Whats Poppin

Last updated
"Whats Poppin"
Jack Harlow - Whats Poppin.png
Single by Jack Harlow
from the EP Sweet Action and the album Thats What They All Say
ReleasedJanuary 21, 2020 (2020-01-21)
Recorded2019
Genre Hip hop, trap [1]
Length2:19
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Jack Harlow singles chronology
"Thru the Night"
(2019)		"Whats Poppin"
(2020)		"Moana"
(2020)
Music video
"Whats Poppin" on YouTube

"Whats Poppin" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper Jack Harlow, released as the lead single from his EP Sweet Action , by Generation Now and Atlantic Records on January 21, 2020. It was also included on his debut studio album, Thats What They All Say, along with its remix. It was produced by JetsonMade, Pooh Beatz, and LosTheProducer. [2] The song has been credited with projecting Harlow's name in the music industry, leading to later successes such as his first studio album, on which "Whats Poppin" features. The track reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It received a nomination for Best Rap Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. [3]

Contents

Creation and composition

Pooh Beatz and JetsonMade's collaboration was their second, after working on DaBaby's hit song "Suge", with them both stating how they were already interested in each other's work prior to the creation of "Whats Poppin". [4] The two toyed with different sounds until they were certain they had produced a perfect beat for the song, which ended up becoming one of 2020's biggest hits. [4]

PoohBeatz claimed that the songs title came after a conversation with Harlow about how he wants him to rap for the song, as he had been "popping shit", causing Harlow to think about the title "What's Poppin". The beat for the song was one of the first that the producers came up with, after tweaking with the original and chopping parts out, they found the final version which was a simplistic beat, following from the two's success with "Suge". They said that the simpler the beat, the better, as it allows for the artists creativity to flourish. [4] The use of the 808 pattern was critical in ensuring that the song had enough 'bounce' to be a hit. After this, Harlow stated that he really enjoyed working with the 808 pattern and attempted to incorporate it into his later music. However, JetsonMade made a slight alteration to the 808 pattern, which he thought was crucial in making the song sound better aesthetically. Harlow later stated that when he heard the beat that "this one of the only beats I've ever just like heard, and was like I need this right now". [4]

PoohBeatz has also said that he has thoroughly enjoyed the aftermath of the drop of "Whats Poppin" where it has been featured in commercials, as well as the community making remixes. Additionally, Cole Bennett, a music video producer, sent Harlow a message suggesting some alterations to the song to make it more catchy, which Harlow ending up agreeing upon. [5]

Music video

A picture of Jack Harlow, the artist behind the creation of "What's Poppin" Jack Harlow from Warner Music New Zealand video.png
A picture of Jack Harlow, the artist behind the creation of "What's Poppin"

The music video for the track, directed by Cole Bennett, was released the same day as the song on Cole's Lyrical Lemonade channel. It features a cameo of Ryan "Rhino" Burton of the YouTube comedy channel LoveLiveServe. [6] As with many popular songs, the music video plays an integral part in its commercial success, resulting in exposure to a wider audience. The music video for "Whats Poppin?" was created by popular music video producer 'Lyrical Lemonade', who has been involved in the production of several other popular music videos, such as productions with 'Juice WRLD' and 'Eminem'. As of April, 2021, the music video has amassed over 130 million views on YouTube. [7] For Harlow, having this song featured on this channel contributed to the success of the song globally. Furthermore, a breakdown video on the creation of "Whats Poppin?" with producers Jetsonmade and PoohBeatz allowed for fans to gain a deeper insight into the song itself. Both producers have spoken about looking for a 'fresh' artist to make a new production with, after both collaborating with DaBaby on popular single "Suge". [4]

Cole Bennett did an interview in which he dissected the music video itself. Bennett said that an earlier video of Harlow's for the song "Sundown" was "refreshing", causing him to message him on Twitter for a potential collaboration on his Lyrical Lemonade channel in the future. [5] Bennett initially rejected one of his songs, "Cody Banks", as it wasn't the style he was looking for. He said he would only work with him if he found "absolutely perfect" song to allow the audience to get a sense of Harlow's charisma and character. [5] The two became good friends, even throwing a New Year's Eve party together in 2019, until finally discovering "Whats Poppin" in a set of songs that Harlow sent Bennett, who instantly knew that it was perfect for his channel. Bennett was adamant on having the video in one general location, keeping the video, as well as the shooting process and budget, as simplistic as possible. Furthermore, Bennett suggested that the diner, featured in the music video, be the main location, where different areas of the diner are used in different creative lights, bringing in a unique "world" and making the video fun, such as turning the diner booth into a nightclub and a bed. [5] Bennett said that the song itself involved a lot of wordplay, and that the best way to capture this was in various visual settings. [5] Bennett made various creative decisions when making the video, for example the picture used in the video on the dartboard was taken on the set inside the diner by Bennett himself to get the same outfit and "feel" of where the video already was. [5] Additionally, Bennett says the zooms throughout the video were unplanned, but he instead called in the middle of filming and rented out a zoom lens just for those particular shots, something he later admitted was a "vital role" in the video. [5] At the end of this interview, Bennett stated that he and Harlow have a "bunch of stuff coming" following this collaboration.

