WAP
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About
WAP, an acronym for "Wet Ass Pussy," is a rap song by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. The song quickly gained mass notoriety for its very sexually explicit lyrics and music video, which features a cameo from Kylie Jenner, leading to condemnations from some critics and politicians as well as defenses from critics and fans.
Origin
On August 7th, 2020, Cardi B uploaded the music video for her track "WAP" featuring Megan Thee Stallion to YouTube, gaining over 59 million views in three days (shown below, left). The audio in the music video uses the radio edit of the track, changing the title lyric from "Wet ass pussy" to "Wet and gushy." Cardi B also uploaded the official audio for the track, which features uncensored lyrics (shown below, right).
Spread
The song trended on Twitter throughout the following day. Twitter account @wapchallenge[1] posted a Me In Public / My Headphones meme about the song, gaining over 40 retweets and 200 likes (shown below, left). User @Ira[2] posted a joke using lyrics from The Little Mermaid, gaining over 190 retweets and 1,700 likes (shown below, right).
Fans were also upset by Kylie Jenner's cameo in the video, creating a Change.org [3] position for her removal, gaining over 65,000 signatures. Some fans edited actress Viola Davis into Jenner's cameo, which was shared by Davis herself.[4][5]
Critical Reception
The video and song proved controversial, as several politicians criticized the track for its highly sexual content. James P. Bradley, a congressional candidate from California, tweeted that he'd heard the song "on accident" and that "Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion are what happens when children are raised without God and without a strong father figure"[6] (shown below, left). Congressional candidate Deanna Lorraine[7] tweeted, "There's a difference between being 'sexy,' and straight degrading" (shown below, right).
The song was also defended by critics against claims the song was degrading. Complex[8] called the song "empowering," writing, "Critiquing 'WAP' as degrading, dehumanizing art is a camouflage for critiquing Black womanhood as a problematic expression." Pitchfork[9] wrote of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, "They center themselves as women in order to freely celebrate their coveted power, sex appeal, and A1 WAP."
Ben Shapiro Reading
On August 10th, Ben Shapiro read the lyrics mockingly on his show, censoring words like "pussy" as "P-word." The video was reposted by @JasonSCampbell, gaining over 4,800 retweets and 8,000 likes in less than two hours (shown below).
Ben Shapiro reads "WAP" lyrics pic.twitter.com/bIVH1Pnwvx
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) August 10, 2020
The video was widely mocked online. User @coherentstates[10] posted a Smithers Scared of Strippers meme mocking Shapiro, gaining over 700 retweets and 4,600 likes (shown below, left). User @JodanUhl[11] mockingly wrote "Ladies please contain your excitement" while reposting the video, gaining over 3,200 retweets and 9,200 likes (shown below, right). The video caused Ben Shapiro and "P-word" to trend on Twitter.[12]
User @TheRareJayCray posted a video that uses Shapiro's audio over the lyrics of the song (shown below).
Official Ben Shapiro “WAP” remix pic.twitter.com/a1uVP9HJ3y
— SELF-LOATHING STUNNER (@THERAREJAYCRAY) August 10, 2020
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @wapchallenge
[3] Change.org – Remove Kylie Jenner from WAP video
[4] Twitter – violadavis
[5] Twitter – violadavis
[6] Twitter – Bradley Congress
[7] Twitter – Deanna4congress
[8] Complex – Why Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s Empowering Anthem “WAP” Is So Important
[9] Pitchfork – 'WAP' [ft. Megan Thee Stallion]
[10] Twitter – @coherentstates
Top Comments
TheMysteriousGray
Aug 10, 2020 at 07:50PM EDT
poochyena
Aug 10, 2020 at 04:23PM EDT