WAP (song)

{{multiple image

| total_width = 271

| image1 = Cardi B 2021 01.jpg

| alt1 = Cardi B

| image2 = Megan Thee Stallion in September 2021.jpg

| alt2 = Megan Thee Stallion

| footer = "WAP" was recorded by Cardi B (left, pictured in 2021) and Megan Thee Stallion (right, pictured in 2021).

}}

Cardi B's first album Invasion of Privacy, released in 2018, was recorded on an accelerated timeline so it could be completed before the birth of her daughter Kulture. After that experience, her writing process became more flexible, taking additional time to explore ideas. "WAP" originated with a beat sent to her by Ayo the Producer and Keyz. She recorded what became its first verse in 2019 but ended up shelving it indefinitely.{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/news/engineer-evan-laray-brunson-goes-inside-cardi-bs-pandemic-recording-routine-wap |title=Engineer Evan LaRay Brunson Goes Inside Cardi B's Pandemic Recording Routine, The 'WAP' Backstory & More |last=Nelson Jr. |first=Keith |date=August 18, 2020 |publisher=Grammys |access-date=December 30, 2023}}{{cite magazine |last1=Mitchell |first1=Gail |title=The Real Story Behind 'WAP': Cardi B's Business Partner Brooklyn Johnny Tells All |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9441667/wap-cardi-b-business-partner-brooklyn-johnny-story |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 29, 2020 |date=August 9, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=August 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829054506/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9441667/wap-cardi-b-business-partner-brooklyn-johnny-story }}

When COVID-19 lockdowns were instituted in March 2020, Cardi B decided to stay in Los Angeles and use that time to work on music. She and her team rented a house and turned it into a studio for three months. Going through previously recorded tracks, Cardi B wrote an additional verse for "WAP", continuing to rework parts of the song several times. She was initially unsatisfied with the song's hook, feeling that "wet-ass pussy" was repeated too much. She began sending it to other female artists to see if they could improve on it.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallions-wap-video-has-this-unlikely-kid-friendly-inspiration-9475490/ |title=Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Video Has This Unlikely, Kid-Friendly Inspiration |last=Aniftos |first=Rania |date=October 29, 2020 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 18, 2024}}

{{Quote box

| quote = I'm talking about ... maybe 50 different versions before I arrived at a place like, "Oh shit, I think I got it." ... The first person I let hear it was Cardi. Cardi is one of them people like, "... let me hear it! Let's see what you got!" ... 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 ... it feels fluid to your ear.

| source = —Brooklyn Johnny in an interview with Billboard

| quoted = true

| salign = center

| align = left

| width = 35%

| border = 1px

| fontsize = 90%

}}

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion first connected through their respective wardrobe stylists. After meeting her in Los Angeles, Cardi B told her team that she was considering a collaboration with her. A couple of days later, both sent tracks to each other.{{cite web |last1=Ettinger |first1=Zoë |date=August 9, 2020 |title=Cardi B said that she was nervous to meet Megan Thee Stallion before collaborating on 'WAP' |url=https://www.insider.com/cardi-b-nervous-to-meet-megan-thee-stallion-2020-8 |access-date=August 29, 2020 |website=Insider}} Cardi B had her business partner Brooklyn Johnny send "WAP". After receiving Megan's verses, the song's engineers started editing and mixing vocals, still trying to find a way to emphasize the song's hook. They decided to switch the order of Megan's verses to improve the way the song flowed.

On August 3, Cardi B revealed an upcoming collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-announce-forthcoming-single-wap-2720675|title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion announce forthcoming single, 'WAP'|last=Triscari|first=Caleb|website=NME|date=August 4, 2020|access-date=August 4, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806213609/https://www.nme.com/news/music/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-announce-forthcoming-single-wap-2720675|url-status=live}} The announcement included the single artwork which shows the two rappers back to back against a bright pink background, holding out their tongues. They are styled with gold "WAP" hoop earrings, 1990s-inspired makeup, and tall interlocking updos.{{cite web |url=https://www.allure.com/story/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-cover-90s-updo-hairstyle |title=Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B Have the Most '90s Updos in the Photo for Their New Single |last=Robin |first=Marci |date=August 4, 2020 |website=Allure |access-date=January 17, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap |title=Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B Tease Track with Best Artwork of the Year |last=Cuby |first=Michael |date=August 4, 2020 |website=Nylon |access-date=January 17, 2024}} The day before the single's release, Frank Ski teased his involvement through a Twitter post.{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Zoe |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Drop New Song "Wap": Listen |url=https://www.xxlmag.com/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-new-song-wap/ |website=XXL |access-date=August 7, 2020 |language=en |date=August 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807040733/https://www.xxlmag.com/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-new-song-wap/ |url-status=live }} Cardi B and Megan promoted the premiere with a livestream on YouTube.{{cite web |url=https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/cardi-b-wap-video-feat-megan-thee-stallion-683080/ |title=Cardi B Returns With 'WAP' Video Feat. Megan Thee Stallion |date=August 7, 2020 |website=Vibe |access-date=January 17, 2024}}

"WAP" was released on August 7, 2020, as a digital download, vinyl, and cassette. A clean version was sent to U.S. radio, as opposed to the original version. In it, the hook is changed from "wet-ass pussy" to "wet and gushy", among other censors.{{cite web |last=Van Arendonk |first=Kathryn |date=August 7, 2020 |title=The 'Clean' Version of 'WAP' is Actually so Much Filthier |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/wap-music-video-explicit-version-clean-difference.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807214343/https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/wap-music-video-explicit-version-clean-difference.html |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |website=Vulture}} It marked Cardi B's first release of 2020, and Megan's first release following a highly publicized shooting incident involving Tory Lanez, where Megan had sustained injuries from a bullet to her feet. To accompany the release of the single, Cardi B launched a line of waterproof "WAP" merchandise which included umbrellas and raincoats.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/cardi-b-launches-waterproof-wap-merch-9439406/ |title=Wet, Wet, Wet: Cardi B Launches Waterproof 'WAP' Merch Line |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=August 25, 2020 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 1, 2024}} She confirmed that the song will appear on her upcoming second studio album.{{Cite web |date=June 7, 2022 |title=Cardi B responds to claim she's trying to boost numbers by putting older tracks on second album |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/cardi-b-responds-to-claim-shes-trying-to-boost-numbers-by-putting-older-tracks-on-second-album-3241640 |last=Krol |first=Charlotte |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}

{{listen

| filename = Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion - WAP.ogg

| format = Ogg

| title = "WAP"

| description = The song's sparse beat places emphasis on the rappers' vivid sexual imagery. In this excerpt, Cardi B's steadily paced flow contrasts with Megan's rapid-fire delivery.

}}

"WAP" is a hip hop, trap, and dirty rap song.{{cite web |last1=Blanchet |first1=Brenton |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion Link Up for 'WAP' |url=https://www.spin.com/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-new-song-wap/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809121249/https://www.spin.com/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-new-song-wap/ |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020 |website=Spin}} It uses a vocal sample from Frank Ski's 1993 Baltimore club single "Whores in This House".{{cite news |last=Fu |first=Eddie |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion Sample A Classic Baltimore House Song On "WAP" |work=Genius |url=https://genius.com/a/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-s-wap-samples-frank-ski-s-whores-in-this-house |url-status=live |access-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808230651/https://genius.com/a/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-s-wap-samples-frank-ski-s-whores-in-this-house |archive-date=August 8, 2020}} The sample consists of Al "T" McLaran chanting "There's some whores in this house" in the style of a military cadence. It is looped around 80 times over the course of the song, with its pitch shifted up in some sections.{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/wap-whores-in-this-house-sample-explained.html |title=The Story Behind 'WAP's Unforgettable 'There's Some Whores in This House' Sample |last=Shipley |first=Al |date=August 10, 2020 |website=Vulture |access-date=December 30, 2023}} The music is minimal—drum programming, a throbbing bass line, and McLaran's looped chant—leaving emphasis on the rapping.{{cite web |last1=Wood |first1=Mikael |date=August 8, 2020 |title=Review: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' is a savage, nasty, sex-positive triumph |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-08-07/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-review |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808025032/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-08-07/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-review |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-song-review.html |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Is Class-A Filth for the Ages |last=Jenkins |first=Craig |date=August 7, 2020 |website=Vulture |access-date=December 30, 2023}} Writing credits are given to Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, producers Ayo and Keyz, Ski, and Pardison Fontaine.{{cite web |title=ACE Repertory - WAP |url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/909106816 |publisher=ASCAP |access-date=October 28, 2021}}

In "WAP", Cardi B and Megan boast about their sexual prowess while listing their own erotic needs. Their lyrics describe sexual acts through vivid, outlandish metaphors like "Punani Dasani" and "Swipe your nose like a credit card".{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/10/magazine/cardib-megan-thee-stallion-wap.html |title=A Celebration of Sex in a Year of Deprivation |last=Wortham |first=Jenna |date=March 10, 2021 |website=The New York Times |access-date=December 30, 2023}} Cardi B invokes "macaroni in a pot" as a reference to the viscous sounds of sex.{{cite book |last=Hayes |first=Endia |editor-last1=Jordan-Zachery |editor-first1=Julia S. |editor-last2=Alhassan |editor-first2=Shamara Wyllie |date= |chapter=Femme Mixing: On an Erotics of Slowness and Its Wet Futures |title=Black Women and da 'Rona: Community, Consciousness, and Ethics of Care |publisher=University of Arizona Press |page=79 |doi=10.2307/jj.399538.7}} Megan's lines "Switch my wig, make him feel like he cheating" and "You can't hurt my feelings, but I like pain" allude to roleplay and BDSM respectively. The title is an acronym for "Wet-Ass Pussy".

