"Like Whaaat" is a song by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

recording artist

Problem Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

, released on February 12, 2013 as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, which was included on various mixtapes such as ''The Separation'' and later on his debut retail EP ''

Understand Me ''Understand Me'' is the debut EP by American hip hop recording artist Problem, released on December 10, 2013 under Diamond Lane Music Group. The EP follows up six months after the release of his ninth mixtape, ''The Separation''. The eight-track ...

''. The song, produced by League of Starz, features a guest appearance from frequent collaborator

Bad Lucc Dubb Union is a hip hop group featuring artists from Los Angeles and the nearby areas of Inglewood, Long Beach, and Watts. The original name of the group was Westurn Union, but was later changed to Dubb Union to avoid a lawsuit with banking c ...

Dubb Union Dubb Union is a hip hop group featuring artists from Los Angeles and the nearby areas of Inglewood, Long Beach, and Watts. The original name of the group was Westurn Union, but was later changed to Dubb Union to avoid a lawsuit with banking ...

. The song has since peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

. In

19 June Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. * 1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle chan ...

2024, Problem performed the hit song, for

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

's concert '' The Pop Out: Ken & Friends'' at the

Kia Forum The Kia Forum, also known as Los Angeles Forum and formerly Great Western Forum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Pincay Drive to th ...

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, closing the first set by DJ Hed, titled the Act I – DJ Hed & Friends.

Background

The song's production is backed by minimal synth riffs and midtempo percussion, which was created by upcoming producers League of Starz. It also features distinct samples from

Young Bleed Glenn Clifton Jr., also known as Young Bleed is an American rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Biography Young Bleed started rhyming at the age of 9 at home in his native South Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was influenced by his mother, who read p ...

's " How You Do That There", which was also sampled on King L's "Full of Dat Weed". ''

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 ...

'' credited Problem for reviving the song and turning it into a hit, calling it "a contemporary, thumping re-imagining of the familiar track." Upon release, "Like Whaaat" was featured in heavy rotation on

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Alex Meruelo's Meruelo Group, through licensee KPWR Radio Ho ...

and many stations in rural

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. On June 6, 2013, hip hop mogul Diddy released a video a promotional video for Revolt TV, featuring him dancing on his private jet to the song. Problem would reference this in the song's remix.

Music video

The music video for "Like Whaaat" was directed by Topself Junior and released on March 19, 2013 via SkeeTV. It featured cameo appearances from

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

rappers such as

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. ...

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...

Ab-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed We ...

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper. His fourth mixtape, ''From the Westside with Love'' (2010), was met with critical acclaim; its sequel, '' From the Westside with Love II' ...

Daz Dillinger Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger or simply Daz (formerly Dat Nigga Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. As a member of Death Row Records in the early 1990s, he is credited with the label ...

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he formed Tha Dogg Pound in 1992 along with Daz Dillinger; the rap duo has releas ...

, and

Glasses Malone Charles Phillip Ivory Penniman (born December 10, 1978), known professionally Glasses Malone, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Early life Charles Penniman grew up in the Watts and Compton neighborhoods in Greater Los Angeles. ...

, among others such as

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gai ...

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

and Big Boy.

Critical reception

"Like Whaaat" was named number 47 on the "Best Songs of 2013 (So Far)" list made by ''

'', published on June 24, 2013.

Remix

The official remix to "Like Whaaat" was released on June 21, 2013 on " Big Boy's Neighborhood" on

. The remix features guest appearances from

Master P Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

Tyga Micheal Ray StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson

and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

replacing Bad Lucc's verse on the song, along with a new verse from Problem. On July 9, 2013, the remix was released as a single to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. On May 23, 2013,

DJ Skee Scott Keeney (born 15 November 1983), better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is an American artist, television host, radio personality, and entrepreneur. Skee rose to fame as the first DJ to discover and play superstar artists on the radio incl ...

released the official "Skeemix" for the song featuring a verse from rapper Riff Raff. Rappers

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

Background

Music video

Critical reception

Remix

Chart performance

Release history

References