It’s time to acknowledge that Juvenile’s ‘Back That Thang Up’ is the greatest song of all time
OPINION: The cultural phenomenon and club bangin’ derriere jam is now 25 years old. It’s time we consider its place among music’s greatest songs.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
For years I’ve been willing to die on the hill that Mark Morrison’s polarizing song, “Return of the Mack,” is the greatest song of all time. It has all the requirements to fit the bill: simplicity, sing-a-long-ability, popularity, karaoke-ness, divisiveness, etc. Essentially, everybody knows it and loves it or hates it, but no matter what, they feel something. While my heart isn’t entirely ready to pass the baton to another song, my head tells me that the true greatest song of all time probably belongs to Juvenile’s New Orleans bounce music classic, “Back That Thang Up,” a song from Juvenile’s classic Cash Money Records release, “400 Degreez.” The single was released on June 11, 1999, making it 25 years old, which is the perfect time to discuss where it fits amongst music’s greatest songs.
(For the sake of the family-friendly nature of this site, we will be using the clean version of the title which is “Back That Thang Up,” as opposed to the song’s actual title, “Back That *CENSORED* Up.”)
Listen, every marker you need for a great song exists with “Back That Thang Up.” Produced by Mannie Fresh, Cash Money Records’ in-house hit-maker, the song itself is a straight bop. I don’t know how many hip-hop songs start with strings, but this song does, and the effect is magnificent. You can sing-a-long to it, you have to dance to it, it is guaranteed to get people on the dance floor, and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like this song. I’m sure there are people who don’t love it — music is subjective, of course — but outright dislike? Show me the person who dislikes “Back That Thang Up” and I’ll show you a person who hates good things. The song even gave us sayings. “Cash Money Records taking over for the ’99 and the 2000” is a way of communicating to see if another person is on your same wavelength. Frankly, people either know when Cash Money Records took over or they don’t and if they don’t, they’re not my kind of people.
It is also highly utilitarian; you can play this song almost anywhere music is to be played. Sure, there is a demographic of Black people for whom the record isn’t really their thing, but as of right now, the song has been playing at an array of venues and activities, from clubs to cookouts to sporting events to NPR. What started out as a tweet suggesting Juvenile do NPR’s famed Tiny Desk concert series ended up with Juvenile bringing a whole slice of New Orleans to Washington, D.C.’s NPR offices where he performed, of course, “Back That Thang Up,” with Mannie Fresh by his side. While we were all excited to see Juvenile in that space, we really all wanted to hear “Back That Thang Up” at the Tiny Desk. The point is, where there is music, there is “Back That Thang Up.”
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Let’s talk about its longevity for a second. There are absolutely people who listen to and love music who are unfamiliar with the record. But here’s the thing, for the past 25 years, literally since it became a hit single, the record has been a mainstay in pop music. You could teach classes on what, in particular, has given this song such a long life. Is it the music? Is it the strings? Is it because it’s an ode to the derriere? Is it a song we just all decided we were going to make a cultural phenomenon? That’s exactly what happened, by the way. All music will outlive its creator, but most music fades from the pop cultural zeitgeist while the artist is alive. The aliens and cockroaches will be unable to escape from “Back That Thang Up.” Long, long past the time when all who are alive now have passed, club DJs, using whatever apparatus exists in the future will still play “Back That Thang Up” along with Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much,” Maze featuring Frankie Beverly’s “Before I Let Go,” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Some songs will never die, but the aforementioned songs will live forever. “Back That Thang Up,” though, is the one that gets the people going the most. It just…resonates. And if that thang resonates, it’s one of the greats.
There is no party without this song. DJs wait until the right time to play it because it’s going to take the party to the next level. When it comes on, everybody moves. It’s so significant that the mayor of the city of New Orleans proclaimed June 11, “Back That (Thang) Up” Day. How many songs that you love have a day proclaimed in their honor? (I have no idea how common this is; the internet was not very helpful with this information.) It matters not because do you know what song does? “Back That Thang Up.”
Maybe you think I’m crazy. Maybe you think some sonata is the greatest. Maybe you find it hard to believe a song dedicated to the booty could be the greatest but let’s be real; it’s a song dedicated to the human condition and desire and journey for love and understanding. “Back That Thang Up” is a song that speaks to dance and twerking as central to cultural expression. It’s a callback to our ancestors. Our ancestors always pick up the phone. They, too, know that Cash Money Records took over for the ’99 and the 2000. Sometimes greatness shows up in places you least expect but the tale of the tape cannot be denied. “Back That Thang Up” has a case for the greatest song of all time.
After you back it up then stop, now wha-wha-wha-what, drop it like it’s hot.
They always do, Wayne, They always do.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
