With just a few heartfelt lines, a Faith Evans sample, and a haircut that could be a TikTok trend, 20-year-old rapper Superstar Pride’s song “Painting Pictures” became a huge hit on the Billboard Hot 100. “Painting Pictures” came out in October and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 22 at No. 99.
This week, it moved up to No. 25. It’s a big deal that a song by an independent Mississippi rapper went viral because of a TikTok trend that made fun of his haircut. This week, Spotify and YouTube took down the song just as it was getting a lot of attention.
“Painting Pictures” was made by StunnaMade and Global Knockz, and it samples “Soon As I Get Home,” which was a hit for Faith Evans in 1995. On the track, Superstar raps about his family history yells at a woman who says he made her pregnant, and praises his mother for how she brought him up.
The lyrics “Mama, don’t worry, you raised a gangster, I’m a survivor” have become a fan favorite and a viral sensation. A clip of Superstar singing these lyrics has been used as the background music for millions of TikTok videos.
People on TikTok have been recreating a video of Superstar singing the song at a tennis court in front of a microphone.
In the clip, Superstar has a haircut where the front is short and the back is long. So, people on TikTok have made videos of themselves singing his lyrics while semi-trucks, airplanes, and even whole houses are tied to the back of their heads.
@superstarpride
@yourfavchocolatee Undefeated🏆😭Moma dont worry..#fyp #fy #foryoupage #momadontworry #pov #fypシ #fouryou #trending #blowup #viral #fypage #fypシ゚viral #fypdongggggggg #viralvideo #airplane #funny #funnyvideos #hiphop #lol #😭😭😭 #🤣🤣🤣
@hbe.babyj Nah we definitely won this 🤣🤣 @noahbannedagain #fyp #mamadontworry #viral #funnyvideos #miltok
Superstar told source via Instagram Direct Message that, even though TikTok is known for dancing, it also “gives local artists a chance to show the world who they are.” He also said that he thinks the memes are “funny.”
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No one seems to know why the song was taken off DSPs this week. Sample clearance issues are probably to blame, since Superstar used a song called “Soon As I Get Home” as a sample. “Soon As I Get Home” was released on Bad Boy/Arista, and Diddy is listed as both the writer and producer of the song.
The superstar wouldn’t be the first rapper whose first big hit got him in trouble with the law because he didn’t clear a sample. Back in 2017, “Lucid Dreams,” a song by the late Juice WRLD, went viral. The song reached its highest position on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 2.
But the rapper used parts of Sting’s 1993 hit “Shape of My Heart” without getting permission first, which almost got him sued. “Lucid Dreams” went on to become a diamond-certified hit, so thank goodness that didn’t happen. Nick Mira, who made the song, said that Sting owns 85% of the rights to the song because of the sample.
“Painting Pictures” is likely to fall off the charts next week if it doesn’t get back on streaming services. HitsDailyDouble says that the success of the song has led to a bidding war among major labels for Superstar Pride.