Critical reception

Mitch Findlay of HotNewHipHop called the track "one of Harlow's best in a minute". [8] "Whats Poppin" featured in many top 100 lists by the end of 2020, including finishing 5th in the Rolling Stone top 100 most popular songs of 2020. [9] The song also featured in Australia's Triple J Hottest 100, finishing as the 42nd song on the list. [10] Alongside these, the song was also recognised at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, receiving a nomination for Best Rap Performance, where it was beaten by "Savage", a song by Megan Thee Stallion. [11] The remix also received a nomination at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards for Top Rap Song, losing to DaBaby's "Rockstar", who also featured in "What's Poppin (Remix)". [12] The song also received nominations for Top Streaming Song and Top Collaboration (Fan Voted). [12] Additionally, The Eastern Echo had high praise for the remix of the song, saying that Harlow's personality has allowed him to attract bigger names for personality, saying that "he's wack and people love it". [13] The addition of Tory Lanez, DaBaby and Lil Wayne on the song, whom have all achieved great heights in the industry allowed the song's exposure to grow greatly as a result. [13] The Musical Hype gave the song 3.5 stars out of a possible 5, saying that the song displayed Harlow's confidence but lacked any cutting-edge lyrics, instead offering up cliché lyrics about sex and money. [14] Pitchfork stated that "Whats Poppin" became such a huge success because of Harlow's likeable nature and charm, saying "he seems like the kinda guy you would find around a college campus, maybe at the basketball court". [15] However, the song, as well as the music video, was criticised for using a "candy-coated aesthetic" to attract largely young fans, also being deemed "generic". [15] Likewise, the song has also been criticised for its lyrics not taking much to process and not having many deep or meaningful lyrics. [15] Pitchfork further established that Jack Harlow was more like a 'feel good' character as opposed to a clever artist, saying that the song's success is simply attributed to his ability to be in touch with the present society. [15] The success of the original track resulted in Jack Harlow approaching DaBaby, Tory Lanez and Lil Wayne for a remix, which was released later on June 24, 2020, which also saw large commercial success.

Year-end lists

PublicationListRankRef.
Billboard 100 Best Songs of 202026 [16]
Stereogum Top 40 Pop Songs Of 20208 [17]
Uproxx Best Songs Of 202024 [18]
XXL Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2020— [19]

"Whats Poppin" appears on the NBA 2K21 video game soundtrack, [20] as well as appearing in one of the mixtapes in the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) and Call of Duty: Warzone , and in one of the Xbox Game Pass & EA Play trailers. Considering the song was one of 2020's biggest hits, combined with the resurgence of social media as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it inspired several internet trends and memes. At this stage, the song, including its remix, have been used in over 400,000 different videos on the social media platform TikTok. Additionally, the hashtag "#whatspoppin" has over 7 billion views on the platform. The song inspired the 'Glo-Up' trend, where an individual would show a 'before and after' video of themselves using the song in the background, whilst lip syncing to the lyrics "What's Poppin?", as if to say 'What's up?'. [21] Additionally, the beat of the song inspired others to add their own lyrics to the song for comedic purposes, most prominently was the trend of comical skits involving the lyrics "What's poppin? Don't mind me just watching!", created by Biddl3, which also went viral on TikTok, with over 350,000 videos.[ citation needed ] The song has also been accredited to projecting Jack Harlow's career. He has done several interview videos with YouTube channels such as GQ and Genius. As of April 2021, Harlow has amassed 2.2 million followers on Instagram.[ citation needed ]

Awards and nominations

YearOrganizationAwardResultRef.
2020 MTV Video Music Awards Song of SummerNominated [22]
2021 Grammy Awards Best Rap Performance Nominated [3]
2021 Billboard Music Awards Top Streaming SongNominated [23]
Top Collaboration (Fan Voted)Nominated
Top Rap SongNominated

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for '"Whats Poppin"'
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [64] 3× Platinum210,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria) [65] Platinum30,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [66] Platinum40,000‡
Canada (Music Canada) [67] Diamond800,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [68] Platinum90,000‡
Germany (BVMI) [69] Gold200,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [70] Platinum100,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [71] Platinum30,000‡
Poland (ZPAV) [72] Platinum50,000‡
Portugal (AFP) [73] 2× Platinum20,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [74] Gold30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [75] Platinum600,000‡
United States (RIAA) [76] 7× Platinum7,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Remix

