Trap Queen
An accompanying music video for the song, directed by Nitt Da Gritt, was released on his YouTube page that features Wap and his girlfriend partying at their apartment.[2] Wap conceived "Trap Queen" in late 2013 and recorded the song the following March after hearing what would become its backing track, which had been produced by Tony Fadd (real name Anton Matsulevich[3]), a musician from Belarus.[10] Although Wap had a feeling that "Trap Queen" was a potential hit even before recording the song, particularly when he first heard the beat,[5][11] his suspicions that it could reach an audience outside his own region were confirmed later as he noticed its growing popularity on social media websites like Twitter and Instagram;[12] meanwhile, its play count on SoundCloud had increased to over a million within its first months online.[9] To take advantage of the increased attention the song was receiving, a revised version was subsequently made for radio which shortened the total runtime and included an additional rapped verse following the first iteration of the chorus.[18] Wap sings most of the song's verses, along with its chorus, in a gritty, melodic delivery reminiscent of contemporary Southern hip hop artists such as Gucci Mane, Future, Rich Homie Quan, and Young Thug.Ural Garrett of HipHopDX compared the song's lyrical approach to urban fiction narratives, stating that its themes "wouldn't feel too out of place in writings from Zane, Wahida Clark or Mz.[28] In a particularly positive review for The Guardian, Ben Westhoff called the song "a revelation" that "sounds simultaneously familiar and exotic" and ultimately "succeeds as an oddly touching love story".[21] "Trap Queen" was named one of the best songs of 2014 in The Huffington Post and Vice magazine's Noisey blog, with the latter publication calling it "the hottest New York City record of the year".[26] Billboard included "Trap Queen" in its "Top 10 Songs of 2015 (So Far)" list in June 2015, stating "A hearty "Hey, what's up, hello" to one of rap's most uniquely inspired new personalities: Fetty Wap's surprise success story has been all the more enjoyable to witness due to the jubilant debut single on which it is founded.Whether it's the bouncy nature of Tony Fadd's production, Fetty's insanely catchy hooks or his equally singular ad-libs (which rang out continuously in clubs and car stereos nationwide), 'Trap Queen' captured attention on its way to a No.[42] The music video for "Trap Queen", directed by RGF Productions head Nitt Da Gritt, was uploaded to Fetty Wap's YouTube channel on August 7, 2014, and has received more than 793 million views as of October 2022.[12][47] A major early source of exposure through such media was the rapper Bobby Shmurda — at the time enjoying the success of his own viral hit single "Hot Nigga" — who posted a video to his Instagram account on October 16, 2014, in which he sang along to "Trap Queen".Artists releasing their takes and guest verses on the song included French Montana, Fabolous, Rick Ross and Fat Trel, Yo Gotti, Quavo, Lil' Kim, Shy Glizzy and Da Brat.