In recent weeks, a strange remix of “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes and Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap” has taken TikTok by storm, with everyone from Sabrina Carpenter and Demi Lovato to Malala Yousafzai and Simone Biles joining the trend.
The videos begin with Linda Perry’s signature vocals in the song – “I wake up in the morning and I step outside” – before the catchy beat of Minaj’s classic Pink Friday kicks in in the background.
As Perry sings the song’s high notes, Minaj’s rap voice takes over – “Bitches ain’t shit, and they ain’t saying nothing.” It’s one of this month’s most-posted songs, with TikTokers using it as a soundtrack to show off their Halloween costumes, their new relationships, and their friends with very different personalities.
The student behind the viral sound
DJ Auxlorda college student from Ohio who created the remix and asked not to use his name or gender, is behind the viral sound he created and posted in August. His reaction to the big moment? “I’m totally speechless,” they tell ROLLING STONE. “It’s just so crazy.”
The silly remix was posted to her TikTok page months ago and received 50,000 likes, but didn’t really spread much further. Auxlord, who trained as a classical pianist and is currently studying psychology, says they started the site to share their adventurous mashups with close friends – and never expected a remix to have such a moment.
“I think it’s really fun to mix songs that have nothing to do with each other. There was no real reason why I chose this mix,” they say. “I don’t know if they were in the same key or similar keys, but I just thought it was so funny. The beat of ‘Beez’ is so catchy that it fit the vocals so well.”
Only Auxlord’s close friends know who is behind the account, which has been viewed millions of times and used over 400,000 times on the platform, including by members of Katseye, Dancing with the Stars contestants, Marcello Hernández and most recently Lovato, Troye Sivan, Rachel Sennott and Adéla.
Linda Perry is catching TikTok fever herself
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Linda Perry calls the remix “ridiculous in the best way” and says it made her sign up for TikTok for the first time. Earlier this month, she filmed a lip sync video of the song with artist Sophia Treadway.
“She convinced me, and after we released the version where I sing ‘What’s Up’ and she sings ‘Beez,’ her followers shouted ‘FLIP IT,’ and honestly I don’t know what that means,” Perry says with a laugh. “I have to say, it’s pretty cool. It’s gotten out of control.”
The trend has led to a massive increase in Spotify streams for Minaj’s track, increasing 460 percent worldwide this month – with Gen Z listeners driving a 2,120 percent increase in discovering Minaj’s music through the song, according to information from the streaming platform. Meanwhile, 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up” saw a 75 percent increase. The increase may seem small, but that’s because there was already a jump last month, thanks to Cardi B and Lizzo’s “What’s Goin’ On,” which sampled the original.
Minaj, for her part, took to TikTok to share a series of photos and encouraged her fans to support those who are joining the trend: “Barbz, show your love to the people who are joining the trend. I love you. You’re cute. Or whatever.”
The secret DJ figure behind the trend
DJ Auxlord jokes that her close friends call her “Radio Rebel” – a reference to the secret DJ character Debby Ryan plays on the Disney Channel series – because they play at parties at their university (including one this weekend) without anyone knowing they’re behind the viral trend.
In addition to the Perry Minaj mashup, they also mixed HorsegiirL with the Beatles, Taylor Swift with Charli XCX, and Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” with City Girls’ “Act Up” – all with an app on their iPad called DJ Pro. (At parties, they explain, they use their DDJ-FLX4.)
“Many people think that music mixing and DJing are hard to learn as a hobby, but this shows that you don’t need expensive equipment to reach a large audience. I think I’ll keep doing it for fun for now. It’s a fun hobby, but maybe I’ll try something new in the winter and see if I can DJ at concerts as a side job,” they say. “I never thought I would get this far.”
Maybe the next big duo?
Linda Perry is already talking about a future collaboration with the Queen of Rap: “I think everyone is trying to get Nicki and me to do something together,” she says. “That would be fun, and the best part is? ‘I love Nicki Minaj!'”