The 2000s File Feature
This Is How We Do
Big Tymers' This Is How We Do It is 2003, and the sound of Southern hip-hop is taking over the radio. The bounce of New Orleans, the syrupy swagger of the Di…
01 The Story
Big Tymers' "This Is How We Do"
It is 2003, and the sound of Southern hip-hop is taking over the radio. The bounce of New Orleans, the syrupy swagger of the Dirty South, and the unapologetic celebration of luxury and excess were reshaping rap's center of gravity, pulling it away from the coasts and toward the Gulf. At the heart of that movement sat Cash Money Records, and within Cash Money sat Big Tymers, the duo whose entire ethos was built on flexing, flossing, and having a riotously good time.
The Architects Of Cash Money
Big Tymers was not just any act on the roster. The duo paired Birdman, also known as Baby, the co-founder of Cash Money Records, with Mannie Fresh, the in-house producer whose distinctive, bouncing beats had defined the label's entire sound. Together they were the boardroom and the soundboard, the money and the music. That gave their records a peculiar authority; when they rapped about wealth and success, they were also quite literally the bosses signing the checks. Their music doubled as a victory lap for a Southern empire on the rise.
A Party Record Through And Through
"This Is How We Do" was a celebration set to a beat, a track built around Mannie Fresh's signature production and the duo's laid-back, boastful flows. The aesthetic was pure good times: cars, jewelry, parties, and the swaggering confidence of men enjoying the fruits of their hustle. It was not built for introspection; it was built for the club, the car system, and the block party. The energy was buoyant and the hook was made to be chanted, the kind of record designed to soundtrack a Saturday night.
A Brief Visit To The Hot 100
On the pop chart, the single registered only faintly. "This Is How We Do" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 98 on November 1, 2003, and barely moved during its short stay. It managed just 3 weeks on the Hot 100, nudging up to its peak of number 97 on November 15, 2003 before dropping off. Those modest numbers reflect the reality that much of Cash Money's strength lay in regional dominance, mixtape culture, and album sales rather than crossover pop singles. The duo's commercial power was real; it just did not always translate to the all-genre singles chart.
The Sound Of A Region Ascendant
To appreciate the track is to appreciate the larger shift it belonged to. For much of hip-hop's history, the genre's commercial and critical power had been concentrated on the East and West Coasts. By 2003, that balance was tilting decisively southward, and Cash Money was one of the chief engines of that change. Mannie Fresh's production style, with its rolling bass, snapping drums, and synthesizer flourishes, helped define what Southern rap sounded like on the radio. Records like this one were the soundtrack to a regional takeover, the sound of New Orleans and the broader South claiming the spotlight that the coasts had long monopolized.
A Chapter In A Larger Empire
The true significance of Big Tymers lies less in any single chart placement than in their role within one of hip-hop's most influential labels. Cash Money would go on to dominate the industry for years, launching and sustaining the careers of some of the biggest names in rap. Big Tymers were the founding partnership that helped make that possible, and tracks like this one document the swaggering, celebratory spirit that powered the whole enterprise. It is a window into the engine room of a Southern rap dynasty.
Press Play And Feel The Bounce
Cue this one up with the volume high and the windows down. Mannie Fresh's production still knocks, and the duo's easy confidence is infectious. It is a snapshot of early-2000s Southern rap at its most carefree and celebratory. Press play and let "This Is How We Do" carry you back to the era when Cash Money owned the party.
"This Is How We Do" — Big Tymers' singular moment on the 2000s charts.
02 Song Meaning
The Meaning Behind Big Tymers' "This Is How We Do"
The meaning of "This Is How We Do" is celebration, plain and proud. This is a song about enjoying success, flaunting the rewards of hard work, and inviting everyone to share in the good times. There is no hidden anguish here, no buried tragedy. The track is exactly what it presents itself as: a joyful declaration that the good life has arrived and it is meant to be enjoyed out loud.
The Anthem Of Arrival
At its core, the song is about having made it. The lyrics revel in the trappings of success, the cars, the wealth, the parties, framing them not as objects of envy but as earned rewards. For the men of Big Tymers, who had built a record empire from the ground up in New Orleans, this was a genuine statement of triumph. The boasting carries an undertone of pride in self-made achievement, the satisfaction of having climbed from nothing to the top.
Lifestyle As Statement
The celebration of luxury in the song was about more than materialism; it was a form of cultural assertion. Southern hip-hop in this era often used displays of wealth to claim space in an industry that had long centered the coasts. To flaunt success was to insist on being seen and respected. The bravado functions as a flag planted in the ground, a declaration that the South had arrived and would not be overlooked.
The Joy Of The Good Time
Above all, the song is about pleasure without apology. It captures the communal euphoria of a party where everyone is welcome and the only goal is to enjoy the night. That spirit of inclusive celebration was central to the Cash Money appeal. The music invited listeners to share in the fun, to feel for a few minutes like they too were riding high. It is generous in its hedonism, spreading the good times around.
Confidence As Its Own Reward
Beneath the boasting runs a current of pure self-assurance, and that confidence is part of the song's message. The duo do not hedge or apologize for their success; they simply own it, fully and loudly. For listeners, that unwavering self-belief was inspiring in its own right, a model of how to carry yourself once you have arrived. The track suggests that part of enjoying success is refusing to shrink from it, standing tall in your achievements rather than downplaying them. That swagger, more than any specific possession it names, is the real flex.
Why It Connected
The song resonated because its joy was uncomplicated and infectious. Its celebration of success spoke to anyone who dreamed of better days, offering a vicarious taste of the high life. Mannie Fresh's bouncing production made the feeling physical, impossible to resist on a dance floor or in a car. That fusion of aspiration and pure fun is what gave the track its appeal. It does not ask the listener to think hard; it asks the listener to celebrate, and in the booming Southern rap landscape of 2003, that invitation was more than enough.
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