Song of the Week: Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat Ludacris, Too Short, & Chyna Whyte – “Bia’ Bia'”

Was 2000 really over 20 years ago? Good lord.

The Song of the Week is “Bia’ Bia'” by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz featuring Ludacris, Too Short, & Chyna Whyte and it just feels like early 2000. Atlanta was just starting to show people how viable it was in Hip-Hop, we were still throwing bows in the club, and Ludacris was probably one of the best rappers in the world. Here are some random thoughts:

  • No disrespect to Too Short or, uh, Chyna Whyte, but this song could have been just Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz chants with Luda’s verse and we would’ve been cool.
  • On the music video version, they put Luda’s verse before Too Short and Chyna Whyte. It should have been that way on the album version too.
  • Like I said in the intro, Ludacris was one of the best rappers in the world. Just two years later he would out rap Nas and Jadakiss on the remix of “Made You Look”.
  • Last thing about Luda: In the music video for “Bia’ Bia'”, his part where he is rapping underwater with women on his shoulders has always been one of my favorite Hip-Hop music video visuals. Shout out to Bryan Barber.
  • Speaking of the video, one thing that didn’t age well was seeing people trying to make wearing confederate flags a thing. I remember hearing that it was Black people taking control of it like with the work “nigga”. But it was weird then and it’s still weird now.
  • This is actually the remix to “Bia’ Bia'” but it never gets called that. Actually the original, the version without Ludacris, is called “Bia’ Bia’ 2” on Lil Jon’s Put Yo Hood Up. That version is also We Still Crunk!! a year earlier.
  • This was when a rapper would drop independently, get popular and sign with a major label, and just re-release the album again under a new name and with more songs. See Eminem’s Infinite, Pastor Troy’s first three albums, Lil Jon’s We Still Crunk!! (I guess), Ludacris’s Incognegro.

Throw some bows, put your hood up, and check out the Song of the Week below,