Buss It

Album: Erica Banks (2020)
Charted: 47
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Songfacts®:

  • Erica Banks is a Texan rapper who broke out with this strip club anthem after it became the subject of a viral trend on TikTok.
  • The song is about having fun in the club. The term "buss it" refers to dancing, often twerking, in an uninhibited manner. Banks explained to Genius: "When I was making the song I was thinking like 'Buss it on the floor,' like get down on the floor and just buss it open... in the club, you know? That's the idea. You're in the club, you have two shots, you're gonna get a little buzz, then you'll get wondering like 'Is you f---ing?' So it's like a real club situation going on."
  • "Buss It" begins with a sample from the second verse of Nelly's 2002 hit single "Hot In Herre." Nelly's track also makes up the background instrumental throughout the song.
  • Banks originally recorded the dirty rap song in December 2019 with producer Sgt. J. "We were in the studio, and we were just playing beats, and I had him stop on that particular beat, because I was blown away by the Nelly sample," she recalled to Bazaar.com. "I thought it would be really dope to put something on there, because we both knew, you know, everybody knows the 'Hot in Here' song by Nelly. So I said I'm going to try this out with my own spin on it and see how it turns out. I actually didn't like the song. I wasn't going to put the song out."

    Banks eventually dropped the song as the lead single from her eponymous mixtape, after being encouraged by Sgt. J and her friends. Released on May 15, 2020, it was the rapper's first release after signing with 1501 Certified Entertainment.
  • The song blew up after TikTok user Erika Davila created the "Buss It" challenge on January 1, 2021. It quickly began trending and celebs like Monica, Iggy Azalea, Chloe Bailey and Gabrielle Union jumped on board. The challenge begins with users wearing no makeup and everyday clothing to the sample of Nelly's "Hot in Here," but when the beat drops, the clip shows them in their make-up twerking.
  • Travis Scott hopped on the remix, during which he raps an explicit verse about his sexual activities before Banks takes over.

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