How Tuesday and Her Daughters Made West Oakland’s New Viral Anthem

When Tuesday walked into the recording booth and yelled, “West Oakland, bitch!,” she didn’t know she’d make a viral anthem that would get the attention of SZA, G Herbo, Tyla and other music royalty. Nor did she realize that she’d soon perform at the Oakland Arena — once with E-40 and Mozzy, and a second time during Mike Epps’ We Them One’s Comedy Tour this past weekend.

It all started with a recording session at a Richmond studio that one of Tuesday’s daughters, Juice, booked to celebrate her 24th birthday. Juice invited her sisters RaiDawg, Lul Asia, Theehotone and Pinaa to record verses, and they decided to get their mom on the mic.

Other than Lul Asia, none of them had made music before. But the family had plenty of experience freestyling and singing karaoke together in their living room. They found a beat on YouTube, hyped each other up and laid down verses on what would become “Juice Week pt. 2.” Once RaiDawg posted Tuesday’s verse on TikTok, her video racked up 3.3 million views and earned fans from Oakland to London.

Tuesday’s evocative lyrics about vacation sex — ”Me and my man / We on an island, hoe / Ocean breeze / Palm trees / Back shots / On the balcony” — now soundtrack hundreds of thousands of TikToks and Reels, including many from travel influencers showing off luxurious trips.

Kehlani, whose 2016 song “Gangsta” is sampled on the “Juice Week pt. 2” beat, rapped the lyrics on the red carpet of the iHeartRadio Music Awards and told Tuesday to get in touch. It’s been a whirlwind for a family that’s now figuring out how to navigate the entertainment industry. KQED Arts & Culture joined Tuesday, Juice, Lul Asia, Theehotone, RaiDawg and Pinaa on a video call to get the inside story of their viral moment.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Nastia Voynovskaya: Juice, why did you decide to go to the studio for your birthday? Had you done music before?

Juice: It was something that I had been trying to do for the last couple years. I never made music before, but we always like to freestyle and stuff when we’re together because, you know, we’re all sisters and we’re all family.

You guys party with your mom, that’s awesome.

Theehotone: She lit!

Lul Asia: Yeah and then also I feel like the big thing is that our brother, Sammybaandz, had passed away in January. That made us a lot closer, and that was a big reason we wanted to invite my mom to the studio just to be able to have fun with her and try to take our minds off everything we’ve been going through.

I’m sorry for your loss. Juice, for the song, what was the directive you gave everyone in the studio?

Juice: We all came together and agreed on a beat, and everybody wrote their verse. I was the only one freestyling. None of us took it seriously. I was just happy to be there.

I do social media stuff as well, so I vlogged the whole process of us creating the song, going viral and all of our performances and stuff like that. It was more so just for fun. Like everybody was being themselves. The lyrics are definitely like, you could tell a little personality from them.

Tuesday, I want to hear more about your verse. I checked out your Instagram. It seems like you’re a world traveler, which really comes through in that part of the song. Tell me about how you wrote it.

Tuesday: Well, I went with them for music therapy, just to take my mind off of everything. And when we were in there, Nay [Theehotone] was just like, oh, just go in to write a verse about what we like about men. And then I just sat down and wrote it out right there in the studio. Definitely didn’t think that it was going to go viral.

Was there an island you had been to recently that inspired the lyrics?

Tuesday: I go to so many islands, it’s my favorite. I go somewhere almost every other month. I’ve been to almost all of the islands in the Caribbean. I’m just missing Barbados and St. Martin right now.

What do you guys think it is about the song that resonated with so many people?

Juice: I think it’s just our vibes are so lit. And I feel like with Tuesday’s part, it’s very catchy. A lot of people traveling nowadays, that’s a really big thing to show status in this day and age. So I definitely think the traveling part is what is connecting to a lot of people for sure.

Lul Asia: I also think it’s the genuineness of how we were just in the studio being ourselves, having a good time, having fun, and you can feel that energy through the song.

Theehotone: It’s not a lot of stuff that comes out of Oakland. So for this to be going as viral, everybody is appreciating the fact that we’re putting Oakland on.

