A couple of days later, both were sending tracks to each other. After meeting her in Los Angeles, Cardi told her team that she was considering a collaboration with her. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion first connected through their respective wardrobe stylists. She wrote multiple versions of the hook before deciding on the official. Brooklyn Johnny in an interview with Billboard Ĭardi B wrote and recorded her verses for the track and reworked parts of it several times, constantly revisiting it. Artists don't usually do things like this when they're on the top of their games.
In that moment, it just reminded me of old school hip-hop. Two different flows, two different energies, two different accents, two different dictions, two different deliveries. The thing you're making sure you do is that they complement each other well, that they sit well on the track together and that, to the listener, it feels fluid to your ear. Cardi is one of them people like, "Alright, well, let me hear it! Let's see what you got!". I'm talking about, without exaggeration, maybe 50 different versions before I arrived at a place like, "Oh shit, I think I got it." So as soon as I had it, the first person I let hear it was Cardi. In it, the hook is changed from "wet ass pussy" to "wet and gushy", among other censors. Ī censored version was sent to US radio and was used in the music video, as opposed to the original version. The song became Cardi's first release of 2020, and Megan's first release following a highly publicized shooting incident allegedly involving her and Tory Lanez, in which Megan sustained injuries from a bullet to her feet. A few days later on August 6, she announced via Instagram that the music video for the song would be released alongside it on August 7, but that the video would feature the censored version of the track. On August 3, 2020, Cardi B revealed that the song was a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion and simultaneously posted the cover art for the song on her social media. "WAP" had the most searched lyrics on Google in 2020. "WAP" earned the position 11 on IFPI's year-end singles chart with only 4 months and 3 weeks of tracking. The video has been described by The Guardian as "unapologetic in celebrating the sensuality and sexuality of women." "WAP" broke the record for the biggest 24-hour debut for an all-female collaboration on YouTube. The accompanying music video, directed by Colin Tilley, features cameos from several women, including television star Kylie Jenner, singers Normani and Rosalía, and rappers Latto, Sukihana, and Rubi Rose. They performed the song together for the first time at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. It was certified sextuple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "WAP" was named the year's best song by a BBC News poll, with publications such as Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and NPR ranking it at number one in their best songs of 2020 lists. "WAP" became the first number one single on the inaugural Billboard Global 200, topping the chart for three weeks. The single spent a total of four weeks atop the chart, while also spending multiple weeks at number one in Australia, Canada, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Cardi B extended her record as the female rapper with the most number-one singles in Hot 100 history. It gave Cardi B her fourth number-one single and Megan's second number-one single in the U.S. It debuted atop the US Billboard Hot 100, with the largest opening streaming week for a song in country's history, topping multiple charts.
"WAP" received widespread critical acclaim for its sex-positive message, while some social conservative commentators criticized its explicit nature. In the lyrics, Cardi and Megan discuss how they want men to please them, using several sexual references. "WAP" is a hip hop song driven by heavy bass, hip hop drum beats, and a sample of Frank Ski's 1993 Baltimore club single "Whores in This House".
It was released through Atlantic Records on August 7, 2020, as the lead single from Cardi's upcoming second studio album. " WAP" (an acronym for "Wet-Ass Pussy") is a song by American rapper Cardi B, featuring American rapper Megan Thee Stallion.