Summer Walker‘s 2018 EP, Last Day of Summer, has given rise to a sleeper hit. “Karma,” co-written and co-produced by Arsenio Archer, has climbed to No. 9 on urban radio this week, making it one of the top four R&B songs within the radio format.
The increased popularity of “Karma” can be attributed to its viral status on TikTok, with user @whereisreese playing a significant role in propelling the song forward last summer.
Walker acknowledged him in a TikTok post, revealing that he inspired her to release a sped-up version of the song on streaming platforms and her official YouTube channel. She later reissued the Last Day of Summer EP, including all sped-up versions. On Spotify, “Karma” is among Walker‘s trending songs, approaching the 78 million mark at the time of publication.
On the Billboard charts, “Karma” has made progress this week, reaching No. 17 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and No. 14 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Walker‘s sophomore album, Still Over It, was released in November 2021. With 166,000 equivalent units sold in its first week, the LP, a follow-up to her 2019 debut Over It, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Still Over It placed Walker in the Billboard history books as the first woman in R&B to have an album debut at the top of the Billboard 200 since Solange‘s 2016 masterpiece, A Seat at the Table.
Walker‘s second album, named one of Rated R&B’s 30 Best R&B Albums of 2021, produced the No. 1 hit “Unloyal” featuring Ari Lennox. The duet topped R&B radio and Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart, marking her second leader on each list. Fans won’t have to wait long for new music from Walker. In addition to her collaborations with Alex Vaughn and Kali Uchis, she recently announced CLEAR 2: Soft Life, a follow-up to her 2019 EP CLEAR. The new EP will be released on May 19 via LVRN/Interscope Records.
Before dropping CLEAR 2: Soft Life, Walker is set to perform at two festivals, including the Lovers & Friends Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Mary J. Blige‘s Strength of a Woman Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.
Reacquaint yourself with Summer Walker’s “Karma” below.
