Let’s get one thing straight: before TikTok creators started flipping songs into sped-up earworms and Gen Z dubbed everything a “remix,” Mariah Carey had already written the blueprint.

As the BET Awards 2025 honors her with the Ultimate Icon Award, it’s time we acknowledge a huge part of her cultural and musical genius: her remix game. She didn’t just remix for club spins or alternate radio play—she turned the remix into a full-on reinvention. New verses. New beats. Sometimes new features that took a good song and made it unforgettable.

Back in the ’90s, R&B and pop acts might've dropped a remix here and there—but Mariah made it a movement. She took her chart-topping pop songs and infused them with hip-hop swagger, bringing in the hottest rappers of the moment and flipping tracks for an entirely different audience. At a time when cross-genre collaborations weren’t common, she was building bridges between radio formats and fan bases.

“Fantasy (Remix)” with Ol’ Dirty Bastard? Iconic. Historic. Completely unexpected—and completely genius. It wasn’t just a verse slapped on the original; it was an entirely new track, and it paved the way for pop-meets-hip-hop collabs for decades.

And don’t forget the “Honey (Bad Boy Remix)” with Mase and The Lox. Or “Heartbreaker (Remix)” featuring Da Brat and Missy Elliott. Mariah wasn’t just featuring rappers—she was building cinematic universes with them.

Part of what made her remixes legendary was how intentional they were. Different production. Alternate melodies. Verses recorded from scratch. You weren’t just hearing the original with a rapper tacked on—you were getting a new song entirely.

For fans, the remix was a reward. A way to hear Mariah’s vocals in a different mood. Sometimes sassier. Sometimes sexier. Sometimes more stripped down. And always with that signature whistle note somewhere in the mix.

She elevated the remix to an art form—treating it with the same care and precision as an album single. She didn’t just “drop” remixes; she launched them.

Beyond the features, Mariah’s remix work spotlighted Black producers long before they were household names. She worked closely with Jermaine Dupri, Puff Daddy, and DJ Clue, who helped shape her most unforgettable remixes. That collaborative vision is a key reason why hip-hop’s production aesthetic bled into mainstream pop so effectively in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

Mariah knew what she was doing: not only making hits but giving space to the culture that was often overlooked by the broader music industry. That’s not just remixing. That’s reclaiming the sound.

You thought she’d leave holiday music alone? Nah.

Mariah’s Christmas songs get the remix treatment too—“All I Want for Christmas Is You” has a remix with Jermaine Dupri and Bow Wow, while “Oh Santa!” got a 2020 rework with Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson. Each time she touches a track, she adds new flair, new collaborators, and a fresh reason to hit replay.

She’s proven time and again that the remix isn’t just a marketing tool—it’s a second wave of creativity.

Now that TikTok and YouTube are remixing everything from ’90s throwbacks to new album cuts, it’s clear: Mariah was decades ahead of the curve.

Artists now release remix versions for algorithmic boost. Mariah did it for artistic elevation. And as she stands on the BET Awards 2025 stage, receiving her well-earned Ultimate Icon Award, it’s a moment to remember—before there were playlists, memes, and viral mashups, there was Mariah.

She didn’t just adapt to the remix era. She birthed it.

Don’t miss her tribute at the BET Awards 2025, airing live on Monday, June 9 at 8PM ET/PT on BET.