"Bickenhead" is a song by American rapper

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

from her debut studio album ''

Invasion of Privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 185 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. Since the global ...

'' (2018). It was written by Cardi B and

Pardison Fontaine Jorden Kyle Lanier Thorpe (born December 29, 1989), better known by his stage name Pardison Fontaine, is an American rapper and songwriter from Newburgh, New York. He is best known for his 2018 single "Backin' It Up" (featuring Cardi B), which ...

alongside producers by Ayo,

Keyz James Foye III, professionally known as KEYZBABY, is an American record producer, songwriter, audio engineer and recording engineer from Buffalo, New York. He is one half of Ayo N Keyz (The Upperclassmen), a production team with Ayo the Producer. ...

and Nes. It samples

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), known professionally as Project Pat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, the co-founder of Three 6 Mafia. Houston was formerly a member of the hip-hop ...

's song "Chickenhead", written by

Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...

DJ Paul Paul Duane Beauregard (born January 12, 1977), known professionally as DJ Paul, is an American rapper and record producer. He is a founding member of hip hop group Three 6 Mafia and the brother of rapper Lord Infamous. DJ Paul is also the half ...

and Todd Shaw, which itself samples DJ Jimi's "Bitches (Reply)", written by Derrick Ordogne and Dion Norman; therefore they are all credited among the composers. It debuted at number 43 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the week following the album's release.

Background and production

An explicit song that expresses

sexual liberation The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the late 1950s to the early 1 ...

, "Bickenhead" builds on Cardi B's affinities with

Southern rap Southern hip-hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip-hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip-hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, ...

, while serving as a response to

's "Chickenhead." Chickenhead is a derogatory term popularized in 1990s hip hop music that refers to a woman that performs

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vu ...

indiscriminately. Changing the message, in the lyrics of "Bickenhead", reviewers noted Cardi B "takes ownership of her sexuality". Dion Norman, who co-wrote the sampled song "Bitches (Reply)", stated about "Bickenhead":

Critical reception

In ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', Kiana Fitzgerald said, "the beat itself is faithful to the first, with slight variations that make it sound like 2018 while still invoking the feel of the early '00s. It sounds like the song Cardi's been waiting her whole career to make, and she swan dived right into the depths of pearl-clutching crassness that we've come to love her for. (Half the song is dedicated to advice about pussy popping.) Above all else, 'Bickenhead' is a reminder to women everywhere that there's nothing wrong with alternating being a bird with being about your paper...". Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Neil Z. Yeung felt Cardi B gets "filthy" on the "explicit" track, that "it could make

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

or Foxy Brown blush."

Antisemitism accusations

A lyric in the first verse of the song, "Lawyer is a Jew, he gon' chew up all the charges", was received poorly by some audiences and multiple Jewish publications accused Cardi B of playing into antisemetic sterotypes of lawyers being overwhelmingly Jewish or that Jewish lawyers wield disproportionate legal power. Some perceived her lyric as a reference to her legal defense team containing multiple Jewish attorneys, but still considered the lyric to be inappropriate.

Live performances

Cardi B performed "Bickenhead" and " She Bad" at the 36th AVN Awards on January 26, 2019.

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 2018 songs Cardi B songs Songs written by Cardi B Songs written by DJ Paul Songs written by Pardison Fontaine Songs written by Too Short Songs written by Keyz (producer) Songs written by Ayo the Producer Songs written by Juicy J