What is a Throat Baby?

With one TikTok influencer, a song can go viral overnight. This was the case for East Atlanta rapper BRS Kash. His hit single “Throat Baby” took to the world by storm. With over 25 million streams on Spotify and 11 million views on YouTube, it shows just how successful this song has been due to social media influence. However, these questions remain, what type of message does this song push onto its listeners, why is this song so catchy, and what is a “throat baby”? As we dive deeper into the message behind the lyrics and the music video, we will unravel a more in-depth understanding of the impact that this song has had on the hip-hop community.

In this ode to oral stimulation, Kash showcases just how far one will go in order to fulfill their sexual desires and gives quite the vivid description of how those desires look. In an interview with GQ magazine, Kash reveals that this song was inspired by a drunken night with a former female friend. But this only inspired him to create the hook. Kash states that after he received no response from the female friend, he had an encounter with one of her friends who “ended up giving [him] something even better in the back of a Sprinter,” and that’s how he wrapped up the song. But one’s mind still wanders about what that “something better is”. Oral sex.

That’s right. The song that has had its plethora of pre-teens, children, and other minors of all types of ethnic backgrounds dancing up and down your social media feed is about oral sex. As mind blowing as this might seem, it comes as no shock to followers of the hip-hop culture. After analyzing the lyrics of such a sexually explicit act, I took away a few key messages that resonated with me. First, the hyper sexualization of women in a sense of using them merely for sexual pleasure. Secondly, how far men will go in order to receive sexual stimulation, and lastly, the promotion of casual sex with no strings attached.

To jump start the song, Kash begins the lyrics with “Sexy lil' bitch, sexy lil' ho”. While complimenting the female counterpart, he also degrades her by calling her a “bitch” and a “ho”. It shouldn’t be surprising as a fan of hip hop to be exposed to such vulgar language nor the sexually explicit lyrics of “Deep stroke your throat 'til I make you choke,”. As stated in “The Hip Hop Wars” by Tricia Rose, there is no doubt about whether or not “hip hop promotes sexist and demeaning images of black women as its bread-and-butter product.”. With lyrics like “Know what she came to do. Suck this dick, then she dip,” showcases the hyper sexualization of women in the sense that they are merely being used for sexual pleasure.

In addition to the first message, BRS Kash further promotes just how far a man will go in order to receive oral stimulation. When you hear “Way too good, may buy you somethin'. Made a whole song, see, I ain't frontin'. I shoot the world for you. I go to war for you”, it sends a message that the only way a man in his position will spend any sufficient amount of money or time on you is if you do something in exchange for him. It turns something that had been deemed so precious and loving into something more of a business transaction. Further into the song, Kash states,

“I spend a bag on her. With a mouth like that, she can talk her way out goin' to jail. With a mouth like that, if you go to jail, I'll pay your bail. I need you, wanna see you. Suck me up for an hour, I can't help but buy you flowers.” Though the song is catchy, it only feeds deeper into the true ideals of commercial hip hop for black women to be seen only as sex symbols or objects. In the music video, Kash showcases the women as props in fast foreign cars, medical institutions, and exotic nightclubs.

This only plays further into the hands of commercial hip hop as they further the agenda of women selling sex. He showcases the plethora of women who find it admissible to perform these sexual acts for financial gains.

Lastly, after confessing all of the feelings he has for the woman due to her skill set of performing oral sex, he finishes by stating that “No relations, feelings, fightin',” with gives the impression that although he may be sexually attracted to you, spend money on you, or give his time to you, you must remember that things can end at any time because this is just a casual thing, no strings attached. For something that men once could only access through marriage and prostitute solicitation, they have developed sex into something that has become a commodity that can be accessed by a simple bouquet of flowers, a purse, or even a meal.

In conclusion, though the song is catchy, it influences a trail of messages that include the hyper sexualization of women in a sense of using them merely for sexual pleasure, how far men will go in order to receive sexual stimulation, and lastly, the promotion of casual sex with no strings attached. While pushing the male agenda to be known as the “man” or to be seen as a sex symbol by women, he has also further pushed the commercial image of women being seen merely as sex objects.

Works Cited

Rose, Tricia. The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk about When We Talk about Hip Hop. BasicCivitas, 2008.

Wicker, Jewel. “BRS Kash Broke Out With Lewd Viral Anthem ‘Throat Baby," But Shows His Sensitive Side on First Mixtape 'Kash Only'.” GQ, GQ, 25 Jan. 2021, www.gq.com/story/throat-baby-rapper-brs-kash-on-new-album.