Bardi is back! But not just Cardi B, we also triumphantly get the first Megan Thee Stallion release since her tragically frustrating and worrying shooting incident. It’s a song and visual bolstering with confidence and empowerment. “WAP,” standing for wet as p***y, demands attention, submission of control, and a party to bump it loud at that we just can’t have yet.
“WAP” samples a legendary Baltimore Club Anthem “Whores In This House” by Frank Ski that drives the entire energy of the song. The sample is surrounded by wobbling bass that evokes the aesthetic of an ass bouncing provided by Ayo & Keyz. Cardi on impact comes in with her signature hard-hitting hilariously nasty bars that make you smile wide as she raps, “Put this cookie right in ya face, swipe ya nose like a credit card.” Then a bit later, after she attacks the beat with more lines, the entire instrumental drops out to provide her with the space to deliver an a-cappella bar that is of the most repeatable of the song, “PARK THAT BIG MAC TRUCK, right in this little garage.” The flow on just this one line has become a bit of a signature for Cardi, and the room left for it right at the top of the song feels like an exclamation of her return.
Megan shines with the best rapping of the song on her contribution to the second verse. She enters into the section in a way that feels like a clear reminder of her reign as hands down one of the best rappers out. In the visual, for this section, Megan is surrounded by majestic white tigers in a black and white striped room in a black and white striped one-piece like a tantalizing Cruella de Vil. This part of the visual, directed by Colin Tilley, leaves the longest-lasting mark in your mind frame as it connects the victorious feeling of Megan’s return to what we all love her for. She raps, “On the food chain I’m the one that eat ya, if he eat my a** he’s a bottom feeder,” and simultaneously declares her dominance of the men who desire her and the rap game itself.
The next visual section puts Cardi and Megan with backup dancers wet in a shallow pool doing seductive choreography to parallel the “wet and gushy” repeated lines from the hook and the song overall. It’s the perfect lasting image for the heat of the summer and the heat of single. We’ve been waiting to hear whenever Cardi and Megan locked in together. The timing and execution are poignant, sexy, and bossed up.