Cardi B's starts the song in a "throaty" register, delivered "as if she's inching up close to her partner's ear". Her flow during the verses, described as a "staccato bark", is steadily paced in the style of her earlier Gangsta Bitch Music mixtapes, for clear articulation of each line.{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/track/cardi-bs-team-up-with-megan-thee-stallion-is-a-truly-filthy-return-2723460 |title=Cardi B's team-up with Megan Thee Stallion is a truly filthy return |last=Williams |first=Kyann-Sian |date=August 7, 2020 |website=NME |access-date=December 30, 2023}} In contrast, Megan makes use of a nimble, rapid-fire flow.{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2094455/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallions-wap-is-good-music-and-better-spectacle/columns/status-aint-hood/ |title=Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Is Good Music And Better Spectacle |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=August 12, 2020 |website=Stereogum |access-date=December 30, 2023}}

McLaran was improperly credited as a performer but not as a songwriter on the original "Whores in This House". Other singles sampling the song have inconsistently credited him; Joe Budden's "Fire (Yes, Yes Y'all)" includes McLaran as a cowriter, but Lil Wayne's "In This House" does not. Ski and McLaran talked after the release of "WAP" and reached an agreement to give him a cut of the royalties from "WAP".

Rapper Necey X sued Cardi B and Megan for copyright infringement in 2022. Necey had previously entered a failed partnership running an assisted living center with Fontaine's father. Her lawsuit alleged that "WAP" and Megan's 2021 single "Thot Shit" infringed on her 2019 song "Grab Em by the Pussy". Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. dismissed the suit, stating that Necey could not claim ownership of "the phrase 'p*ssy {{sic}} so wet' because it 'existed long before she included it in her song.'"{{cite web |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/jose-martinez/judge-copyright-lawsuit-dismissal-megan-cardi-wap-lyrics |title=Judge Pens Hilarious Copyright Lawsuit Dismissal Over Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B's 'WAP' Lyrics |last=Martinez |first=Jose |date=September 6, 2023 |website=Complex |access-date=January 18, 2024}}

"WAP" received widespread critical acclaim.{{cite web |last=Molanphy |first=Chris |date=August 20, 2020 |title=How "WAP" Became the Dirtiest No. 1 in Hot 100 History |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-dirtiest-number-1.html |access-date=January 30, 2021 |website=Slate |quote=From newspaper columnists to pop critics, the acclaim is pretty much universal, and only the most risible right-wing clowns are bloviating against it}} For Pitchfork, Lakin Starling called it "a nasty-ass rap bop, bursting with the personality of two of rap's most congenial household names".{{cite web |last1=Starling |first1=Lakin |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Cardi B 'WAP' [ft. Megan Thee Stallion] |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/cardi-b-wap-ft-megan-thee-stallion |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808030409/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/cardi-b-wap-ft-megan-thee-stallion/ |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020 |website=Pitchfork}} Jon Caramanica of The New York Times deemed it "an event record that transcends the event itself", and stated that both rappers "are exuberant, sharp and extremely ... vividly detailed" in the song that "luxuriates in raunch".{{cite web |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Caramanica |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Take Control, and 10 More New Songs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/arts/music/playlist-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=August 8, 2020 |date=August 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808002335/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/arts/music/playlist-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion.html |url-status=live }} Rania Aniftos of Billboard described the song as a "scorching banger".{{Cite magazine |last1=Aniftos |first1=Rania |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Megan Thee Stallion & Cardi B Unleash 'WAP': Watch the Video |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/megan-thee-stallion-cardi-b-wap-video-9430596/ |access-date=July 4, 2022 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}} Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times deemed it a "savage, nasty, sex-positive triumph" and stated that "the women's vocal exuberance is the show—the way they tear into each perfectly rendered lyric and chew up the words like meat".

For The Guardian, Dream McClinton wrote, "the hit collaboration ... has become a belated song of the summer, empowering women and enraging prudes along the way ... [it] should be celebrated, not scolded".{{cite web |last1=McClinton |first1=Dream |date=August 12, 2020 |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's WAP should be celebrated, not scolded |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/12/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-celebrated-not-scolded |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812193212/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/12/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-celebrated-not-scolded |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |website=The Guardian |language=en-us}} In NPR, cultural critic Taylor Crumpton deemed both rappers "women leading the genre into [a] new era of unification between women rappers" with "an already iconic song about women sexuality". She praised the message, describing it as "if you need to come, step to me, you have to be able to fill my sexual needs, and these are what they are".{{cite web |last1=Shapiro |first1=Ari |last2=Crumpton |first2=Taylor |date=August 15, 2020 |title=Hip-Hop That Made The Grown-Ups Uncomfortable: The 'Controversy' Around 'WAP' |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/08/14/902659822/hip-hop-that-made-the-grown-ups-uncomfortable-the-controversy-around-wap |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815010017/https://www.npr.org/2020/08/14/902659822/hip-hop-that-made-the-grown-ups-uncomfortable-the-controversy-around-wap |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |website=NPR |language=en-us}} In another article from Pitchfork, Jayson Greene said that it "has become the song of this ... summer—a ripe ... sex jam", deeming it detailed and "joyfully explicit".{{cite web |author=Greene, Jayson |date=September 3, 2020 |title=The Summer of Quarantine Sex Jams |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/overtones/summer-quarantine-sex-jams-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-harry-styles-kehlani-haim/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830025949/https://pitchfork.com/features/overtones/summer-quarantine-sex-jams-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-harry-styles-kehlani-haim/ |archive-date=August 30, 2020 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |website=NPR |language=en-us}}

== Music video ==

Preparation for the "WAP" music video began almost immediately after Cardi B and Megan approved the final version of the song. JaQuel Knight worked on a choreography routine, and Cardi B spent three to four weeks rehearsing it, with Megan joining based on her availability. Atlantic Records wanted to expedite the video so it could be released before the end of the summer, and Cardi B approached Colin Tilley to direct. Kollin Carter and {{Not a typo|Patientce}} Foster served as co-creative directors, and Cardi B expressed to them an interest in filling the video with animals and bold colors. Foster described Cardi B's vision as "a house full of powerful women" without exclusions, and they put together a list of people who could potentially make cameo appearances, including several emerging female rappers.{{cite web |last1=Ju |first1=Shirley |title='WAP' Co-Creative Director: Cardi B 'Wanted a House Full of Powerful Women,' Says Kylie Jenner Petition 'Is Bulls—' |url=https://variety.com/2020/music/news/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-kylie-jenner-wap-video-1234733860/ |website=Variety |access-date=August 13, 2020|date=August 13, 2020 |archive-date=August 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816235048/https://variety.com/2020/music/news/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-kylie-jenner-wap-video-1234733860/ |url-status=live }} Singer Lizzo was among those invited to appear in the music video but was out of town when the shoot was scheduled.{{cite web |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/50341/1/cardi-b-really-wanted-lizzo-in-the-wap-video-i-had-a-whole-vision |title=Cardi B really wanted Lizzo in the 'WAP' video: 'I had a whole vision' |date=September 3, 2020 |website=Dazed |access-date=January 1, 2024}}

Cardi B and Megan's wardrobe for the music video came from Nicolas Jebran, Bryan Hearns, Mugler designer Casey Cadwallader, and Juraj Zigman. Venus Prototype made latex outfits for the cameo guests, with Normani's drawing on a 1991 Azzedine Alaïa photoshoot with Naomi Campbell.{{cite web |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/best-fashion-looks-wap-cardi-b-meg-the-stallion |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP': 11 Best Fashion and Beauty Looks |last=Milia Ware |first=Asia |date=August 7, 2020 |website=Teen Vogue |access-date=January 23, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap |title=In 'WAP,' Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Take a Page from Lil' Kim's Playbook |last=Okwodu |first=Janelle |date=August 7, 2020 |website=Vogue |access-date=January 23, 2024}} Filming took place in Los Angeles during the week of July 6, 2020, days before new COVID-19 restrictions went into effect across the city.{{cite web |url=https://www.bet.com/article/rc6nkr/cardi-b-shares-inside-the-wap-bts-video |title=Cardi B Goes Inside Hit Song 'WAP' With New Behind-The-Scenes-Video |date=September 10, 2020 |publisher=BET |access-date=January 1, 2024}} Practical sets were built for most of the rooms shown in the video, minimizing the amount of green screen needed. At Cardi B's request, she and Megan shot a scene while covered with snakes; however, footage of a tiger and leopard was shot separately for safety reasons.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-behind-the-scenes-footage-9431141/ |title=Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion Share 'WAP' Behind-the-Scenes Footage With Their Slithery Friends: 'Scariest Sh– Ever' |last=Mamo |first=Heran |date=August 7, 2020 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 23, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/cardi-b-spent-usd100-000-on-wap-music-video-covid-19-tests.html |title=Cardi B Brought a Bucket and Mop for Her $100,000 Worth of 'WAP' Coronavirus Tests |last=Ivie |first=Devon |date=August 15, 2020 |website=Vulture |access-date=January 23, 2024}} Tilley opted to use a distorted visual style inspired by Tim Burton and Dr. Seuss. Cardi B estimated the video's budget at $1 million, with over $100,000 of that spent on COVID testing for everyone on set.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/wap-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-video-b1787749.html |title=Cardi B reveals 'WAP' music video cost $1 million to make |last=Chilton |first=Louis |date=January 15, 2021 |website=The Independent |access-date=January 1, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Lanigan |first1=Roisin |title=Cardi B: "The conservatives keep talking and the numbers keep going up" |url=https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/ep4kq4/cardi-b-onlyfans-wap-2020-interview |website=i-D |access-date=August 16, 2020 |language=en |date=August 13, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141455/https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/ep4kq4/cardi-b-onlyfans-wap-2020-interview |url-status=live }}

