The song ‘WAP’ does not deserve the fawning plaudits? (NSFW)

[Redolent]

m.youtube.com/watch?v=hsm4poTWjMs

WAP by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. Stands for Wet Ass Pussy. That’s all what the whole song is about. Consensus seems to be that’s it a great anthem about female sexual empowerment. The New York Times: “An event record that transcends the event itself.” The Los Angeles Times: “A savage, nasty, sex-positive triumph.” For the high-brow publication Pitchfork, Cardi/Megan ‘center themselves as women in order to freely celebrate their coveted power, sex appeal, and A1 WAP.’

Sample lyrics:

“ I wanna gag, I wanna choke/I want you to touch that little dangly thing that swing in the back of my throat.”

“ “Gobble me, swallow me/Drip down inside of me/Quick jump out ’fore you let it get inside of me,”

Rest here: genius.com/Cardi-b-wap-lyrics

——

To me think the crassness of the song is so boring. I’m not outraged or aghast. I just don’t think it’s sexy in the slightest (others clearly disagree). The song talks about pussies so much they may as well be rapping about a pair of shoes. But I cannot seriously accept that this is video and song are anthem of liberating empowerment, with its pole dancing, strip club visuals and sexual cliches. Listen to the song all you want but let’s pretend these are role models.

So the song is a critique?

I took it that way, yes.

I think the fact they compare their wet pussies to a saucepan of macaroni and say they're so wet you'll need a mop and bucket suggest a reductio ad absurdum element because out of all the millions of possible comparisons they could have made to illustrate a 'wet pussy' (i.e. the physical sign that male rappers often interpret as meaning a woman is unequivocally aroused, and is often more important to the male singers than the woman's actual feelings or consent), they chose these words.

I feel this interpretation is supported by the fact when all ten or so women are dancing together in the video, they're ankle deep in water (which is pretty fucking funny in the context of how absurdly wet their pussies are).

That, combined with the sample they used, suggest to me that it was absolutely intended as satire, and as a response to that sample and the views promoted in the 90s of a very very male-dominated music industry.

The alternative - that these artists simply didn't have the resources to come up with alternative lyrics to 'macaroni in a pot' - seems a tad bizarre if you ask me! Surely you'd cut one of the tigers and invest in a rhyming dictionary if that were the case?

Disclaimer: I realise this is art and I'm only offering this as my personal interpretation - I'm not claiming to be 'right' as there are any number of different and equally valid interpretations.

[quote JuniperFather]@CaptainCorellisPangolin

Your supercilious tone about "empowerment" is exactly why I wrote the post two pages about how there is no intersectionality on this forum, and (majority) white middle class women from the UK feel themselves empowered to tell black women from the US what is acceptable to rap about.

Do you know the historical narrative around sexual power dynamics in black communities in the US? Have you listened to the number of hip hop records I have and observed how women are portrayed, then been able to enjoy this moment where two confident women take centre stage and tell the brothers how it's going to go down?

Do you have ANY context about this record at all, aside from the fact that it doesn't appeal to you personally?[/quote]
I'm not telling anyone what they can and can't rap about. But I am in no way obliged to agree that this song is empowering for women and yes, I will post that on a public forum.

@Cobblersgal1

Women,men, black or white can be into whatever they want. I don’t like hearing it explicitly in music/rap especially when there is a young following.

Wait until Cobblers hears about the off button 🤯

I don't particularly care about it either way but I find it hard to get offended when men sing about their dicks all the time.

Pynk by Janelle Monae is a great song about lesbian sex, incidentally.

@ClutterbuckFarm

Seems to me that this is a song by twats and for twats.

Ha! Yes.

If it’s about being women sexually free, I think it’s very far from the truth.
Personally a song about sex with women as they are..hairy, a bit wobbly able to do what they like in bed without judgement would be zillion times better.

Yeah I will switch off but young impressionable kids won’t.

Personally a song about sex with women as they are..hairy, a bit wobbly able to do what they like in bed without judgement would be zillion times better.

And you know these women shave their fannies... how?

I can absolutely guarantee you the two women in the video wobble.

