Mannie Fresh Responds To Critics Of "Vax That Thang Up" Remix

Mannie Fresh recently reflected on experiencing "cyberbullying" after the release of "Vax That Thang Up."

BYCole Blake
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2019 Essence Festival - Day 3

Mannie Fresh has come to the defense of his recent song, “Vax That Thang Up,” a remix of Juvenile’s song, "Back That Azz Up." He released the track back in 2021 as an effort to promote the COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking with AllHipHop for a new interview, Fresh addressed the backlash he received for releasing the song.

“When we did the ‘Vax That Thang Up’ song or whatever, it wasn’t a song. It was just a parody telling people to get vaccinated,” he explained. “But it was something that I believed in and I was saying to folks, ‘If you don’t, it’s OK. You don’t have to go and do this. It’s not that serious.’ But there were people saying, ‘You destroyed the song and this song was the greatest song!’ And I’m like, ‘Do you know the title of the song?’ It’s called ‘Back That Azz Up.’ I’m like, ‘Did you listen to the lyrics of this song?'”

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 19: DJ Mannie Fresh performs during Shorty Gras at Mardi Gras World on February 19, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 2021 Mardi Gras parades were canceled in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

Afterward, Fresh discussed the idea of cyberbullying and how it felt to experience it for the first time.

He added: “I never understood cyberbullying until that came out. It didn’t mess with me because I feel like I’m a strong person. But I know kids got to go through this shit sometimes with people. If you got to go through that, it’s tough because folks was going crazy. They really felt angry. They were saying stuff like, ‘You ruined my childhood by doing this’ and blah, blah, blah. You need therapy if this ruined your life [laughs].”

Fresh also says that he's currently working on new music with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. He also wants to release more of his own work. For now, he says that he's working on building confidence. Fresh released his last studio album, Return of the Ballin', back in 2009.

Revisit "Vax That Thang Up," featuring Mannie Fresh, Juvenile, and Mia X below.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.