On August 6, Cardi B announced via Instagram that the music video for the song would be released alongside the single the next day, but that the video would feature the censored version of the track.{{cite web |last1=Hussey |first1=Allison |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Share Video for New Song "WAP": Watch |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-share-video-for-new-song-wap-watch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807040223/https://pitchfork.com/news/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-share-video-for-new-song-wap-watch/ |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |access-date=January 30, 2021 |website=Pitchfork}} Garnering over 26 million views in its first day, "WAP" broke the record for the biggest 24-hour debut for an all-female collaboration on YouTube.{{cite web |last1=Holt |first1=Brianna |date=August 9, 2020 |title=Why Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's Empowering Anthem 'WAP' Is So Important |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-essay |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809160050/https://www.complex.com/music/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-essay |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=August 9, 2020 |website=Complex |language=en-us}}

File:Cardi B - WAP feat Megan Thee Stallion (music video screenshot).png and Willy Wonka-esque design, respectively.{{cite web |last=Urquhart |first=Tira |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Cardi B Wears Leopard Print And Pasties To Join Megan Thee Stallion In Latex In Internet-Breaking WAP Video |url=https://www.bet.com/article/0urnny/cardi-b-wears-leopard-print-and-pasties-in-wap-video |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141456/https://www.bet.com/style/fashion/2020/08/07/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-fashion.html |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=August 8, 2020 |website=BET}}{{cite web|title=Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion Release 'WAP' Music Video|url=https://www.papermag.com/cardi-megan-wap-2646922525.html|first=Sandra|last=Song|date=August 7, 2020|access-date=August 12, 2020|website=Paper}}]]

The video shows Cardi B and Megan walking through a colorful mansion.{{cite magazine |last1=Jones |first1=Marcus |title=Cardi B releases 'WAP,' her raunchy new comeback single with Megan Thee Stallion |url=https://ew.com/music/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-release-wap-song-music-video/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=August 7, 2020 |language=EN |date=August 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807064632/https://ew.com/music/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-release-wap-song-music-video/ |url-status=live }} Cardi B and Megan open the video in the mansion hallway, wearing custom dresses, opera gloves, and matching updos. During Cardi B's first verse they also appear in a snake-filled room. For this transition, the door knocker comes alive as a snake and eats the camera.{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdBs9UPs8SA |title=The Making Of Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP" Video With Colin Tilley |date=September 2, 2020 |author=Genius |publisher=YouTube |series=Framework}} Access date: July 4, 2022 The next scene shows both rappers in a green and purple room wearing matching bodysuits, composed of a corset bodice, mesh tights and sleeves, with Megan performing her first verse.

During a break in the music, Kylie Jenner strides down the hallway in a leopard-print bodysuit and cape. She opens the door to a leopard-themed room where Cardi B performs her second verse surrounded by leopards, wearing a matching bodysuit and pasties.{{cite web |url=https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a33542293/kylie-jenner-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-video/ |title=Cardi B And Megan Thee Stallion Release WAP Video And, Hey Kylie Jenner |last=Blair |first=Olivia |date=August 7, 2020 |website=Elle |access-date=January 23, 2024}} Megan appears in a white tiger-themed bathroom with white tigers around her.{{cite magazine |last1=Shaffer |first1=Claire |last2=Legaspi |first2=Althea |title=Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion Drop Steamy 'WAP' Video |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-1040732/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=August 7, 2020 |date=August 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807184132/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-1040732/ |url-status=live }} The two rappers reunite in a shallow pool for a choreographed scene. The video ends with cameos from Normani, Rosalía, Latto, Rubi Rose, and Sukihana.

Writing for Billboard, Trevor Anderson commented that the video "transformed from just a promotional clip into a pop-culture phenomenon".{{cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Trevor |title=Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Is One of the Most Dominant Hot 100 No. 1s of Last 30 Years |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8221656/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-dominant-hot-100-number-1-hits |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 8, 2020 |date=August 18, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=August 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829232112/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8221656/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-dominant-hot-100-number-1-hits }} Claire Shaffer and Althea Legaspi of Rolling Stone called the video "steamy" and "sensual". Chris Murphy of Vulture described the video as "very Dr. Seuss, but make it NSFW in a fun way".{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Chris |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Show Off Their Mansion, Drip in Video for 'WAP' |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/watch-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-music-video-for-wap.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809140708/https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/watch-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-music-video-for-wap.html |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}} In Complex, Brianna Holt commented, "the music video couldn't be more timely". She described the set as "a mansion full of women who are demonstrative of their sexual prowess". Writing for The Guardian, Dream McClinton deemed the video "unapologetic in celebrating the sensuality and sexuality of women", adding, "it isn't shy or coy, it's about the loud articulation of female desire for sex, as they want it, and it centres them as active participants with agency". Burr in The Boston Globe argued that the same adults "who are up in arms over Cardi B on YouTube today" due to the video's "in-your-face outrageousness" celebrated sexually charged music videos on MTV 30 years ago, questioning if people "forget the youthful yearning to be free" when they become parents. He further added that the reason why "the rococo visual matters" is that it shows what it looks like "when a woman of color takes charge, which is still taboo in many corners of this country".{{cite news |last1=Burr |first1=Ty |date=August 13, 2020 |title=Cardi B and a war over 'WAP' |language=en-us |newspaper=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/13/arts/cardi-b-war-over-wap/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141120/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/13/arts/cardi-b-war-over-wap/ |archive-date=September 24, 2020}}

Alyssa Rosenberg of The Washington Post described the video as "an ode to female sexual pleasure" that is among the most sexually explicit content she has ever seen in mainstream American popular culture, and opined that in a "weird year" like 2020 "a culture-war clash feels refreshingly normal".{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Alyssa |title=We could use a lot more pop culture like it |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/18/wap-is-completely-filthy-we-could-use-lot-more-pop-culture-like-it/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en-us |date=August 18, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141057/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/18/wap-is-completely-filthy-we-could-use-lot-more-pop-culture-like-it/ }} Micha Frazer-Carroll of The Independent deemed the "absurdist" video "ludicrously excessive but utterly hypnotic" that "feels as if it were taking place in an alternative universe".{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/wap-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-b1769487.html|title=That's a WAP: How the Cardi B anthem captured the spirit of 2020|first=Micha|last=Frazer-Carroll|date=December 11, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2021|work=The Independent}} In IndieWire, Leonardo Adrian Garcia considered it "a mix of Hype Williams and Tim Burton by way of the strip club", further adding that "it's a video that demands one’s attention" and "deserves praise" despite the "lightning rod for very dumb controversy" that generated.{{cite web |last1=Greene |first1=Steve |last2=Garcia |first2=Leonardo Adrian |date=December 15, 2020 |title=The Best Music Videos of 2020 |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/best-music-videos-2020-1234604041/ |access-date=January 30, 2021 |work=IndieWire}}

Writing for Pitchfork, Eric Torres called the music video "easily one of the best of the year", deeming it "a vibrant display of self-empowerment that could only come from two of rap's most brazenly sex-positive voices".{{cite web |author=Torres, Eric |title=The 7 Best Music Videos of August 2020 |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/7-best-music-videos-of-august-2020-cardi-b-fka-twigs-sufjan-stevens/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=September 3, 2020 |language=en-us |date=September 3, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141050/https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/7-best-music-videos-of-august-2020-cardi-b-fka-twigs-sufjan-stevens/ }} In Complex, Jessica McKinney stated that the video created "an inescapable pop culture moment" that "completely dominated the conversation" with "vivid imagery, glamorous costumes, trippy effects, and dynamic choreography", further adding that it "set the standard for quality videos in 2020, calling for other artists to put more thought and effort into their visuals as we move into the new year".

File:Kylie Jenner Complex.png (pictured in 2017) appears in the music video.]]

