Viral song blasts bad roads in Columbia. Listen to the creator’s take
A video performance on social media of a song about Columbia called “City of Columbia Song (Original)” has garnered more than 40,000 likes and 226,000 plays on TikTok as of Wednesday afternoon.
Strumming a guitar in a dimly lit room, Malaysia Cooper, 25 — known as ChickWitTheFlick on TikTok — burst out in song asking city officials one question: “When are y’all going to fix these roads?”
Cooper said her inspiration for the video stemmed from her commute to work, where she routinely hit potholes while traveling on Lady Street. She said she also began to notice several large signs bearing “City of Columbia” around the city and contends that instead of spending money on signs, the municipality should use those dollars to repair its roads.
An employee at the State House, Cooper’s work as a social media influencer and songwriter has seen success before with another song that had 13 million views on TikTok.
The song does contain adult language.
“So, y’all got money for signs, but y’all don’t have money to fix these roads? And on top of that (the city) just spent millions of dollars to renovate (Finlay) park,” Cooper said in an interview with The State.
The city of Columbia is spending $254,000 to install four new welcome signs at major entry points into the city. The first sign was unveiled in late October on North Main Street outside the Pepsi bottling plant.
Cooper’s video has captured the attention of at least one city council member after the creator took aim at the city’s spending on new signage instead of on roads.
The TikTok, which has nearly 17,000 shares, was sent to Columbia City Council member Aditi Bussells, who then made a TikTok video of her own.
In response to Cooper, Bussells — who spearheaded the gateway signage — said she agrees that Columbia roads are in need of repair, but that many of the roads are owned by the state of South Carolina, which blocks funding to the city.
“I would suggest that you reach out to your state representatives as well as continue to place advocacy and pressure with your regional representatives and SCDOT,” Bussells said in the video.
Cooper, who said she’s experienced tire damage on multiple occasions after hitting potholes, has filed three claims with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, to no avail.
The department says on its website that it’s “dedicated to quickly and fairly resolving claims for damages that occur on state-maintained roads due to a road defect or other condition pursuant to the SC Tort Claims Act.”
Cooper, however, said all she’s ever gotten from the department was an email acknowledging the claim.
“I’ve never got money back from them, and it’s going on two years now since my last claim,” Cooper said.
A spokesperson from SCDOT was not available for comment.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 5:27 PM.