The song’s been shared by some pretty big names in music. Who have you been excited about?

Lul Asia: Once SZA posted it, I was like, oh my God — I could have just passed out right there.

Juice: For sure SZA and when G Herbo and [his fiancee] Taina did it. Natalie [Nunn] posted it, Tyla, Mariah the Scientist was in a video with the song. It’s just been fun. Blueface was on stream and he was randomly singing the song when he was playing with his kids. I just love all of it, honestly.

Has anyone DMed you guys to collaborate?

Lul Asia: A few people have, and we’re still looking into our next options and everything.

And then you guys performed at the Oakland Arena. How was the show last weekend with Mike Epps?

Juice: It’s crazy seeing all the flashes and everybody singing the song and knowing the lyrics. All of this happened within literally a month and a half. I’m very grateful for it. Honestly it was a little nerve-racking, but it’s fun.

Lul Asia: When I go on the stage, I try to just have that mindset of like, I’m just going out here having fun with my family.

Tuesday: I really like the adrenaline of it all. Just having fun and just making sure that, you know, the crowd is knowing that we appreciate them. I be always trying to get the crowd interaction.

The music video turned out so well. Tell me about that video shoot and getting the whole neighborhood out for you guys.

Lul Asia: We really just messaged people, like Hyphy Burger and things like that. And once we reached out to them, they were just so open to having us, and people were open to coming out.

You had cars, dancers and stuff.

Juice: I knew we were gonna bring out a lot of people because of how viral the song was, but I was really surprised how a lot of the media was coming out. That was my first time experiencing a media rush where it was NorCal Next Up and his crew, and people like that who keep tabs on up-and-coming artists. Thizzler posted us and they had people out there. Being in content creation and stuff, it’s just really nice to be recognized by bigger creators.

Then you guys also performed at Mistah F.A.B.’s club, Dezi’s.

Lul Asia: He’s been supporting us so much. He’s the reason why we’ve done both Oakland Arena shows, and he just always been very supportive through this whole process and mentoring us. Our mom part went viral, but he’s pushing that the whole song is amazing, and making sure that everyone gets to do their verse.

Now that you guys have this viral moment, where do you wanna take this?

Lul Asia: I wanna keep doing music for sure.

RaiDawg: Yeah, me too, a little bit, but I’m more on the content creator side.

Juice: I feel like I reside with RaiDawg. It’s really fun, but I feel like when it starts to be pressure, like people are expecting stuff… I definitely want to keep making the content and building the platform. And just having fun, honestly.

Lul Asia: Nay had to hop off, but she brought up that she wants to continue doing music. And she also wants to start a podcast because she loves talking about the culture.

Tuesday: I definitely wanna keep creating music, and I’m also working on writing a book. So that’s my next step, getting a book out there and doing some public speaking hopefully. It’s a book about how to go through the grieving process when losing your kid.

I think that’s going to resonate with a lot of people.

Tuesday: Thank you.

Pinaa: I want to continue making music too. I feel like it’s very fun, very energetic. I like the rush of it. I like having a good time and being goofy in the studio, just having a fun time with family.

What’s been your favorite thing to come out of this experience?

Lul Asia: I think being able to perform for my city where I’ve grown up. I went to the arena and watched other people perform, never thinking I would be on that stage — that has been the most amazing experience thus far. Even if we did make another song, blow it up and we traveled around the world, I don’t think nothing will top that specific moment.

Juice: Getting the recognition, when people actually are recognizing us and calling us by our names on the song and singing our parts. Seeing even celebrities know our song.

Are you guys getting recognized when you’re just out and about?

Juice: For sure when we’re at our events, and at the post office the other day too.

Tuesday: Yeah, it’s crazy, like I just don’t even run outside no more without getting dressed.

What are you hearing from people from West Oakland specifically?

Lul Asia: Literally, I feel like every time I go somewhere and there’s someone from West Oakland, or even just Oakland, the first thing they say when they recognize me is, “West Oakland, bitch!” They’re excited and they want to represent where they’re from.