How Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” Rewrote the Rules for Mainstream Radio
“Anaconda,” the sensual single from Nicki Minaj, walked the line of controversy so songs like “WAP” could run it.
Written by Josh Whalen
Photo courtesy of BET
“Certified freak, seven days a week,” Cardi B raps on her latest hit single, “WAP.” Ironically, these lyrics are among the least freaky lines in the song. “WAP," when broken down to its core elements, is one gigantic ode to good sex, dubbing an already unforgettable acronym into American slang. (In case you haven’t heard, it stands for wet ass p-ssy.) The song, which features fellow female rapper Megan Thee Stallion, received mixed reviews, with critics both praising the artists’ sex-positive spirit and denouncing the blatant and (in the opinion of some) unnecessary vulgarity.
The only thing more shocking than “WAP”’s lyrics might be its mainstream success. The song scored a record-breaking No. 1 debut in the U.S., and continues to gather acclaim and rack up sales. The “WAP Challenge” is going viral on TikTok, and the lavish music video has surpassed 13 million views since its August release earlier this year.
Dirty rap songs are nothing new, however. Sex has been a critical point of conversation since the conception of the rap and hip hop industry, but for so long, songs covering this theme have evaded the top spot on the charts and have been ostracized from the mainstream. That was before "Anaconda," the predecessor of "WAP."
The year was 2014, and pop culture already had its fair share of jaw-dropping moments. By August, the world saw the marriage of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Justin Bieber’s mugshot, and the steady rise of future pop titan Ariana Grande.
Nicki Minaj quietly dropped one of the most influential records of her career that same year: “Anaconda.” It was a risky move for a well-respected and successful rap artist. Minaj had built a name for herself with sugar-coated records like “Superbass” and “Starships," and already earned the favor of radio stations and her younger audiences. She was even nominated for a Teen Choice Award the year prior.
But the cheerful, poppy sound Minaj built her empire of 'Barbz' on was nowhere to be found in “Anaconda.” Instead, it was replaced with heavy beats, hip-hop samples, and hardcore rap verses about sex, drugs and more sex. Minaj held nothing back as she delivered the explicit lyrics, along with an equally explicit music video, which clocks in at almost five minutes of twerking and other suggestive dance moves.
“Anaconda” received more than its fair share of bad press, about as much as one would expect for a song with the lyrics, “p-ssy put his ass to sleep, now he calling me NyQuill.” National Review called the lines degrading, claiming Minaj was promoting “prostitution, drug abuse, and immorality to young girls.” A city in Israel even banned the scandalous single from promotion, and some critics went so far as to describe it as “the worst song ever." With early negative criticism, “Anaconda” seemed doomed to fail, but Minaj’s impressive sales numbers proved otherwise. Within its first week of release, “Anaconda” was downloaded more than 140,000 times across all digital platforms and debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video broke Vevo’s 24-hour streaming record with 19.6 million views, just barely edging out Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball," with 19.3 million.
By September, “Anaconda” skyrocketed to No. 2 on the Hot 100, making it Minaj’s most successful song at that time — a certified hit. This type of mainstream success was uncharted territory for a hip-hop song: tunes to the likes of "Anaconda" weren’t typically sent to Top 40 radio stations because they were considered “too dirty” or “not appropriate.” The pop-dominated genre of Top 40 radio had always been heralded as suitable for all ages. If a song was considered too inappropriate, it would be sent to a station with a smaller, more-niche audience.
“Anaconda” was different. It checked none of the boxes for a radio-ready hit that would appeal to everyone. For starters, it featured a wildly innapropriate chorus that wasn’t censored on the radio (leading to everyone from age 8 to 80 knowing the lyrics), strung together with two verses chock-full of blatant references to violence and sex. A sample of a 20-year-old Sir-Mix-a-Lot song stood as the chorus in place of an original one. Minaj herself didn’t expect "Anaconda" to rise up to the level of fame that it did — the track isn’t even the lead single from its album, The Pink Print.
Beyond the lyrics, Minaj’s production of "Anaconda" strays from the accepted formula for number one hits: generic, sugary pop beats with a message about positivity, love, or partying. In 2014, Minaj’s record stuck out like a sore thumb on the Billboard charts, sandwiched between Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” and Megan Trainor’s “All About That Bass." Explicit sound effects of whips cracking and dirty samples about attraction to girls with big butts were a no-go for songs wanting to reach the top of the charts. "Anaconda" was one of the few influential songs that broke the barrier, allowing new sounds and experimental beats to slip in and share success with the family audience.
It’s hard to imagine Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” succeeding with a pre-"Anaconda" radio audience. Perhaps it could have gained notoriety among underground audiences and club scenes, but it would have never seen the light of day with the mainstream public. Minaj did not invent dirty rap, however, she was the first artist to successfully sell it to a brand new demographic of radio listeners.
Today, Top 40 music is hardly appropriate for anyone under the age of 12. "Anaconda" served as a precursor for a change in music: an opportunity to highlight sexuality and body positivity through a less filtered lens. It reshaped the way many family audiences consumed their music, with many resorting to hand-selecting the music they listen to via streaming.
And that’s okay. Because that’s what Top 40 radio does. It evolves and moves from genre to genre, in turn shifting the public’s view on the media it consumes. “Anaconda” would never be thought of as a smashing success two decades ago, nor would it have stood a chance. But radio needs songs like these; they’re essential in progressing the ever-changing sound of popular music.