The Singles Jukebox

More of this JT, less of that other one…

[Video]
[6.50]

Thomas Inskeep: Miami’s City Girls are following in the steps of other nasty female rappers like Lil’ Kim, Khia, and Trina (who herself is the godmother of Yung Miami), rapping unabashedly about sexual pleasure and not giving a fuck who cares. And with an M.O. like that, who better to feature on their single “Twerk” than the queen of 2018, Cardi B? Musically this is Miami in spades, not only influenced by Trina and Trick Daddy but also freestyle icon Debbie Deb, and you know what “Twerk” ultimately sounds like? An anthem, and not just for strip clubs. Watch this become a massive, female-empowering, 2019 hit, just as it should be.
[9]

Alfred Soto: It rattles and horns its way into my consciousness like 1987-era Beasties, and my local girls and Cardi fling rhymes for the love of it, because the words sound cool. Docked a point for using 2013-era slang.
[7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Producers Rico Love and Mr. Nova couldn’t have picked a better sample to work with, as all three rappers here provide a killer response to bounce classic “Choppa Style,” asserting why they’re great and what they want. The verses are, naturally, the best thing about “Twerk”; the buzzing synth in the chorus is comparatively dull. Regardless of your take on this, I’m sure everyone can at least agree that it isn’t as toothless as “In My Feelings.”
[6]

Nicholas Donohoue: City Girls do a good job mixing the hard edge in “Lemon” with the sweet hustle of “Nice For What” and then taking the popular ascendancy of bounce back to its roots by being primarily about ass. Oh, and Cardi is here. Who doesn’t love when Cardi’s around?
[6]

Crystal Leww: I’m so annoyed that Cardi B is the new anointed one. Both JT and Yung Miami not just out-rap her, but they’re both also loads more fun! But other than that, inject this directly into my veins. New Orleans bounce is still capable of thrilling as a production style — the screwy synth sound is a nice touch here. 
[7]

Will Rivitz: Less New Orleans producers making bounce and more New Orleans producers aping Diplo aping bounce, but Diplo’s bounce is better than the bad rap it gets. It helps that the three rappers here swagger all over the beat with the confidence of women fully aware they’re “God’s gift to a dick (woo!),” making the song where less self-assured performers might break it.
[7]

Jonathan Bradley: New York gave New Orleans the Triggaman break, which is one of many reasons putting Cardi B on a bounce beat ends up working more intuitively than geography might suppose. South Florida’s City Girls make their own civic contribution; there’s more than a bit of Miami bass in the booming low end of their track — the quintessential music for strip clubs is yet another familiar context for Cardi in this cultural exchange. And she does outshine her hosts, her star power and her verbiage overcoming any residual road game disadvantage.
[6]

Nortey Dowuona: Low, limping bass slogs after the dribbling synths while bouncing drums buoy both Yung Miami and JT while Cardi struggles to keep her footing before finally letting the groove bounce her up.
[6]

Ian Mathers: I feel like this would work just a little better for me if the production, No Limit flip, or the City Girls’ performances weren’t ALL so relentless; 2 out of 3 would probably work great. That’s part of why the moderately more paced beginning of Cardi’s feature is my favourite part of the song, but also the bit that reveals how much better this could be; the rest of it feeling both a little exhausting and longer than its pretty modest running time.
[5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Obvious and sweaty, but in a way that fully reconstrues those factors as compliments.
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