25 for '25: #24 Fetty Wap - Fetty Wap

1738!

It’s January 2015. You’re walking down your high school hallway, and everywhere you turn, someone yells “1738” or blasts Fetty Wap from a JBL speaker between class transitions. Phrases like “hey, what’s up, hello” and lyrics from his songs have taken over Instagram captions. Out of nowhere, Fetty Wap wasn’t just popular—he was the moment, dominating the charts and shaping the culture of 2015

By the fall of 2015, streaming was just starting to take off—Apple Music had only launched that summer—and platforms like Vine and Instagram held more cultural sway than anything else. In the middle of that shift to streaming dominance, one of the most recognizable voices in rap came from a New Jersey artist named Fetty Wap. His self-titled debut arrived on time: part mixtape, part radio takeover, and fully in sync with the moment.

Everybody hating, we just call them fans though
In love with the money, I ain't never letting go

And I get high with my baby (my baby)
I just left the mall I'm getting fly with my baby, yeah
And I can ride with my baby (my baby)
I be in the kitchen cooking pies with my baby, yeah

Before the album even dropped, “Trap Queen” had already spent months climbing the charts - the kind of slow-burn hit that feels inevitable once it connected with the right audiences. It peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100, was certified RIAA Diamond, and opened the door for a chart run that no one saw coming.

When the album arrived, it was clear that Fetty Wap wasn’t just riding the success of one song. He became the first and only rap artist in history to send three tracks into the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 with his debut album: “Trap Queen,” “679,” and “My Way,” For several weeks in the summer of 2015, all three were on the chart at the same time. At the time, Fetty Wap made history by becoming the first male rapper since Eminem in 2013 to have three tracks in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 20 at the same time. He also matched a milestone which was last hit by Lil Wayne in 2011, with two songs breaking into the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously. With his single “Again,” he achieved another first—becoming the only artist in the 26-year history of the Hot Rap Songs chart to land his first four singles in the top 10 all at once.

On June 29, 2015, Fetty Wap released his second single, “679.” Real ones will remember that the original version featured the full Remy Boyz crew—Monty and P-Dice—and debuted with a music video on YouTube before its commercial release. For the album, this group version was replaced with a cut featuring Fetty’s own verse, leaving Monty as the only featured artist (The Remy Boyz version far outstreams the extra Fetty verse mix, 884M vs 183M). “679” quickly gained momentum, eventually peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Monty, the album’s sole feature, appears throughout, giving the project the lively vibe of a house party where your best friend keeps grabbing the mic.

Around the same time, “My Way” became his second top 10 hit—fueled in part by a Drake remix that helped push the track onto radio and into heavy rotation. The co-sign from Drake had officially cemented Fetty Wap’s knighting into the music industry. He was part of the culture now, there was no denying it. At the time, Drake was one of the biggest names in music, known for breaking new artists and shaping trends. His remix of “My Way” didn’t just add star power — it gave Fetty access to a much wider audience, radio stations, and playlists that might have been out of reach otherwise. Drake’s endorsement quickly transformed Fetty into a national star, signaling to the industry and fans that he was more than a one-hit wonder—he was a rising force in hip-hop and pop music.

“Trap Queen” helped usher in a new wave of melodic trap success, paving the way for trap and hip-hop to dominate the Billboard charts throughout the late 2010s

Fetty Wap’s sound defied easy categorization—he wasn’t strictly rapping or singing, but fully committed to both. While that hybrid style wasn’t entirely new, Fetty made it feel effortless and instinctive. He once described his sound as “ignorant R&B,” blending melody and grit into something uniquely his.

What makes his debut remarkable a decade later isn’t just its commercial success—it’s how unpolished, spontaneous, and complete nostalgia it encapsulates, shown by it’s revival earlier this year. His 2015 track "Again" has seen a big comeback in early 2025 thanks to a viral TikTok meme called "Blasting Fetty Wap on the JBL Speaker." The meme humorously pairs the song with unexpected or out-of-place moments, inspiring a wave of creative videos. This buzz helped "Again" reach a new daily peak of over 1 million Spotify streams and climb to #19 on the US Daily Spotify charts. In the week of February 15, 2025, the track even re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in nearly a decade, landing at number 41. Since its release, "Again" has amassed over 508 million streams, proving how social media can revive older hits and bring them back into the spotlight.

Fetty Wap’s debut put him in rare company—one of only six artists in the 2010s to land at least three Top 20 hits from their debut album.

Back when albums were starting to revolve around streaming hits, Fetty Wap fully leaned into that shift—and still managed to leave a serious mark. While he didn’t maintain the same chart-topping momentum after his debut, and later projects—including a 2021 album released during a rough stretch in his personal life—didn’t connect in quite the same way, his impact was already sealed. Fetty Wap wasn’t a one-hit wonder. His breakout moment captured a shift in the culture when platforms like SoundCloud and social media were leveling the playing field, and his melodic, emotional style stood out in a crowded landscape.

His debut album Fetty Wap was pure fun—vibrant, infectious, and packed with songs that still hit with nostalgia today. He didn’t just drop a few hits; he delivered a run. The album helped usher in a new era of melodic hip-hop and signaled a turning point for the genre, shaping the sound of the late 2010s and beyond.