‘You about to lose yo job’ became a protest chant

Plenty of artists have released up-tothe-minute protest singles in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis cop. But none has captured the present mood of defiance quite like “Lose Yo Job.”

The viral hit remixed the irresistible audio from a homemade video featuring a 27-year-old South Carolina woman, Johnniqua Charles, as a security guard held her outside a local strip club in February. While the guard detained her, Charles pushed back on his reasons for doing so and then struck up a small dance and chanted, “You about to lose yo job” in a delightfully singsongy cadence. “Get this dance! You about to lose yo job, ‘cause you are detaining me for nothing!”

The moment was a relatable and extremely meme-able bit of resistance in the face of uniformed authority. Even the guard who posted the video, Julius Locklear, admitted, “I’m posting it cause that rap was lit ?????????? like I wish I could put a beat to it lol.”

But the moment got a second wind when someone actually did. D J iMarkkeyz, who went viral with his remix of Cardi B’s prognostications for life under coronavirus, and D J Suede the Remix God, looped it into a trap beat that blew up the insouciance that made Charles’ chant so appealing. D J Suede has produced for Megan Thee Stallion and YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and turned Charles’ small moment of pushback into its own 2020 hip-hop anthem. It’s available on every major streaming platform and has soundtracked giddy moments at local protests.

Remixing amusing viral moments from marginalized people is dicey terrain though, and Locklear stressed he was “NOT POSTING THIS TO BE FUNNY TOWARDS THIS SUBJECT.” The song ended up doing a lot of good in Charles’ life. She struggled with homelessness before the video, and her 3-year-old child had been in the care of family members. But a GoFundMe campaign riding the song’s virality raised $50,000 to help get her back on her feet. Locklear did not lose his job. But after so much frustration about COVID-19, collapse of faith in government and abuse at the hands of the police, someone stood up with a taunt that the tides were changing.