "Ante Up" Remix feat. Busta Rhymes, Teflon, & Remy Ma (2000)
Remy's name quickly became known across the five boroughs, and she was invited to appear on the remix to M.O.P.'s timeless "Ante Up" alongside Busta Rhymes and Teflon. In the video, he rocks the Bret Michaels bandana and a fur coat.
Big Pun - "Ms. Martin" feat. Remy Ma (2000)
Remy entered the rap game by way of Big Pun, who gave her her first ever placements on songs that would appear on his posthumous album Yeeeeah Baby.
Remy Ma v. Lady Luck (200?)
Before Nicki Minaj, Remy's nemesis was Jersey City rapper Lady Luck. They sparred on numerous occasions, most notably during a 21-minute battle royale on MTV2's "Fight Klub."
Terror Squad - "Lean Back" (2004)
12 years before they released their unexpected late-career hit "All the Way Up," Fat Joe and Remy Ma teamed up to craft a #1 hit—the irresistible "Lean Back," produced by The G.A.W.D. Scott Storch.
Terror Squad - "Take Me Home" (2004)
"Lean Back" was an underrated summer single from Terror Squad's True Story that languished to some degree in the shadow of "Lean Back." But it's a good song worth remembering, and and indication of Dipset's influence in '04.
"Feels So Good" feat. Ne-Yo (2006)
On her 2006 debut album There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story, Remy took the opportunity to explore other styles than the one when she's breathing fire on the mic. She dials it down on "Feels So Good," a straight-ahead sex jam that features Ne-Yo at the height of his powers.
"Whatuva" (2006)
The first single off There's Something About Remy, "Whatuva" finds Remy rapping full-throttle over a frenetic, Swizz Beatz-produced string sample. The music video pays homage to Bronx and Queens in equal measure; scenes from summer in Bronx's Castle Hill neighborhood are interspersed amongst shots of Remy flexing in front of the Queens Unisphere aside Swizz and Juelz Santana.
"Conceited (There's Something About Remy)" (2006)
Good things happen when Remy collaborates with Scott Storch; aside from "All the Way Up," "Conceited" and "Lean Back" are Remy's only tracks to crack the Billboard Hot 100.
Remy raps for six and a half minutes prison (2010)
This #TBT list has a coda. In 2008, Remy was sentenced to eight years in prison after shooting her friend in the abdomen at point-blank range. Undeterred, she continued to do what she does best. "So far I done Kim time twice, Foxy time thrice / They gave me Wayne time eight and the bitch still nice."