Fan reactions to Kylie Jenner's cameo in the video were negative.{{cite web |last=Bailey |first=Alyssa |title=Twitter Is Thrilled to See Normani (Not Kylie Jenner) in Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Music Video |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a33544593/cardi-b-wap-kylie-jenner-normani-twitter-reactions/ |website=Elle |access-date=August 9, 2020 |date=August 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809210601/https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a33544593/cardi-b-wap-kylie-jenner-normani-twitter-reactions/ |url-status=live }} Many social media users expressed displeasure with her appearance in a video whose cast mainly consisted of Black women, especially considering her history of alleged cultural appropriation.{{cite web |last1=Song |first1=Sandra |date=August 8, 2020 |title=There's a Petition to Remove Kylie Jenner From Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Video |url=https://www.papermag.com/wap-kylie-petition-2646923289.html |access-date=August 9, 2020 |website=Paper |language=en}} Cardi B later explained that she put Jenner in the video because Jenner was a close friend of hers, saying, "Not everything is about race."{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Isobel |title=Cardi B responds after fans petition for Kylie Jenner to be removed from 'WAP' video |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/cardi-b-wap-video-kylie-jenner-petition-megan-thee-stallion-normani-a9662586.html |website=The Independent |access-date=August 15, 2020 |language=en |date=August 10, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141107/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/cardi-b-wap-video-kylie-jenner-petition-megan-thee-stallion-normani-a9662586.html |url-status=live }} Co-creative director Patientce Foster was asked about a Change.org petition that called for Jenner to be removed from the music video, and she called it "bullshit".

Tiger King star and Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin spoke out against the use of big cats in the video. In a statement for Billboard, she added that the video promotes wealthy individuals owning tigers as pets. "That makes every ignorant follower want to imitate by doing the same", said Baskin, adding that "they probably dealt with one of the big cat pimps, who makes a living from beating ... cats to make them stand on cue in front of a green screen in a studio."{{cite magazine |last1=Iasimone |first1=Ashley |title=Carole Baskin Bashes Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'Lurid' Music Video for 'WAP' & 'Big Cat Pimps' |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9431547/carole-baskin-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-video |magazine=Billboard |access-date=9 August 2020 |date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809025249/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9431547/carole-baskin-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-video |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Coleman II |first1=C. Vernon |date=8 August 2020 |title=Tiger King Star Carole Baskin Says Cardi B's "Wap" Video Abused Big Cats |url=https://www.xxlmag.com/carole-baskin-cardi-b-wap-video/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809070817/https://www.xxlmag.com/carole-baskin-cardi-b-wap-video/ |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=9 August 2020 |website=XXL |language=en}} Cardi B responded in an interview with Vice, saying "I'm not gonna engage with Carole Baskin on that ... Like, that's just ridiculous, you know? ... Like, girl you killed your goddamn husband."{{cite web |last1=Lanigan |first1=Roisin |date=13 August 2020 |title=Cardi B: "The conservatives keep talking and the numbers keep going up" |url=https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/ep4kq4/cardi-b-onlyfans-wap-2020-interview |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141512/https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/ep4kq4/cardi-b-onlyfans-wap-2020-interview |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=13 August 2020 |website=Vice |language=EN}} Representatives from PETA similarly took issue with the use of big cats in the video, saying in another statement to Billboard, "if real animals were used instead of computer-generated imagery, the message sent is that animal exploitation is Okurrr—and it isn't. If Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion really care about pussy liberation, they wouldn't use suffering big cats as props."{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Sam |title=PETA respond to use of big cats in Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' video |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/peta-respond-to-use-of-big-cats-in-cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-wap-video-2725258 |website=NME |access-date=August 15, 2020 |date=August 11, 2020 |archive-date=August 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819213536/https://www.nme.com/news/music/peta-respond-to-use-of-big-cats-in-cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-wap-video-2725258 |url-status=live }}

"WAP" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, garnering Cardi B her fourth chart-topper in the US, extending her record as the female rapper with the most number-one singles. It was Megan's second number-one single. Cardi B became the only female rapper to achieve Hot 100 number-one singles in two different decades (2010s and 2020s).{{cite web|author=BW Staff|date=August 18, 2020|title=Cardi B Makes History with New Single, "WAP"|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Cardi-B-Makes-History-with-New-Single-WAP-20200817|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828083413/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Cardi-B-Makes-History-with-New-Single-WAP-20200817|archive-date=August 28, 2020|access-date=August 18, 2020|website=BroadwayWorld|language=en}} "WAP" became the first female rap collaboration to debut at number one on the Hot 100.{{cite magazine |title=Revealed: Billboard's 2020 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players — In A Year of Activism |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/billboard-rb-hip-hop-power-players-list-2020-9481918/ |magazine=Billboard |quote="WAP," the first female rap collaboration to debut atop the Hot 100}}. Access date: July 4, 2022 The song was driven by 93 million streams, 125,000 downloads and 11.6 million radio airplay impressions. As the song topped the Digital Song Sales and Streaming Songs charts, it became Cardi B's fourth chart-topper on the former, Cardi B's third on the latter, and Megan's second on both.

The 93 million streaming total became the largest number of first-week streams in Billboard history and of weekly streams in 2020. "WAP" generated the most weekly on-demand U.S. audio streams among songs by female artists, with 54.7 million streams, during the best sales week for a song since Taylor Swift's "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie.

"WAP" became the first song to spend its first two weeks at number one on the Hot 100 since Ariana Grande's "7 Rings". In between those chart-toppers, eight songs debuted at number one, each spending a single week at the summit. Of the 42 songs that have entered the chart at number one since the Hot 100 started in 1958, 19 including "WAP" remained on top in their second weeks. "WAP" also became the first song among female artists to lead the Hot 100 for multiple weeks since Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You".{{Cite magazine|last=Trust|first=Gary|date=August 24, 2020|title=Cardi B's 'WAP' Tops Billboard Hot 100 for Second Week; Drake, Morgan Wallen & Gabby Barrett Hit Top 10|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9439074/cardi-b-wap-billboard-hot-100-second-week-drake|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824182012/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9439074/cardi-b-wap-billboard-hot-100-second-week-drake|archive-date=August 24, 2020|access-date=August 24, 2020|magazine=Billboard}} For the chart issue dated September 26, "WAP" achieved a fourth non-consecutive week atop the chart.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9452973/cardi-b-wap-number-one-fourth-week-hot-100|title=Cardi B's 'WAP' Tops Billboard Hot 100 for Fourth Week, The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Makes History in Top Five|magazine=Billboard|last=Trust|first=Gary|date=September 21, 2020|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=September 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921184506/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9452973/cardi-b-wap-number-one-fourth-week-hot-100|url-status=live}}

"WAP" also reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, marking Cardi B's fifth number-one entry on the former and fourth on the latter, and Megan's second on both.{{Cite magazine|last=Trust|first=Gary|date=August 17, 2020|title=Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 With Record First-Week Streams|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9435213/cardi-bs-wap-debuts-no-1-hot-100|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817175513/http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9435213/cardi-bs-wap-debuts-no-1-hot-100|archive-date=August 17, 2020|access-date=August 17, 2020|magazine=Billboard}} Billboard called the song "one of the most dominant Hot 100 number ones of the last 30 years".

"WAP" debuted at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, becoming Cardi B's second chart-topper and Megan's first. It spent four non-consecutive weeks atop the chart.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100/2020-09-19|title=Canadian Hot 100|magazine=Billboard|date=September 15, 2020|access-date=September 15, 2020|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141218/https://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100/2020-09-19|url-status=live}} It was the most streamed song of 2020 in the U.S. by a female artist, with 732.7 million on-demand streams, ranking sixth among all.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9508037/mrc-data-2020-recap/|title=Lil Baby's 'My Turn' Is MRC Data's Top Album of 2020, Roddy Ricch's 'The Box' Most-Streamed Song|first=Keith|last=Caulfield|date=January 7, 2021|access-date=January 31, 2021|magazine=Billboard}} In the US, Cardi B has achieved three times the best-performing song of the year by a female artist—the only act to do so this century—with "WAP" (2020) joining "Bodak Yellow" (2017) and "I Like It" (2018).{{cite web |title=Cardi B Becomes Only Female Artist To Have Three Top-Selling Songs Of The Year In Total Units In The US This Century |url=https://www.hip-hopvibe.com/2021/01/09/cardi-b-becomes-only-female-artist-to-have-three-top-selling-songs-of-the-year-in-total-units-in-the-us-this-century/ |access-date=July 4, 2022 |work=Vibe Hip Hop|date=January 9, 2021 }}

In Australia, "WAP" became the third hip hop song by female artists to top the ARIA Singles Chart, and the first since 1992.{{Cite magazine|last=Brandle|first=Lars|date=August 24, 2020|title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Hits No. 1 In Australia|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9438835/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallions-wap-no-1-australia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824122451/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9438835/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallions-wap-no-1-australia|archive-date=August 24, 2020|access-date=August 24, 2020|magazine=Billboard}} It spent six weeks atop the chart, becoming the longest-running number-one song by a female hip hop artist.{{Cite web|date=September 26, 2020|title=Cardi B's WAP notches sixth week atop ARIA Singles Chart|url=https://www.aria.com.au/charts/news/cardi-bs-wap-notches-sixth-week-atop-aria-singles-chart|access-date=September 26, 2020|website=ARIA}}

