The song of the summer race is loud and very online, which means the culture is doing exactly what it does best.
Every year, fans try to crown one record as the official summer anthem. Sometimes the winner is obvious. Other times, the crown gets dragged through group chats, club sections, TikTok debates, cookout playlists, and timeline arguments before anyone can agree. This year, the rap and R&B lanes are especially crowded, with Yung Miami’s “Spend Dat,” Drake’s “Shabang,” Don Toliver and Yeat’s “Rendezvous,” Sexyy Red and Key Glock’s “Hang With a Bad B***h,” and Kehlani’s “Folded” all making different kinds of noise.
Yung Miami’s “Spend Dat” may be the most talked-about contender because the song is not just moving through the culture; it is stirring up a full debate. The former City Girls rapper released the track in April; it became her highest-charting solo Hot 100 hit and sparked a singalong at the 2026 BET Awards when the audience started chanting it as she walked onstage.
Yung Miami also made it clear she knew the record had summer energy. Speaking to PEOPLE, she said, “I just loved the energy, the beat, the feeling it gave me.” She added, “When I recorded that song, I said that this song is going to be a song that resonates with the people and I was right.”
But “Spend Dat” is not just getting love. It is getting pushback, too. Some listeners have criticized the track’s celebration of scamming, spending, and get-money culture, arguing that it should not be crowned as the anthem of the summer. Grammy-winning singer India Arie publicly said she does not like the song, stating the “mass acceptance” of the record reflects a larger cultural issue. She also responded to a post calling for a boycott, writing, “Everything you listen to see or eat is going to influence you. So make wise choices y’all.” However, she later clarified that she was not calling for a boycott and that people are free to enjoy what they want.
That discourse may actually be helping the song. In the streaming era, controversy can work like promo. Some fans are playing “Spend Dat” because they love it. Others are arguing about whether it should be played at all. Either way, Yung Miami is sitting in the middle of the summer music conversation.
Drake is also in the race with “Shabang,” because counted out or not, he still knows how to make a record move through a room. GQ listed “Shabang” among its 2026 song-of-the-summer contenders, noting that the track has been activating functions and comparing its energy to the kind of record that grabs a crowd as soon as the beat drops.
That is what Drake does well. Even when the internet is busy debating his career, his beefs, or whether he still has the same grip, his records keep finding their way into cars, parties, and DJs’ sets. “Shabang” may not be the most surprising contender, but summer anthems are not always about surprise. Sometimes they are about who can still control the room.
Sexyy Red and Key Glock’s “Hang With a Bad Bitch” is another contender for the function crowd. Sexyy Red’s ability to turn a simple hook into something catchy is why it sticks. That is her sweet spot. The track does not need to be deep. It needs to be loud, catchy, and ready for somebody’s phone camera when the DJ runs it back.
DaBaby’s “Pop Dat Thang” is also fighting for the turn-up lane. It is a song DJs are likely to play at every party, especially with the all-women remix featuring GloRilla, YK Niece, and Yung Miami giving the track extra club potential. It may be raunchy, but summer records are often built on bounce, repetition, and whether people actually move when it comes on.
French Montana and Max B’s “Ever Since You Left Me” brings a different kind of energy to the conversation. GQ highlighted the song as a feel-good, uptempo record that has been fitting into the season, especially with the reunited Wave Brothers trading verses. It is less chaotic than “Spend Dat” and less club-heavy than “Pop Dat Thang,” but it has that cruising-with-the-windows-down feeling that summer playlists always need.
On the R&B side, Kehlani’s “Folded” has the emotional lane covered. The song has already been a major win for Kehlani, who earned the Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2026 Grammy Awards. While it is not a traditional club anthem, it has the kind of replay value that makes people sing from the chest when the sun goes down, and the feelings start clocking in.
That is the thing about a song of the summer. It does not always have to be the loudest song. Sometimes it is the one people quote, debate, cry to, dance to, caption their posts with, or scream in the car like they are starring in their own music video. A true summer record has to live in multiple places: the club, the cookout, the timeline, the group chat, the brunch table, and the after-hours ride home.
By that standard, “Spend Dat” is absolutely in the race, whether critics like it or not. Drake’s “Shabang” has function power. Don Toliver and Yeat’s “Rendezvous” has new-gen momentum. Sexyy Red and Key Glock have the rowdy crowd covered. DaBaby’s “Pop Dat Thang” has bounce. French Montana and Max B bring feel-good summer energy. Kehlani brings the R&B replay value.
The crown is still up for grabs, but one thing is clear: the real song of the summer is not just the record people play. It is the one they cannot stop talking about.