The whole fucking video is about women doing what they like in bed (or, indeed, sitting on top of a man's face).

FFS. Did you even watch the video

Also.......... are women who shave / wax or are underweight and don't "wobble" what? Not women? Not women as they are? Lesser women? Not subscribing to your idea of women? Lesser than you?

Honestly... who needs the patriarchy? We do a grand enough job of tearing each other down all on our own.

Yeah I will switch off but young impressionable kids won’t

You can say that about loads of sexually explicit rap songs though!
Why should it be so much more disgusting and newsworthy if a woman sings about pussy than if a man sings about dick?

@Cobblersgal1

Yeah I will switch off but young impressionable kids won’t.

Cardi B isn't on the Disney channel. Not sure it's up to her to do the parenting for others. Just like when male rappers rap about drugs sex and violence.

The whole fucking video is about women doing what they like in bed (or, indeed, sitting on top of a man's face)

Ah see, they're not doing what's deemed RIGHT for a woman to want to do though.
So that doesn't count. They have to sing about wobbly bits and being hairy instead. That's OK for a woman to like.
Or something

I think it's just sad..

My girls are singing it in a loop .. but to me it's just a wet male dream... girls who have gone out of their way to develop HUGE arses .. and invite anal sex ... sad sad sad

Honestly... who needs the patriarchy? We do a grand enough job of tearing each other down all on our own

Absobloodylootely!

In the 80’s going topless was a thing. Black women didn’t seem to do it,. It wasn’t sexual - it was just a posh women’s way of getting rid off tan lines, But it pushed forward the idea that tits weren’t just for men appreciation,
Now swimsuits that look like bondage gear are the fashion.
Black women need to up their game and not be black rappers wet dreams. We all need to be on the same page with this.

Invite ANAL sex!!!!!!?

Deary me.

Because no woman has ever enjoyed anal sex. Ever. Nope. That's a male thing. All those pink butt plugs you see on Anne Summers are definitely, definitely being marketed to men, I'm sure. And all those modern romance books featuring anal sex are definitely being read by men.

Will somebody please think of their eternal damnation

I keep promising myself I'm done but I really cannot help myself 🤣 what will we have next, dildos???????

@ClutterbuckFarm

Seems to me that this is a song by twats and for twats.

And about twats

FYI:

Green Day: I want you to slap me and call me naughty/Put a beltsander against my skin/I want to feel pain all over my body/Can’t wait to be punished for my sins”

Some men like it. Some women like it. Again, the liberation / empowerment comes from being able to speak freely about your desires.

If you like missionary once a month? That's great for you. If you never feel comfortable talking about sex, great for you. You shouldn't conform to Cardi B's form of empowerment, nor should she conform to yours. That's the point. Being able to express yourself as you please. That's empowerment.

I actually really feel something when I listen to this bloody song. I feel like I get it. Over the past few years I finally feel like I own my own sexuality. I know what my vagina likes, it’s mine, belongs to me and I can do what i want with it. It has not always been that way. Cardi put an IG video on today telling women how to look after their vaginas and it made me laugh so much. If you haven’t seen it the gist is stop shagging men with stinky dicks 😂 and look after your vagina and love it!

I watched a documentary on the female orgasm on Netflix with my BF and even he was horrified that there are barely any studies into the female orgasm and it was only a few years ago they worked out what the clitoris actually was (that its larger on the inside)

If is an absolute joke that men can rap about their bloody dicks all day and night and one woman talking about how much she loves her vagina, appreciates it and owns it is made into horror. It is ridiculous. If you don’t like it don’t listen to it.

Spice girls said Girl Power, Cardi says Pussy Power 😂😂😂

Of course these two rappers can rap about their pussies all they want but let’s not pretend that as black female rappers that they have the option to sing about how they love needlework, even with the same heavy baseline tune and expect to still get any backing from their record company. If they did that on their next record they’d be dropped. They will make some money but they don’t have real power over their careers

If fans were hungry for tracks about needlework, the record companies would lap it up.

These two aren’t breaking any ground for BAME women. They are helping to box black women

So which is it? Are they responsible for helping to box in black women or do they lack the power to control their music?

