“Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap
When a male artist refers to the subject of one of his songs as a “queen”, it is pretty safe to assume that he is referring to his significant other. And such is in fact the case on this track. However it is the “trap” part which is of special interest and that makes this song unique in terms of its lyrical content.
You see a trap, as used within the context of this song, is actually a colloquial term for a trap house. And a trap house, succinctly put, is a place where people go to buy drugs – of the illegal variety of course. So the titular “trap queen” is in fact Fetty Wap’s sweetheart. But more to the point, she is also his partner in crime. In other words, he introduces her to dealing drugs, and eventually she develops the same goal he has, which is to make a lot of money slingin’. Indeed even if a listener misses the references to d**g dealing, which according to Fetty many of them have, they would still pick up on the fact that this song is largely themed on the acquisition of riches.
“Trap Queen” is Autobiographical
Other notable parts include Fetty giving a shoutout to his crew, the Remy Boyz 1738. And in the first verse you may notice he implies that his trap queen is also a stripper. However, such was not the case. In fact this song is based on a real-life lady that the rapper was dating at the time who did in fact partner with him in his monetary aspirations and held him down in general. And for the record, they have since gone their separate ways, and she has gone on to pursue more legitimate sources of income. However, being that Fetty has become a music superstar, he has made it his mission to support her even after they had broken up.
When did “Trap Queen” come out?
This track was officially released on 8 March 2014. The labels behind it are 300 Entertainment and RGF. And it is featured on Fetty Wap’s eponymous maiden album which came out in 2015. Moreover throughout 2014, a number of different versions of “Trap Queen” came out, including the one which was featured on Fetty’s mixtape “Up Next” even prior to his debut album.
Writing Credits
“Trap Queen” was written by Fetty Wap and Tony Fadd. Fadd also acted as the official producer of the track.
Success at the MTV Video Music Awards
The first time Fetty Wap performed “Trap Queen” on television (in addition to his first time being on TV in general) was in 2015. This performance actually happened on the 12th of April 2015 at the MTV Movie Awards. And he did so alongside Fall Out Boy.
And at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video to “Trap Queen” took home a trophy in the category of Artist to Watch.
Indeed despite being Fetty Wap’s first song, “Trap Queen” was a huge hit which put the artist on the map. In fact even heading into the third decade of the 21st century it remains the rapper’s signature tune, making him somewhat akin to a one-hit wonder.
“Trap Queen” was a Global Hit
“Trap Queen” was indeed a mega hit. For instance, it topped Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs and Rhythmic charts, in addition to scoring a number one on the UK R&B Chart. And it peaked at number 2 on the renowned Billboard Hot 100 (spending 25 straight weeks amongst the top 10). In Britain, it reached number 8.
In all, this hit charted in 15 nations. And it has been certified Platinum or better in six different countries. In fact as of 2020, “Trap Queen” achieved Diamond certification in the United States, meaning that it has sold at least 10,000,000 copies.
Moreover according to Nielson Music, it was the most on-demand streamed song (track and video combined) of 2015. And it was publicly acknowledged by other artists even more popular than Fetty Wap such as Kanye West, Chris Brown, Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Additionally a number of other musicians, such as Rick Ross, French Montana and Lil Kim, took it upon themselves to come out with their own remixes of “Trap Queen”.
And “Trap Queen” also earned Fetty Wap a couple of Grammy nominations in 2016.
Moreover prior to the song officially blowing up, “Trap Queen” first went viral on SoundCloud. In fact it had already been streamed a million times on that platform before it began being played on radio.
Fetty Wap Sings
It has been noted that most of this song is actually sung by Fetty Wap as opposed to being rapped. And interesting to note is that “Trap Queen” marks the very first time ever that Fetty experimented with singing. Moreover at the time of its composition, it was only the third song the artist had ever written.
Lawsuit
Both Fetty and Tony were sued by Lazar Lakic, a Danish musician, who claimed that he purchased the beat used on “Trap Queen” from Tony a year prior to the song’s release. He also claims that after “Trap Queen” blew up, the producer tried to buy the beat back, but Lazar refused to re-sell it. Accordingly, he wanted his share of the profits from the success of “Trap Queen” itself. And eventually Fetty did in fact settle the lawsuit with Lakic.