  1. ↑ "The Best and Worst of Rap This Week: Why Jack Harlow is the White Rapper of the Moment and More". Pitchfork . 10 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Owens, Henry (March 9, 2020). "The Positioning of "What's Poppin": An Interview with Jack Harlow". Sniffers. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "2021 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners List". GRAMMY.com. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 The Making of Jack Harlow's "What's Poppin" With jetsonmade & Pooh Beatz | Deconstructed, 14 October 2020, retrieved 2021-05-16
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Story Behind the "What's Poppin" Music Video with Cole Bennett, 23 April 2020, retrieved 2021-05-16
  6. ↑ Saponara, Michael (January 22, 2020). "Jack Harlow Bounces Around the Diner in Cole Bennett-Directed "Whats Poppin" Video: Watch". Billboard . Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ Jack Harlow - Whats Poppin (Directed by Cole Bennett), 21 January 2020, retrieved 2021-05-16
  8. ↑ "Jack Harlow Snaps On Braggadocios Banger "What's Poppin'"". HotNewHipHop. 21 January 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
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  12. 1 2 3 "Billboard Music Awards 2021: The Complete Winners List | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  13. 1 2 "Review: Jack Harlow drops "Whats Poppin" remix". The Eastern Echo. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  14. ↑ Hype, The Musical (2020-01-27). "Jack Harlow, "Whats Poppin" | Track Review 🎵". The Musical Hype. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Pierre, Alphonse (10 July 2020). "The Best and Worst of Rap This Week: Why Jack Harlow Is the White Rapper of the Moment and More". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
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  17. ↑ Deville, Chris (December 14, 2020). "The Top 40 Pop Songs Of 2020". Stereogum.
  18. ↑ "The Best Songs Of 2020". Uproxx. December 2, 2020.
  19. ↑ Johnson, Zoe (December 8, 2020). "Here are the best hip-hop songs of 2020". XXL.
  20. ↑ Zidel, Alex. "NBA 2K21 Soundtrack Includes Roddy Ricch, Lil Baby, Tory Lanez, & More". Hot New Hiphop. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  21. ↑ Haylock, Zoe (July 6, 2020). "TikTok Really Might Make Jack Harlow's "Whats Poppin" Song of the (No) Summer". Vulture. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  22. ↑ Warner, Denise (August 30, 2020). "Here Are All the Winners From the 2020 MTV VMAs". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  23. ↑ "The Weeknd wins big at the Billboard Music Awards: See the full winners list". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
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  25. ↑ "Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
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  28. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 17. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
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  31. ↑ "Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Jack Harlow Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts Digital Singles Chart (International) Week 16 2020". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 2020-04-28. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
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  38. ↑ "Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". VG-lista. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  40. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 16. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". Singles Top 100. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Jack Harlow Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  45. ↑ "Jack Harlow Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  46. ↑ "Jack Harlow Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  47. ↑ "Jack Harlow Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
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  50. ↑ "Ö3 Austria Top40 Jahrescharts 2020". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  52. ↑ "Track Top-100 2020". Hitlisten . Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  53. ↑ "Stream Top 100 - darabszám alapján - 2020". Mahasz . Retrieved March 1, 2022.
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  56. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2020". hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
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  58. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  59. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  60. ↑ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
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  62. ↑ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  63. ↑ "Top 1000 Singles + EPs Digitais: Semanas 01 a 52 de 2021" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa . Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  64. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  65. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  66. ↑ "Brazilian single certifications – Jack Harlow – What's Poppin" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  67. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". Music Canada . Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  68. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  69. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Jack Harlow; 'Whats Poppin')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  70. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  71. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  72. ↑ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved May 24, 2023. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Whats Poppin in the search box.
  73. ↑ "Portuguese single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa . Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  74. ↑ "Spanish single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  75. ↑ "British single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  76. ↑ "American single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  77. ↑ "Jack Harlow Enlists Rap Heavyweights Lil Wayne, DaBaby, & Tory Lanez for "Whats Poppin (Remix)"". Billboard . June 24, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  78. ↑ Trust, Gary (July 6, 2020). "DaBaby Rules Hot 100 for Fourth Week; Jack Harlow Surges; Harry Styles, Lil Baby & 42 Dugg Hit Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
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  88. ↑ "Brazilian single certifications – Jack Harlow – What's Poppin (Remix)" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  89. ↑ "French single certifications – Jack Harlow – Whats Poppin (feat. DaBaby, Tory Lanez & Lil Wayne)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved October 20, 2022.
"Whats Poppin (Remix)"
Jack Harlow featuring DaBaby, Tory Lanez and Lil Wayne - Whats Poppin (Remix).png
Single by Jack Harlow featuring DaBaby, Tory Lanez, and Lil Wayne
from the album Thats What They All Say
ReleasedJune 24, 2020 (2020-06-24)
Genre
Length3:47
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Jack Harlow singles chronology
"Moana"
(2020)		"Whats Poppin (Remix)"
(2020)		"Automatic"
(2020)
DaBaby singles chronology
"Don't Rush (Remix)"
(2020)		"Whats Poppin (Remix)"
(2020)		"Stuntin' on You"
(2020)
Studio albums
Singles
Featured singles
Other songs
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