Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s new single, “WAP,” appeared destined to be a hit from the start, and now it’s benefiting even more from a bizarre backlash fueled by everyone from conservative pundits and politicians to other musicians. The song’s raunchy lyrics (the title stands for “Wet A-s P-ssy”) find Cardi and Megan delivering bedroom-ready bars that have caught the attention of people far beyond the typical bounds of hip-hop. In the process, it’s amplified their song to new audiences.
The most notable example is conservative pundit Ben Shapiro, whose flavorless reading of the “WAP” lyrics trended on Twitter and inspired a litany of remixes:
A number of Republican congressional candidates felt the need to weigh in, too:
The critique has also come from inside the hip-hop community. CeeLo Green offered some harsh words about “WAP” in a recent interview with Far Out Magazine.
“A lot of music today is very unfortunate and disappointing on a personal and moral level,” he said. “There was once a time when we were savvy enough to code certain things. We could express to those it was meant for with the style of language we used. But now music is shameless, it is sheer savagery… There should be a time and a place for adult content.”
Green made a name for himself as part of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley, but is best known for his 2010 hit, “F-ck You.”
Cardi herself has embraced the backlash, perhaps recognizing it as a potent marketing opportunity:
Pearl clutching over sexual content in hip-hop lyrics has a long history in the US. Florida rap group 2 Live Crew were even arrested on obscenity charges in 1990, although ultimately acquitted.
Much of the discussion has centered on whether or not “WAP” is “empowering to women,” despite the fact that female rappers have been delivering raunchy lyrics for decades. Trina, Lil' Kim, and more made a name for themselves with explicit content, and both Cardi and Megan are known for rapping about sex. Both in hip-hop and beyond its borders, women are often shamed for publicly owning their sexuality in ways men rarely are.
Despite the complaints, “WAP” is shaping up to be a success. The song already has more than 1.8 million pageviews on Genius, making it the most popular Megan Thee Stallion song of all time on the site and cracking Cardi’s Top 10 despite releasing just a few days ago. The day-to-day drops in pageviews have also been small, with the song posting over 525,000 pageviews the day of its release, 454,000 on day two, and more than 350,000 on Sunday and Monday. Even the clean version has over 80,000 pageviews, and the song is projected to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart, marking Megan’s second chart-topping hit and Cardi’s fourth.
It’s difficult to attribute this to any one factor. The song’s music video has been memed by the likes of Viola Davis and Christina Aguilera, and Cardi’s sophomore album rollout has been highly anticipated for over a year. Fans have also flocked to Genius to catch up on the song’s Baltimore club sample. But it’s clear that the outsized attention “WAP” has earned on from figures outside of typical hip-hop and celebrity channels is raising public awareness.
Catch up on all the lyrics to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” on Genius now.
