Fifteen years after his mega-hit single Hold Yuh was released, internationally renowned recording artiste Gyptian is setting the record straight behind the track, especially as it relates to conversations surrounding the remix with Nicki Minaj, catapulting the song into global success.
The entertainer, in a recent interview now making the rounds on social media, said while Minaj’s addition did introduce the song to a wider audience, the track was already a mainstream success. In fact, the entertainer stated that it was the song that made the Trinidad-born rapper bigger and not the other way around.
“Inna all platform is the original (track) a di bigger one. She got bigger from the song…don’t make the American dream sound like it’s more when it’s really not,” he said. “A lot of people mi hear talk and it’s not like we do politics because if you notice me nuh do interviews (but) anuh so it go. She was an artiste on a mixtape, yuh understand. Yuh have a yute name, Safaree, a Safaree a di man weh make she reach pan the track because this track was fire bredda.”
“All the revenue weh come in is not because of her part of it because really and truly her song (the remix isn’t even official), so anuh she do millions. She do millions pan fi her other rest a song dem after,” he continued.
The entertainer, holding firm on his stance regarding the song’s global success, said he hasn’t previously commented on the narrative that Minaj made the track bigger because he is not too keen on industry politics. He shared, however, that with more than a decade having elapsed since the song’s debut, now is the time to set the records straight.
“We a big man now, so a time fi we set it now, couple years later we can set it straight now. Anuh she do nothing fi di song. Inna reality, a di song do fi she because nobody knew her out of New York,” he said.
Gyptian’s 2010 hit, released by VP Records, was a resounding success, thrusting Jamaican music back into the mainstream after it peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 16 on the United Kingdom (UK) Singles Chart and number 69 on the Canadian Hot 100. At the time, Minaj was on the cusp of fame after achieving success through her mixtape and was signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money group in 2009. Her debut album, Pink Friday, was released in November 2010 and became the number one selling album in the United States (US) in February 2011.
Music pundits knowledgeable of the timeline regarding Minaj’s breakthrough fiercely defended Gyptian on social media after some users dubbed the singer delusional for saying the song was big even before the rapper’s addition.
“He’s actually very correct. Hold Yuh was a massive hit. I remember it played on mainstream radio in the US, and in those days, reggae and dancehall playing on mainstream radio was still a big deal. The song was released over 15 years ago, so many of y’all saying he’s crazy probably don’t even remember or were even born yet,” one user commented on a video of the interview on Instagram.
“He ain’t wrong, and most of you commenting were probably too young to understand how major this song was. Nicki Minaj was just getting her official breakthrough with her first hit. At that time, she wasn’t that big, plus Rasta always had a fan base in Europe. The man song been booming (and) it definitely helped Nicki show versatility and gain more fans at the time,” another commented.
Minaj made her Reggae Sumfest debut in 2011, where she performed the track before a Jamaican audience. In a BET interview at the time, Minaj expressed shock at the reception she received from the Jamaican audience, stating she didn’t realise locals would have even known her songs.
“I honestly didn’t think I was gonna have this much fun,” the rapper said in a backstage interview at the time. “Cause I didn’t think they were gonna know my songs.”
The Hold Yuh remix spent 29 weeks on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and 15 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The track’s success also led to Gyptian copping a Soul Train Award and a Music of Black Origin (MOBO) award at the time. It was certified gold in the US in March 2013 for sales of over 500,000 copies. In 2017, the song was included on Billboard’s 12 Best Dancehall & Reggaeton Choruses of the 21st century, and in 2024, it was certified double Platinum in the United Kingdom.
The official music video currently has over 181 million views on YouTube, while the song has over 280 million plays on Spotify.