"Whoopty" is the debut single by American rapper
CJ. The song was initially
self-released
Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...
on July 30, 2020, before being re-released by
Warner Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
following his signing to the label. The song reached number 10 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in February 2021, as well as number three in the UK and the
''Billboard'' Global 200 top 10. It was produced by the Cypriot producer Pxcoyo and samples
Arijit Singh's "
Sanam Re" (2015). The song was officially remixed by fellow American rappers
French Montana and
Rowdy Rebel
Chad Marshall (born November 24, 1991), known professionally as Rowdy Rebel, is an American rapper from Brooklyn who is signed to GS9 and Epic Records. He is a member of the Brooklyn-based GS9 crew alongside rapper Bobby Shmurda. Rowdy Rebel ap ...
, titled "Whoopty NYC", and by Puerto Rican rappers
Anuel AA
Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago (born November 26, 1992), known professionally as Anuel AA, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His music often contains samples and interpolations of songs that were popular during his youth. He is seen as a controv ...
and
Ozuna
Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado (; born March 13, 1992), known simply by his surname Ozuna, is a Puerto Rican singer. Five of his studio albums have topped the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums chart, with ''Aura'' (2018) charting at number seven on ...
, titled "Whoopty Latin Mix".
Background
The song is a remix of
King Von
Dayvon Daquan Bennett (August 9, 1994 – November 6, 2020), known professionally as King Von, was an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He was signed to Lil Durk's record label Only the Family and Empire Distribution.
Early life
Benne ...
and Memo600 "Exposing Me" Song, it contains a sample of the Indian song "
Sanam Re" (2015) by
Arijit Singh and
Mithoon
Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer.
Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...
. It is reminiscent of
Brooklyn drill and marks a departure from CJ's melodic rapping.
CJ said he received comparisons to late American rapper
Pop Smoke, because of the song's drill sound. He said in an interview with ''
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
'' that Pop Smoke's absence inspired "Whoopty", who he considers the artist that popularized the music style. He attributed its popularity to the energy conveyed in the track and its video.
Critical reception
''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
''s Alphonse Pierre wrote that while the song "may be the biggest drill record of the last several months", "everything about it is so painfully unoriginal" in that it combines "
Pop Smoke's uk drill production with
22Gz's lingo". In an earlier piece for the same site, Pierre felt the lyrics "might as well have been spit out by a machine trained on the Raps and Hustles YouTube page" and concluded that "
e only good thing to ever come out of
Staten Island remains the
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...
". Tom Breihan of ''
Stereogum'' had similar critiques for the song, though he added, "The song works. It moves."
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2020 debut singles
2020 songs
CJ (rapper) songs
Songs written by CJ (rapper)
Songs written by Mithoon
Warner Records singles