Fast Life Yungstaz, the group behind “Swag Surfin,'” have reacted to Taylor Swift bringing renewed attention to their 2009 hit song.
The track has had a resurgence since New Year’s Eve when Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay requested the song from the sidelines, which was then played during the next defensive drive.
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Taylor Swift, who is famously dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, recently joined in on the dance with the rest of the stadium, helping it to go viral.
Group members Myko McFly, Vee and Mook, along with collaborator Ea$ton, recently caught up with TMZ to share their thoughts on the viral moment.
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“My initial reaction to Taylor Swift Swag Surfin’ was I thought it was dope,” Mook said. “I automatically knew it was gon’ be a good look just because of who she is, what she got going on.
“Our streams across all platforms is up 700 percent, our YouTube numbers done went up, we done gained 20,000 subscribers in like two weeks, man. So everything is up. It’s just been a dope thing to watch everything unfold so quickly like that.
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“We saw a jump when other viral moments happened, but this is probably the biggest jump in the viral moments. Shout out to those Swifties.”
Fast Life Yungstaz even gave Taylor Swift the green light to hop on a remix of the song, with Ea$ton joking: “She gotta rap, though.”
“She gotta rap on that thing, man,” Mook chimed in. “Nah, that’d be dope. And then look, she could bring us out at the concerts too, man, on tour. So it’s dope, bruh. Taylor can do whatever she wanna do, man.”
Plies recently took to social media to make sure Fast Life Yungstaz got the credit they deserve for starting the “Swag Surfin'” trend.
“I Luv Seeing Taylor Swift & The Kansas City Chiefs Rock Out To ‘Swag Surfing’ On Sundays,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “But Media Let’s Stop Acting Like They Created It!”
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Acknowledging the role that Black colleges — particularly those in the South — have played in the song’s enduring popularity, he added: “Let’s Give Props To F.L.Y, Atlanta & The HBCU Community For Birthing The Phenomenon!!”
During an interview with HipHopDX in 2022, Run-It-Up Records founder and CEO Citi Under Siege explained the explosion of Fast Life Yungstaz’s “Swag Surfin.'”
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Citi said he heard the song at a college bar when it was a bubbling underground cut and instantly recognized its potential to be something greater.
“As soon as the beat drops every kid in the club jumps up,” he recalled. “I promise you the roof lifts off the club. It was the most magical music moment I’ve ever seen in my life.”
After witnessing its power, Citi promised himself he would make it his mission to get more ears on the song. “I’m going to make sure that everybody in the world sees what I just saw,” he recalled telling himself.
Citi ended up landing a meeting with L.A. Reid, who instantly wanted to be part of its distibution.
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“The record comes on. Them infectious horns. The crackrock of horns,” Citi explained, speaking of the moment he played “Swag Surfin’” for the record executive.
“L.A. Reid tells the staff, ‘What y’all think about that record? I don’t give a fuck what y’all think about that record. We taking it Number One!’”
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The song peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100, but has made an even bigger impact as a Black college anthem. “It’s the record they play to unite everybody,” Citi added.
