"This Is Why I'm Hot" is a song by American rapper Mims. The song was co-written by Mims and produced by Blackout Movement for his debut album Music Is My Savior. Released in 2007 as the first single from the album, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. BillboardHot 100 chart, as well as #2 on the BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart, eventually being certified Platinum by the RIAA. The song debuted at number one on the BillboardHot Digital Songs chart, selling 140,874 downloads. It remained the top-selling digital single for one additional week. Eventually, the success of the song in the United States saw a release in the United Kingdom in May 2007, where the single peaked at No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart on the week dated June 3, 2007. The song was also featured in the soundtrack of the film Due Date.
Song highlights
The song features samples of various hip-hop songs, including Kanye West's "Jesus Walks", E-40's "Tell Me When to Go", Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" and Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones Part II". Each sampled song is played when Mims mentions the area from which each artist originated. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had this song as his batter's box approach music.
Critical reception
The song received mostly positive to mixed reviews by critics. William Ketchum III of About stated about Mims is "striving to 'bring New York back' like his peers" on the song. He continued to comment about the song's chart success, stating: "With 'This Is Why I'm Hot' continuing to burn up the charts, he's proven what he's got, but let's see if he can stay on top." The song received a three out of five star rating from the site. On their review of the album Music Is My Savior, Allmusic stated that "the deceptively simple 'This Is Why I'm Hot' demonstrates this well. MIMS raps about his nationwide appeal over hyphy-esque production that alludes to other influential MCs." The track was listed as an "AMG track pick" on the review page. On his review of Music Is My Savior, Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone described the song as "a catchy little thing with a cool, minimalist beat and some goofy charm."
Remixes
The official remix, entitled the "Blackout Remix", which is the only reggae fusion version of the song, features dancehall artist Cham and reggae singer Junior Reid. This version is featured on Music Is My Savior.
There is also an official reggaeton remix of the song, entitled "Por Eso Estoy Pegao", which features rapper Daddy Yankee. Another reggaeton remix, based on the Blackout Remix, featured Tego Calderón and Don Omar. An alternate reggaeton remix featured Tego Calderon, Calle 13 and Willie Style. Cosculluela performed a freestyle over the beat for Encendido 17 Mixtape Mixed By Dj Sincero
Rapper Twista made a song entitled "This Is Why I'm Cold".
Rapper Talib Kweli made a remix entitled "Niggas Lie a Lot".
Rap-rave group Die Antwoord made a remix entitled "Dis Iz Why I'm Hot ".
Chart performance
By early March 2007, the online release of the song had propelled it from number 32 to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in one week; this was then the third-greatest rise to number one in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. It remained at number one the next week until it was surpassed by "Glamorous", by Fergie and Ludacris the week after in the issue dated March 24, 2007.