In the United Kingdom, "WAP" debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart's August 14 – 20, 2020, weekly chart. During its fourth consecutive week on the chart (September 4 – 10), the song reached number one―becoming both artists' first song to top the charts in Britain and the first female rap collaboration to do so.{{Cite web |title=Official Singles Chart Top 100 {{!}} Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704182731/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/ |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |access-date=September 4, 2020 |website= |publisher=Official Charts Company |language=en}} The song spent three weeks at the top of the chart.{{Cite web|title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion hold at Number 1 for a second week on Official Singles Chart with WAP|first=George|last=Griffiths|date=September 11, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2021|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-hold-at-number-1-for-a-second-week-on-official-singles-chart-with-wap__30966/|url-status=live|publisher=Official Charts Company|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141159/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-hold-at-number-1-for-a-second-week-on-official-singles-chart-with-wap__30966/}}

In Europe, the song reach the top ten in Denmark, in Hungary and in Portugal, top twenty in Belgium, in Netherlands and in Germany, top thirty in France and top forty in Italy."Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion – Wap" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 27, 2020."Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion – Wap" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved September 11, 2020

"Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion – WAP" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved September 11, 2020

The song became the first number-one single for both artists on the Republic of Ireland's Irish Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at the top.{{Cite web|date=September 18, 2020|title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's WAP makes it three weeks at UK Number 1|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallions-wap-makes-it-three-weeks-at-uk-number-1__31010/|first=Helen|last=Ainsley|access-date=January 31, 2021|url-status=live|publisher=Official Charts Company|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141217/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallions-wap-makes-it-three-weeks-at-uk-number-1__31010/}}

"WAP" debuted at number two on the Official New Zealand Music Chart, peaking at the top of the chart the following week, becoming Cardi B's second chart-topper and Megan's first chart-topper. It remained atop the chart for six weeks.{{cite web|title=NZ Top 40 Singles Chart 28 SEPTEMBER 2020|url=https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=4940|website=Official NZ Music Charts|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|access-date=January 31, 2021}}

The music video for "WAP" broke the record for the most views within 24 hours for a female collaboration, with over 26.5 million views. Cardi B was ranked at number one on Bloomberg's August 2020 Pop Star Power Ranking due to the success of "WAP".{{Cite web|author=Shaw, Lucas|date=September 9, 2020|title=Cardi B's Sexy 'WAP' Rides Controversy to the Top|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/pop-star-ranking/2020-september/cardi-b-s-sexy-wap-rides-controversy-to-the-top.html|url-status=live|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=Bloomberg|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141128/https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/pop-star-ranking/2020-september/cardi-b-s-sexy-wap-rides-controversy-to-the-top.html}}

The song charted at number one on Billboard{{'}}s Global 200—with 100.9 million global streams and 23,000 global downloads—and number three on its Global Excl. U.S. during the inaugural week of both charts (September 4, 2020).{{cite magazine |last1=Trust |first1=Gary |title=Cardi B's 'WAP' & Maluma's 'Hawai' Rule Inaugural Billboard Global 200 & Global Excl. U.S. Charts |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9448316/cardi-b-wap-maluma-hawai-rule-first-billboard-global-charts |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 14, 2020 |language=en |date=September 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141125/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9448316/cardi-b-wap-maluma-hawai-rule-first-billboard-global-charts |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Curto |first1=Justin |date=September 14, 2020 |title=What Are Billboard's New Global Charts and How Do They Work? |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/09/billboard-global-charts-explained.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915081150/https://www.vulture.com/2020/09/billboard-global-charts-explained.html |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=September 14, 2020 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}} It topped the Global 200 chart for three non-consecutive weeks.{{cite magazine |last1=Trust |first1=Gary |title=Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' and BTS' 'Dynamite' Lead Latest Billboard Global Charts |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9460438/cardi-b-wap-bts-dynamite-lead-latest-global-charts/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=October 5, 2020 |language=en |date=September 21, 2020 }}

The COVID-19 pandemic forestalled live performances of "WAP" after its release.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/cardi-b-wap-megan-thee-stallion-tours-festivals-coronavirus-9445460/ |title=Cardi B Wishes She Could Perform 'WAP' for Large Crowds: 'I Miss Shows and Festivals' |last=Peters |first=Mitchell |date=September 5, 2020 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 1, 2024}} It was first performed by Megan Thee Stallion as part of a Tidal Live stream on August 29, 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/brianna-holt/megan-thee-stallion-live-stream-show-review |title=Megan Thee Stallion's 'First Day Back' Was a Triumph |last=Holt |first=Brianna |date=August 31, 2020 |website=Complex |access-date=January 18, 2024}}

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion performed it together for the first time at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, airing on CBS on March 14, 2021.{{cite web |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/qk73c2/wap-grammys-megan-thee-stallion-cardi-b |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202183344/https://www.mtv.com/news/qk73c2/wap-grammys-megan-thee-stallion-cardi-b |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 2, 2022 |title=Cardi B And Megan Thee Stallion's Grammys 'WAP' Debut Came With A Warning |date=March 14, 2021 |publisher=MTV News |access-date=January 1, 2024}} Grammys host Trevor Noah prefaced the performance with, "If you have small children in the room, just tell them it's a song about giving a cat a bath".{{cite web |last=Parker |first=Lyndsey |date=March 15, 2021 |title=Grammys 2021 highs and lows: Semicensored 'WAP,' Silk Sonic's debut, Eddie Van Halen's snub and more |url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/grammy-2021-highs-and-lows-a-semi-censored-wap-silk-sonics-debut-eddie-van-halens-snub-and-more-081428456.html |access-date=March 17, 2021 |website=Yahoo!}} The show featured a large shoe whose stiletto heel functioned as a dance pole, as well as a giant bed used as a platform by the rappers and their backup dancers. The chorus—replaced in censored versions with "wet and gushy"—was changed to "wet, wet, wet".

Billboard ranked it as the best performance of the ceremony, commenting that "this had to be one of the most insane television debut performances of all time."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/9540641/2021-grammys-performances-ranked/|title=All the 2021 Grammys Performances, Ranked|magazine=Billboard|first=Heran|last=Mamo|date=March 15, 2021|access-date=March 15, 2021}} Music critic Jon Caramanica called the performance "wildly and charmingly salacious, frisky and genuine in a way that the Grammys has rarely if ever made room for".{{cite web |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |last2=Caramanica |first2=Jon |last3=Coscarelli |first3=Joe |last4=Zoladz |first4=Lindsay |last5=Ganz |first5=Caryn |date=March 15, 2021 |title=The Best and Worst of the 2021 Grammy Awards |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/arts/music/best-worst-grammys.html |access-date=March 17, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} In 2022, Rolling Stone listed it among the 25 "greatest Grammy performances of all time", the only female rap act on the list.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/25-classic-grammy-awards-performances-16078/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-up-wap-2021-1331452/|title=The 25 Greatest Grammy Performances of All Time|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=April 2, 2022|accessdate=April 2, 2022|archive-date=April 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402203832/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/25-classic-grammy-awards-performances-16078/cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallion-up-wap-2021-1331452/|url-status=dead}} The Federal Communications Commission received a large number of viewer complaints about the broadcast (see {{Section link||Broadcast controversy}}).

When Megan performed the song in her 2021 Lollapalooza set, a recording of ASL interpreter Kelly Kurdi went viral online. Kurdi's interpretation, originally created by dancer Raven Sutton, used expressive gestures to represent the song's lyrics about gagging and choking.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-08-03/megan-thee-stallion-wap-asl-interpreter-tiktok |title=ASL performer goes viral with 'WAP,' says concert interpreters 'shouldn't be shocking' |last=Carras |first=Christi |date=August 3, 2021 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 17, 2024}} Cardi B and Megan reunited during the former's set at the 2022 Wireless Festival in London, for their first live performance together since the Grammys.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-wireless-festival-1380374/ |title=Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion Reunite Onstage to Bring 'WAP' to Wireless Festival |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=July 9, 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=January 1, 2024}}

"WAP" became one of the most sexually explicit songs ever to top the U.S. chart,{{Cite web |last=Ben |first=Sisario

|author-link=Ben Sisario |date=August 17, 2020 |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's Raunchy 'WAP' Rockets to No. 1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/17/arts/music/cardi-b-wap-billboard.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141114/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/17/arts/music/cardi-b-wap-billboard.html |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=August 17, 2020 |website=The New York Times}}{{cite web |last=Dessem |first=Matthew |date=August 25, 2020 |title=The Dirtiest Hot 100 No. 1s of All Time Before "WAP" |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/08/wap-dirtiest-songs-all-time-hot-100-number-1.html |access-date=January 31, 2021 |work=Slate}} and the ensuing moral panic about its subject matter contributed to its popularity.{{cite web |url=https://genius.com/a/top-hip-hop-song-2020 |title=Looking Back At The Top Hip-Hop Song Of 2020 On Genius |last=Partridge |first=Ken |date=November 24, 2023 |publisher=Genius |access-date=January 22, 2024}} In an article for The Independent about what the song's commercial achievement says about the changing shape of the music industry, Micha Frazer-Carroll stated that "the undeniable smash of the year captured the spirit of 2020". Nick Levine of the BBC stated that the song's success as a "celebration of female sexual agency" creates space for many more female artists "to write unselfconsciously about what they want".{{cite web |last=Levine |first=Nick |date=November 19, 2020 |title=The best albums and songs of 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201119-the-best-albums-and-songs-of-2020 |access-date=January 29, 2021 |work=BBC}} In The Wall Street Journal, Neil Shah considered the song "a big moment for female rappers" and "a historic sign that women artists are making their mark on hip-hop like never before".{{Cite web |last=Shah |first=Neil |date=August 17, 2020 |title=Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion Top the Charts in Big Moment for Female Rappers |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-top-the-charts-in-big-moment-for-female-rappers-11597700847 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141114/https://www.wsj.com/articles/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-top-the-charts-in-big-moment-for-female-rappers-11597700847 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=August 17, 2020 |website=The Wall Street Journal}} Complex called the song "the epitome of female empowerment." in which the women featured are "unapologetically themselves." Carl Lamarre of Billboard stated that the song's success has "a deeper significance", describing it as "a clever Trojan horse for the myriad ways Cardi B influences the culture with every move she makes".{{cite magazine |last=Lamarre |first=Carl |date=December 2, 2020 |title=Billboard Woman of the Year Cardi B: 'I Like Justice. But I Also Like Popping My P*ssy' |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/women-in-music/9492018/cardi-b-woman-of-the-year-billboard-cover-story-interview-2020/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 31, 2021}} Complex staff named it the song "that had the most pure impact" in 2020, with it being an "empowering anthem" largely because is "a record-breaking song performed by two Black women". Rolling Stone staff commented that the public outrage from conservative figures contributed to the song's "pop-cultural impact".