Why does everyone always have to be breaking new ground for women? Can't a woman ever just do something because they want to?

Why can't Cardi B choose what she does to make a living? If she were something quiet and hidden away like a writer, would you still be criticising her for not doing enough for BAME women?

@disorganisedsecretsquirrel

I think it's just sad..

My girls are singing it in a loop .. but to me it's just a wet male dream... girls who have gone out of their way to develop HUGE arses .. and invite anal sex ... sad sad sad

Think it might be your job to parent your girls not theirs. It's not marketed to young girls. It's marketed to sexually empowered females. Whatever form that takes.

The macaroni in a pot line is about the noise, the squelching sound.

I heard my daughters friends refer to it as a “bop” so I gave it a go expecting to like it right away. I could not believe how bad it was. The second hand cringe was real.

For critics raving about these women bringing so much sex into music and doing something profound.......well l’il Kim would like a word. She was doing music like How Many Licks 20 years ago that is as graphic. The difference is L’il Kim had talent and could not only write lyrics well but rap properly. Cardi B is a joke to any real hip hop fan.

@Menora

I actually really feel something when I listen to this bloody song. I feel like I get it. Over the past few years I finally feel like I own my own sexuality. I know what my vagina likes, it’s mine, belongs to me and I can do what i want with it. It has not always been that way. Cardi put an IG video on today telling women how to look after their vaginas and it made me laugh so much. If you haven’t seen it the gist is stop shagging men with stinky dicks 😂 and look after your vagina and love it!

I watched a documentary on the female orgasm on Netflix with my BF and even he was horrified that there are barely any studies into the female orgasm and it was only a few years ago they worked out what the clitoris actually was (that its larger on the inside)

If is an absolute joke that men can rap about their bloody dicks all day and night and one woman talking about how much she loves her vagina, appreciates it and owns it is made into horror. It is ridiculous. If you don’t like it don’t listen to it.

Spice girls said Girl Power, Cardi says Pussy Power 😂😂😂

@Menora Spice*
Spice girls said Girl Power, Cardi says Pussy Power* 😂😂😂

Yes 😂. This x100!

@tyrinn

Personally a song about sex with women as they are..hairy, a bit wobbly able to do what they like in bed without judgement would be zillion times better.

And you know these women shave their fannies... how?

I can absolutely guarantee you the two women in the video wobble.

The whole fucking video is about women doing what they like in bed (or, indeed, sitting on top of a man's face).

FFS. Did you even watch the video

Also.......... are women who shave / wax or are underweight and don't "wobble" what? Not women? Not women as they are? Lesser women? Not subscribing to your idea of women? Lesser than you?

Honestly... who needs the patriarchy? We do a grand enough job of tearing each other down all on our own.

Because they are presenting as everything male rappers asked for.

Available. Happy to accommodate.

Of course you don’t have to be hairy or wobbly. It was an example that sexual women can have both though. Apparently now a big arse is fabulous Who does that benefit ..yeah ..a bloke with a rear view. So what if you have a mummy tummy after a few kids. That doesn’t suit the male appreciation society.

We as women still like and make sex symbols scrotty skinny blokes, weird geeks and elderly actors. Where’s the reciprocation?

They aren't here to parent your kids and they aren't here to make you feel good about hair and wobbly bits either. :) HTH.

If is an absolute joke that men can rap about their bloody dicks all day and night and one woman talking about how much she loves her vagina, appreciates it and owns it is made into horror.

No no, it's just that Cardi B is doing it in the WRONG way. Cause I'm fairly sure if some white chick in a pastel skater dress made a twee song about vaginas, full of euphemisms, MN would be all over it.

@tyrinn
Invite ANAL sex!!!!!!? shock
Deary me
Because no woman has ever enjoyed anal sex. Ever. Nope. That's a male thing

I typed out a long comment along the lines of then deleted as just couldn't be arsed (no pun intended lol)

And all those modern romance books featuring anal sex are definitely being read by men
My fave Black Lace book, yep, I only read it for the men. Apparently

I keep promising myself I'm done but I really cannot help myself 🤣

Same