"Literally I Can't" is a song by production duo Play-N-Skillz, featuring

Redfoo Stefan Kendal Gordy (born September 3, 1975), better known by his stage name Redfoo, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, record producer and DJ best known for being part of the musical duo LMFAO, and for their hit songs "Par ...

, Lil Jon, and Enertia McFly, released in 2014. The song's music video was posted to YouTube on October 30, 2014, by Redfoo's label Party Rock. The song was received negatively by critics, with the artists and the song's music video also accused of being misogynist.

Reception

'' Complex'' called the song "everything wrong with EDM", with "predictable

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aoki ...

for the chorus that leads into a generic, bouncy

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

beat during the verses". The concept was called "so one-note" in that "the only remedy you could come up with is telling the woman efusing to participateto shut the fuck up and get drunk?" In 2015, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' ranked the song first on their list of "The 10 Worst Songs of the 2010s (So Far)" and stated: "You'd think that a song this reactionary and lame-brained wouldn't even be produced in 2014, and thankfully, Play-N-Skillz's opus to garbage viewpoints was not a hit. Congrats to the guys for topping one list, though!".

Music video

The video was directed by Mickey Finnegan, who directed most of LMFAO's music videos. It features a group of sorority sisters from LIC (Literally I Can't) attending a party at the STFU

frat house North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas in which fraternity and sorority members live and work together. In addition to serving as housing, fraternity and sorority housing may also serve to ...

. The women refuse any offer to dance or drink with "literally I can't", with the men telling them to "shut the fuck up" in response. As the video progresses, most women from the group "succumb to Redfoo's boozy proposal" and join the party until only the head of the sorority is left, who subsequently leaves. The video was criticized by some media outlets as misogynist soon after its release. One such outlet,

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's "The Fix", refused to cover Redfoo in protest of the video. Redfoo responded to criticism by blaming female bloggers for starting the controversy about the video, saying on Australian radio that "The women have gone crazy on me". He also defended the video as satirical and said he was only trying to make a fun party song.

References

2014 singles 2014 songs Lil Jon songs Music video controversies Play-N-Skillz songs Redfoo songs Song recordings produced by Play-N-Skillz Songs written by Lil Jon Songs written by Redfoo Misogyny {{2014-single-stub