The song was particularly popular on TikTok, where it was treated as light-hearted blue humor instead of a battleground for a culture war. Teenagers and young adults played "WAP" for their parents and recorded their reactions to post online. A viral dance for the song, choreographed by Brian Esperon, involved high kicks and spins before dry humping the ground.{{cite news |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Caramanica |date=August 31, 2020 |title=A Song Titillates In a TikTok World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/arts/music/wap-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-ppcocaine.html |work=The New York Times |page=C1 |access-date=January 22, 2024}} Several people injured themselves while attempting the difficult dance moves, prompting Cardi B to issue a warning.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/09/viral-tiktok-challenges-putting-aspiring-dancers-at-risk-of-injury |title=Viral TikTok challenges putting aspiring dancers 'at risk of injury' |last=MacSwan |first=Anna |date=July 9, 2022 |website=The Guardian |access-date=January 18, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/08/24/cardi-b-wap-dance-injuries-moos-vpx.cnn |title=Even Cardi B struggled to master this routine to 'WAP' |last=Moos |first=Joanne |author-link=Jeanne Moos |date=August 24, 2020 |publisher=CNN |access-date=January 18, 2024}} A remix set to the 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera{{'}}s main theme was shared on TikTok, where Andrew Lloyd Webber, the musical's composer, posted a video playing the piano to it.{{cite magazine |last1=Skinner |first1=Tom |title="Phantom of the WAPera": Andrew Lloyd Webber shares remix of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/phantom-of-the-wapera-andrew-lloyd-webber-shares-remix-of-cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallions-wap-2742514 |access-date=8 February 2025 |magazine=NME |date=1 September 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Dawson |first1=Brit |title=4 thoughts on Andrew Lloyd-Webber's bizarre, operatic 'WAP' remix |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/50313/1/4-thoughts-on-andrew-lloyd-webber-operatic-wap-remix-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion |website=Dazed |access-date=September 4, 2020 |language=en |date=September 1, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141146/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/50313/1/4-thoughts-on-andrew-lloyd-webber-operatic-wap-remix-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion |url-status=live }} Within a month of "WAP"'s release, it had been used in over a million TikToks, and it ended the year as one of the app's most popular audio tags.

In an interview with Far Out, rapper CeeLo Green characterized the song as "salacious gesturing to kinda get into position", facing public backlash and later issuing an apology for his comments.{{Cite web |date=2020-08-14 |title=Wait, What: The Week in 'WAP' |url=https://www.gq.com/story/the-week-in-wap |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=GQ |language=en-US}} Snoop Dogg discussed the song in an interview where he remarked, "That should be a possession that no one gets to know about until they know about it."{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Sam |date=2020-12-14 |title=Snoop Dogg responds to backlash over his criticism of 'WAP' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/snoop-dogg-responds-to-backlash-over-his-criticism-of-wap-2838351 |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Cardi B's husband Offset responded that he and Snoop both talk about similar subjects in their work,{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/offset-defends-cardi-b-wap-snoop-dogg-criticism-9498882/ |title=Offset Responds After Snoop Dogg Criticizes Cardi B's 'WAP': 'We Should Uplift Our Women' |last=Chan |first=Anna |date=December 13, 2020 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 18, 2024}} and Snoop walked back his comments after public backlash, expressing support for both Cardi B and Megan. Musicians Christina Aguilera, Azealia Banks, Halsey, Debbie Harry, JoJo, and Remy Ma spoke in support of the song.{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/blondie-garbage-uk-tour-2021-tickets-interview-debbie-harry-wap-2791179 | title=Blondie''s Debbie Harry on their 2021 UK tour with Garbage and how she wishes she'd written 'WAP' |last=Ryan |first=Gary |date=October 20, 2020 |website=NME |access-date=January 22, 2024}}

On October 22, 2022, Madonna marked the 30th anniversary of the publication of her coffee table book Sex, contemplating its impact on modern pop culture. In an Instagram story, Madonna claimed that she paved the way for "WAP" (as well as Kim Kardashian's 2014 Paper cover and Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" music video), concluding it with {{sic|"You're welcome bitches …….🤡"}}.{{cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/madonna-takes-sex-victory-lap-disses-cardi-b-in-the-process |title=Madonna Takes Sex Victory Lap, Disses Cardi B in the Process |date=October 23, 2022 |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=Vanity Fair |first=Jordan |last=Hoffman}} Cardi B took offense and tweeted a day later that "these icons really become disappointments once [you] make it in the industry."{{cite web| url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/madonna-reflects-on-sex-book-reaction-30-years-on-now-cardi-b-can-sing-about-her-wap-3334139 |title=Cardi B responds to Madonna saying her work paved the way for 'WAP' |website=NME |date=October 23, 2022 |access-date=October 23, 2022 |first=Charlotte |last=Krol}} However, later that day she deleted the tweets, and claimed she had talked to Madonna and that it had been "beautiful".{{cite web |url=https://www.etonline.com/cardi-b-says-she-had-beautiful-talk-with-madonna-following-social-media-shade-193160 |title=Cardi B Says She Had 'Beautiful' Talk With Madonna Following Social Media Shade |website=Entertainment Tonight |date=October 23, 2022 |access-date=October 23, 2022 |first=Tionah |last=Lee}} "Weird Al" Yankovic included the song (with humorous sound effects censoring some lyrics) for his 2024 polka medley "Polkamania!".

"WAP" was criticized by many social conservatives in the United States, who claimed that the song was offensive and prurient and that it would cause harm to American culture and society. James P. Bradley, a health industry executive and Republican politician, wrote, "Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion are what happens when children are raised without God and without a strong father figure", adding that the song made him want to "pour holy water" in his ears.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=August |date=August 7, 2020 |title=California congressional candidate slams Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-08-07/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-congressional-candidate-james-bradley |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807221342/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-08-07/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-congressional-candidate-james-bradley |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |access-date=August 8, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times}} DeAnna Lorraine, also a California Republican, said the song set "the entire female gender back by 100 years" and that rappers were "completely wrong" if they thought the song does "anything to empower women."{{Cite web |last=Holt |first=Brianna |date=August 2020 |title=Why Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's Empowering Anthem "WAP" Is So Important |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-essay |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=Complex |language=en |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809160050/https://www.complex.com/music/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-essay |url-status=dead }} Angela Stanton-King, the Republican candidate in Georgia's 5th congressional district, suggested that the song supported organ harvesting from aborted fetal tissue.

Defenders of the song claimed that critics mischaracterized the artists. August Brown of the Los Angeles Times wrote that, contrary to Bradley's comments, Megan "did indeed have a strong father figure" and Cardi B "is no stranger to faith". Social media users accused Lorraine of hypocrisy for using the language of women's advocacy to denigrate a song created by two women.{{cite web |last1=Mahadevan |first1=Tara C. |date=August 7, 2020 |title=Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Fans Drag GOP Politicians for Criticizing "WAP" |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-fans-drag-gop-politicians-criticizing-wap |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141017/https://www.complex.com/music/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-fans-drag-gop-politicians-criticizing-wap |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=August 8, 2020 |website=Complex |language=en}}

Megan Thee Stallion responded personally to Lorraine's comments in an interview with GQ, mocking Lorraine for having "literally had to go listen to this song in its entirety". She went on to say that critics of the song, including Lorraine, must not have "WAP" themselves.{{Cite magazine|last=Davis|first=Allison P.|date=December 1, 2021|title=The Year of Thee Stallion: Inside the Exuberant and Empowering Rise of Megan Thee Stallion—the Irreverent and Magnetic Rap Sensation Who's Here to Stay|url=https://www.gq.com/story/megan-thee-stallion-rapper-of-the-year-2020|magazine=GQ|page=74}}

