Hot 100 First-Timers: Sexyy Red & Tay Keith Arrive With ‘Pound Town 2’

Sexyy Red and Tay Keith are officially Billboard Hot 100-charting recording artists for the first time, as their new collaboration “Pound Town 2,” with Nicki Minaj, debuts on the June 10-dated list at No. 66.

The song, whose remix adding Minaj was released May 26 via Heavy On It/Open Shift/Gamma Records, arrives with 6.7 million official streams (up 127%), 2.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 104%) and 5,000 downloads sold (up from a nominal sum) the United States in the May 26-June 1 tracking week, according to Luminate.

“Pound Town 2” with Minaj is the sequel to the original Sexyy Red and Tay Keith version, which the pair released Jan. 27. Contributing to the song’s gains are multiple versions: the original, sped-up and slowed-down and instrumental versions, a radio edit and a “bass boosted” mix. (All versions of the track are combined into one listing on Billboard’s charts.)

The collab also debuts at No. 14 on Hot Rap Songs and No. 21 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, both of which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100. As its radio reach builds, it opens at No. 34 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and No. 41 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay.

TikTok has been critical in the song’s growing popularity. A portion of the original has been used in over 140,000 videos on the platform. Another version, credited to SkeeYee and Sexyy Red, has been used in over 50,000 videos, with other parts of the song being used in a significant number of clips.

Sexyy Red (real name: Janae Wherry) is brand new to Billboard’s charts, as this week marks the first in which she has appeared on a ranking.

She released her first song on streaming services in 2018: “Ah Thousand Jugs,” is a reworking of Vanessa Carlton’s 2002 No. 5 Hot 100 hit “A Thousand Miles.” In 2021, she self-released her debut LP, Ghetto Superstar. This April, NLE Choppa dropped a remix of his single “Slut Me Out” adding Sexyy Red in a featured role. The track hit No. 28 in April and currently ranks at No. 65. Sexyy Red is also on the “314 remix” of Kali’s “Area Codes,” at No. 38 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 33. (As the remixes have not accounted for the bulk of the songs’ weekly consumption, she has not been credited on either title on Billboard’s charts.)

Tay Keith (real name: Brytavious Lakeith Chambers) has been one of the most in-demand hip-hop producers of the decade, but “Pound Town 2” becomes his first Hot 100 entry as a billed recording artist. He has produced 37 Hot 100-charting songs, collaborating with artists including Cardi B, Drake, Eminem, Future, Gucci Mane, Lil Baby, 21 Savage and Travis Scott. Six have reached the top 10 and two climbed to No. 1: Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” (co-produced with Hit-Boy, OZ, Cubeatz and Roget Chahayed) and Drake’s “Jimmy Cooks,” featuring 21 Savage (co-produced with Vinylz).

Tay Keith has also tallied 15 top 10s as a producer on Hot Rap Songs, including three No. 1s: “Sicko Mode,” “Jimmy Cooks” and Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex.”

Tay Keith scored his first production credit on the Hot 100 in February 2018, when BlocBoy JB’s “Look Alive,” featuring Drake, debuted at No. 6. Notably, his first seven production entries on the Hot 100, all in 2018, reached the top 40: “Look Alive” (No. 5 peak); Drake’s “Nonstop” (No. 2); “Sicko Mode” (No. 1); Eminem’s “Not Alike,” featuring Royce Da 5’9 (No. 24); 6ix9ine’s “Stoopid,” featuring Bobby Shmurda (No. 25); Lil Baby and Gunna’s “Never Recover,” featuring Drake (No. 15); and Metro Boomin’s “Don’t Come Out the House,” featuring 21 Savage (No. 38).

Additionally, Tay Keith has spent six weeks at No. 1 on Rap Producers and one week at No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Producers. In 2021, Billboard’s editorial staff ranked him as one the greatest producers of the 21st century.