File:Ben Shapiro (49290901162) (cropped).jpg (pictured in 2019) was widely mocked for his sarcastic reading of the lyrics to "WAP".{{Cite magazine |last1=Mamo |first1=Heran |date=August 10, 2020 |title=Ben Shapiro Reads the Censored Lyrics to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' & He Can't Handle It |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/ben-shapiro-reads-censored-wap-lyrics-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-9432034/ |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |access-date=July 4, 2022}}]]

Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro criticized the song's message in a widely seen video in which he recited the song's lyrics, many of which he self-censored with euphemisms such as "wet-ass p-word". He sarcastically stated that "this is what feminism fought for".{{cite web |last1=Colburn |first1=Randall |date=August 10, 2020 |title=Watch, if you dare, Ben Shapiro drain every drop of sexuality out of "WAP" |url=https://www.avclub.com/watch-if-you-dare-ben-shapiro-drain-every-drop-of-sex-1844678800 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903202909/https://news.avclub.com/watch-if-you-dare-ben-shapiro-drain-every-drop-of-sex-1844678800 |archive-date=September 3, 2020 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-us}} Shapiro's video was mocked by multiple news outlets and fans of the song.{{cite web |last1=Stern |first1=Marlow |date=August 14, 2020 |title=Desus & Mero Clown on Ben Shapiro Over 'WAP' Criticism |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/desus-and-mero-clown-on-ben-shapiro-over-wap-criticism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814191818/https://www.thedailybeast.com/desus-and-mero-clown-on-ben-shapiro-over-wap-criticism |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}} Shapiro's comments, particularly his remarks on vaginal lubrication, were condemned as medically inaccurate by prominent gynecologists; many social media users also mocked the comment as a "self-own", implying that Shapiro was unfamiliar with vaginal lubrication due to an inability to sexually satisfy his wife.{{cite web |last1=Handler |first1=Rachel |date=August 11, 2020 |title=We Asked a Gyno About "WAP" |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/we-asked-a-gyno-about-wap.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141028/https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/we-asked-a-gyno-about-wap.html |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |last=Placido |first=Dani Di |title=The Mass Humiliation Of Ben Shapiro |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2020/08/11/the-importance-of-humiliating-ben-shapiro/ |access-date=August 13, 2020 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Arwa Mahdawi in The Guardian opined that Shapiro's reaction was proof that "women taking charge of their sexuality ... drives conservatives up the wall", and remarked that Shapiro "doesn't seem particularly well acquainted with female anatomy".{{cite web |last1=Mahdawi |first1=Arwa |date=August 15, 2020 |title=The WAP uproar shows conservatives are fine with female sexuality – as long as men control it |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/15/cardi-b-megan-thee-stalion-wap-conservatives-female-sexuality |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824132017/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/15/cardi-b-megan-thee-stalion-wap-conservatives-female-sexuality |archive-date=August 24, 2020 |access-date=August 23, 2020 |website=The Guardian}}

After Cardi B encouraged Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Representative for New York, to run for President, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted "Women Against Patriarchy (WAP) 2020".{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/16/politics/cardi-b-aoc-endorsement-trnd/index.html |title=Cardi B wants AOC to run for president. She didn't say no |last=Elassar |first=Alaa |date=August 16, 2020 |publisher=CNN |access-date=January 1, 2024}} Ryan Clancy, a county supervisor in Wisconsin, issued an apology after promoting the Weatherization Assistance Program with a "WAP" meme that read "There's some holes in this house!"{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/milwaukee-official-apologises-for-using-wap-to-promote-weatherization-assistance-program-2806684 |title=Milwaukee official apologises for using 'WAP' to promote 'Weatherization Assistance Program' |last=Richards |first=Will |date=November 1, 2020 |website=NME |access-date=January 19, 2024}} When Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, supporters took to singing "WAP" in front of the White House.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/cardi-b-woman-of-the-year-billboard-cover-story-interview-2020-9492018/ |title=Billboard Woman of the Year Cardi B: 'I Like Justice. But I Also Like Popping My P*ssy' |last=Lamarre |first=Carl |date=December 2, 2020 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 22, 2024}} During the ShutItAllDown demonstrations in Namibia, participants chanted the lyrics to "WAP", turning it into a protest anthem.{{cite journal |last1=Currier |first1=Ashley |last2=Winchester |first2=Erin |last3=Chien |first3=Emily |year=2021 |title=#MeToo Activism in Namibia: Sex-Positive Feminism and State Cooperation in the Fight to Stop Rape |journal=Feminist Formations |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=271–280|doi=10.1353/ff.2021.0049 |s2cid=245507131 }}

File:Glenn Grothman 117th Congress portrait (cropped).jpg (pictured in 2020) criticized the Federal Communications Commission for enabling "the moral decline of America".]]

When Cardi B and Megan performed "WAP" at the Grammys, the Federal Communications Commission received over 1,000 complaints about the broadcast.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-performance-grammys-fcc-complaints-1155254/ |title=The FCC Received Over 1,000 Complaints for Grammys 'WAP' Performance |last=Shaffer |first=Claire |date=April 13, 2021 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=January 1, 2024}} California Republican gubernatorial candidate Errol Webber objected to the performance, tweeting that Cardi B "chooses to do wrong by girating {{sic}} and scissoring her WAP on national TV... in view of other people's kids."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/cardi-b-snaps-back-california-republican-grammy-wap-performance-9543368/ |title=Cardi B Snaps Back at California Republican's Criticism of Grammys 'WAP' Performance: 'The Grammies Are PG' |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=March 19, 2021 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 1, 2024}} Conservative commentators Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens discussed the broadcast on Tucker Carlson Tonight, where Owens remarked, "We are weakening America… We are setting the stage, and it feels like…we are about to see the end of an empire."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/cardi-b-candace-owens-2021-grammys-wap-performance-fox-news-9541823/ |title=Cardi B Is Loving Candace Owens' Fox News Rant Over 'WAP' Grammy Performance |last=Mamo |first=Heran |date=March 16, 2021 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 1, 2024}} Cardi B facetiously celebrated appearing on Fox News, which escalated into an online dispute with Owens.{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/cardi-b-thanks-fox-1576648 |title=Cardi B Thanks Candace Owens for Complaining About 'WAP' on Fox News |last=Jackson |first=Jon |date=March 16, 2021 |website=Newsweek |access-date=January 1, 2024}}

The following month, Wisconsin Representative Glenn Grothman raised the subject on the floor of the House of Representatives, accusing the FCC of "utter complacency".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/cardi-b-blasts-congressman-wap-grammys-performance-complaint-9561262/ |title=Cardi B Blasts GOP Lawmaker For Complaining About Her Grammys Performance: 'This Gets Me So Mad' |last=Mamo |first=Heran |date=April 22, 2021 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 1, 2024}} Cardi B responded on social media, characterizing Grothman's speech as grandstanding and suggesting that justice would not be served in the police shooting of Jacob Blake due to inattention from politicians. Tony Evers, the Democratic governor of Wisconsin, commented during a news conference, "It just seems troubling that we're arguing about things like that… It just seems like there's a lot more important things to worry about."{{cite web |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/22/cardi-b-glenn-grothman-clash-over-wap-performance/7335951002/ |title=Cardi B, Glenn Grothman clash over 'WAP' performance |last=Beck |first=Molly |date=April 22, 2021 |website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |access-date=January 1, 2024}} Cardi B touches on the controversy in "Rumors", a 2021 collaboration with Lizzo where she raps "Last time I got freaky, the FCC sued me / But I'mma keep doing what I wanna do".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/cardi-b-recalls-wap-backlash-1235363724/ |title=Cardi B Recalls 'WAP' Backlash, Getting 'Almost Sued' by FCC |last=Aniftos |first=Rania |date=June 28, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 22, 2024}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| image1 = Safaree Icebox 2019 (cropped).jpg

| image2 = Plies (rapper).jpg

| footer = Rappers Safaree (left, pictured in 2019) and Plies (right, pictured in 2008) released remixes of "WAP". Safaree's remix was panned, while Plies' was positively received.

| total_width = 320

}}

On August 10, 2020, rapper Safaree released a remix of "WAP" called "B.A.D" (an acronym for "Big Ass Dick"). The cover art features Cardi B and Megan on both ends, with a woman (assumed to be his wife Erica Mena) performing simulated oral sex on him in the center. The remix was widely panned by fans on social media, many of whom found the remix to be poorly timed, considering how soon after the song's original release it came.{{cite web |title=Black Twitter Has Questions About Safaree's Remix To Cardi B And Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Collab |url=https://www.bet.com/article/ipb0oj/safaree-drops-remix-to-cardi-and-megan-s-wap-single |website=BET |access-date=August 21, 2020|date=August 11, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141129/https://www.bet.com/music/2020/08/11/safaree-bad-cardi-b-wap-remix.html |url-status=live }} The same day, dancehall singer Vybz Kartel released a freestyle remix while in prison, which was met with enthusiasm by Cardi B.{{cite web |last1=Darville |first1=Jordan |date=August 10, 2020 |title=Vybz Kartel shares remix of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP" |url=https://www.thefader.com/2020/08/10/vybz-kartel-shares-remix-of-cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallions-wap |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141130/https://www.thefader.com/2020/08/10/vybz-kartel-shares-remix-of-cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallions-wap |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=August 21, 2020 |website=The Fader |language=en}} Rapper Plies released a "P-Mix" to the song on August 14,{{cite web |last1=Saint-Vil |first1=Sweenie |date=August 13, 2020 |title=Plies teases "WAP" remix on social media |url=https://www.revolt.tv/news/2020/8/13/21368199/plies-teases-wap-remix-social-media |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141130/https://www.revolt.tv/news/2020/8/13/21368199/plies-teases-wap-remix-social-media |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=August 21, 2020 |website=Revolt |language=en}} to positive reception.{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Alexander |title=Plies Finds Himself Trending After Cardi B Promotes His "WAP" Remix |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/plies-finds-himself-trending-after-cardi-b-promotes-his-wap-remix-news.116032.html#title-comment-desktop |website=HotNewHipHop |access-date=August 21, 2020 |language=en |date=August 13, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141136/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/plies-finds-himself-trending-after-cardi-b-promotes-his-wap-remix-news.116032.html#title-comment-desktop |url-status=live }}

"WAP" has been reinterpreted in many styles, ranging from noise rock to an arrangement played on hollowed-out melons. Country singer Margo Price performed an acoustic rendition on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, as part of a segment on double standards about sex in music.{{cite magazine |last1=Aniftos |first1=Rania |title=Margo Price Breaks Down the Double Standard in Music by Covering Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/9434800/margo-price-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-cover |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 16, 2020 |language=en |date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141138/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/9434800/margo-price-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-cover |url-status=live }} Rolling Stone{{'}}s Claire Shaffer said of the cover, "Price puts her genuine all into the song, and it comes out sounding like a legitimate country ode to 'wet ass pussy.{{'"}}{{cite magazine |last1=Shaffer |first1=Claire |title=Margo Price Covers Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' on 'Daily Show' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/margo-price-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-the-daily-show-1044555/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=August 16, 2020 |language=en |date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141141/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/margo-price-cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-the-daily-show-1044555/ |url-status=live }} Rapper Qveen Herby released a baroque pop cover version of the song as a promotional single on August 20.{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Kyann-Sian |title=The weirdest covers of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' |url=https://www.nme.com/en_asia/blogs/wap-megan-thee-stallion-cardi-b-covers-biffy-clyro-2747649 |website=NME |access-date=September 26, 2020 |language=en |date=September 7, 2020}} Several metal artists have recorded covers, including popular multi-instrumentalist Leo Moracchioli,{{Cite web|url=https://metalinjection.net/video/the-metal-wap-cover-that-you-knew-was-inevitable-is-here|title=This Metal "WAP" Cover Proves That Cardi B Can Be Moshable|first=Corinne|last=Westbrook|date=September 27, 2020|website=Metal Injection}} with a music video posted to his YouTube channel. The video features a feline puppet taking a shower as an over-literal interpretation of the title.

YouTube parody artist Lardi B posted a food-based parody of the song, changing the acronym from "Wet-Ass Pussy" to "Wings and Pizza", on August 14.{{cite web |last1=Morillo |first1=Alexis |title=A Kid-Friendly Version Of 'WAP' Exists And It Raps About Wings And Pizza |url=https://www.delish.com/food-news/a34149377/youtuber-wap-parody-wings-pizza/ |website=Delish |access-date=September 26, 2020 |date=September 24, 2020}} Drag queens Lady Bunny and Flotilla DeBarge released a parody of the song, entitled "DAP" (or "Dry-Ass Pussy"), on August 28.{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Michael |title=New York City Legends Lady Bunny & Flotilla DeBarge Present Their Take On 'WAP' |url=https://instinctmagazine.com/new-york-city-legends-lady-bunny-flotilla-debarge-present-their-take-on-wap/ |website=Instinct Magazine |access-date=September 26, 2020 |language=en |date=September 1, 2020}} UK rock band Biffy Clyro performed a cover of the song for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on September 3, 2020.{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Tom |title=Watch Biffy Clyro cover Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-biffy-clyro-cover-cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallions-wap-2744393 |website=NME |access-date=September 4, 2020 |date=September 3, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141147/https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-biffy-clyro-cover-cardi-b-and-megan-thee-stallions-wap-2744393 |url-status=live }} Before the Christmas season, students from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health created a "WAmP: Wear A mask Please" parody, encouraging the wearing of masks to reduce COVID transmission.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/cardi-b-approves-johns-hopkins-mask-wap-parody-9503398/ |title=Cardi B Gives Thumbs-Up to Johns Hopkins Pro-Masking 'WAP' Parody |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=December 21, 2020 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 18, 2024}}

The 2023 film Joy Ride includes a cover of the song by actors Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu. In the scene, their characters create a distraction by pretending to be a newly formed K-pop group called Brownie Tuesday. They perform "WAP" as a large production number, which ends as Hsu's character accidentally exposes her genitals.{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/6292093/joy-ride-comedy-raunch/ |title=How Joy Ride Pulls Off a Delightfully Messy Mix of Raunch and Heart |last=Zornosa |first=Laura |date=July 6, 2023 |magazine=Time |access-date=January 18, 2024}}

"*" indicates an unordered list.

"WAP" notably was not submitted for Grammy consideration. In January 2023, Cardi B said on The Jason Lee Show that the reason was the potential reaction of the internet in case of her victory: "I was afraid that if I win or if I… You know what's so crazy? The internet got me even afraid of winning."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/cardi-b-didnt-submit-wap-grammy-consideration-internet-backlash-1235201379/|title=Cardi B Says She Didn't Submit 'WAP' For Grammy Consideration Because of the Internet: 'That Is Insane'|first=Gil|last=Kaufman|date=January 19, 2023|access-date=March 15, 2024|magazine=Billboard}}

Credits adapted from Tidal.{{cite web |title=WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) / Cardi B |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/151171706 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141148/https://listen.tidal.com/album/151171706 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=September 7, 2020 |website= |date=August 7, 2020 |publisher=Tidal |language=en}}

• Cardi B – vocals, songwriting
• Megan Thee Stallion – vocals, songwriting
• Ayo the Producer – production, songwriting
• Keyz – production, songwriting
• Pardison Fontaine – songwriting
• Frank Ski – songwriting
• Evan LaRay – engineering
• Shawn "Source" Jarrett – engineering
• Leslie Braithwaite – mixing
• Colin Leonard – mastering

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "WAP"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion|title=Wap|type=single|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=2020|certyear=2021|access-date=February 3, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Austria|artist=Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2022|access-date=April 5, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Belgium|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2020|access-date=December 5, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|artist=Cardi B|title=WAP|award=Diamond|number=2|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2022|access-date=August 9, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Cardi B|title=WAP|award=Platinum|number=7|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2023|access-date=February 27, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|award=Platinum|relyear=2020|certyear=2022|id=11263|access-date=May 3, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|artist=Cardi B|title=WAP feat. Megan Thee Stallion|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2021|access-date=May 9, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Cardi B feat. Meghan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2021|access-date=December 2, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|title=WAP|artist=Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion|award=Platinum|relyear=2020|certyear=2021|certweek=24|id=8588|access-date=June 21, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|award=Platinum|number=4|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=2024-12-25}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|type=single|artist=Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|award=Platinum|relyear=2020|certyear=2020|access-date=November 27, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Poland|artist=Cardi B|title=WAP|award=Platinum|number=3|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2021|certmonth=3|access-date=August 11, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Portugal|artist=Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|award=Platinum|number=2|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2022|id=file_2023-01-30-17-47-02.pdf|access-date=February 7, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|artist=Cardi B / Megan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2020|certyear=2024|id=cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap|access-date=March 10, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|artist=Cardi B ft Megan Thee Stallion|title=WAP|relyear=2020|certyear=2022|id=16670-5368-1|access-date=November 10, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|award=Platinum|number=8|artist=Cardi B|title=WAP|relyear=2020|certyear=2023|access-date=September 8, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

{{Div col}}

• List of Billboard Digital Song Sales number ones of 2020
• List of Billboard Global 200 number ones of 2020
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2020
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 2020s
• List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2020
• List of Billboard Streaming Songs number ones of 2020
• List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2020
• List of number-one singles of 2020 (Australia)
• List of number-one singles of 2020 (Ireland)
• List of top 10 singles in 2020 (Ireland)
• List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2020s
• List of UK top-ten singles in 2020

{{div col end}}

{{reflist|3}}

{{Cardi B}}

{{Megan Thee Stallion}}

{{BET Award for Video of the Year}}

{{Pitchfork}}

{{authority control}}

Category:2020 singles

Category:2020 songs

Category:Atlantic Records singles

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Billboard Global 200 number-one singles

Category:Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Cardi B songs

Category:Dirty rap songs

Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:Megan Thee Stallion songs

Category:Music video controversies

Category:Number-one singles in Australia

Category:Number-one singles in Greece

Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand

Category:Obscenity controversies in music

Category:Sex-positive feminism

Category:Song recordings produced by Ayo the Producer

Category:Song recordings produced by Keyz (producer)

Category:Songs involved in plagiarism controversies

Category:Songs with feminist themes

Category:Songs written by Cardi B

Category:Songs written by Megan Thee Stallion

Category:Songs written by Pardison Fontaine

Category:Songs written by Keyz (producer)

Category:Songs written by Ayo the Producer

Category:Songs written by Frank Ski

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles