Pussy-Eating Rap Has Come a Long Way

I spent the last two years gathering rap songs from friends and lovers alike about cunnilingus that strike the right balance of romance, lewdness, and a certain kind of begging that can only be informed by a true passion for the act. Historically, hip-hop has not cared much about women’s pleasure. But a growing legacy of pussy-eating rap has taken shape over the last few decades thanks to the innovative women who paved the way to make the niche more commonplace, with mutual pleasure being at the center of the lyricism. Rap has seen some spectacular and worrisome munch anthems (yes, I’m talking about Plies), but I’m just grateful that—thanks to current stars like Tyler, the Creator and Westside Gunn—we live in a moment where eating pussy is a point of pride. It took many years of cringe, and of women in rap writing their own pussy-eating mantras, to get us here.

The first crop of songs that come to mind are educational, and come from the infamous class of women rappers who spent the 1990s and early 2000s bemoaning and cussing out men for the lack of quality head in their lives. An early example is Lil Kim’s “Not Tonight,” from her 1996 debut album Hard Core, where she talked about swiping car keys post-nut and being bored with the same old routine from her late sneaky links. Kim took ownership of her sexuality with a self-assured candor that cut through her era’s respectability politics. She set the stage for rappers like Florida icon Trina, who made it clear that all the complaining from her boos could be quieted if they put something in their mouth on her 2002 track “Nasty Bitch.” “So nigga fuck me with your tongue till ya lick my heart,” she advised. “I gotta body like a coke bottle watch me walk/So nigga work your mouth and don’t talk.” The Queen of Miami is blunt about getting what she deserves and refuses to let the idea of being called a nasty bitch stop her.

It would be illegal to discuss eating pussy without mentioning Khia’s 2002 anthem “My Neck, My Back (Lick It),” another South Florida call to action. She gives explicit details so that there is no excuse for not knowing how to get to the promised land: “I got to pick which nigga I need/To suck and fuck, gon’ satisfy me/You try me, I’ll make you see/You bitches ain’t got shit on me.” The anthem has been sampled, reworked, and honored for decades because, similarly to Trina and Kim’s early cuts, it spoke to a turn in the road in how women in rap owned their sexual power. In an ecosystem that could have cared less about women’s sexual pleasure—let alone their sexual autonomy or safety—these architects of pussy rap told the world to get to sucking.

As the next generation of women in rap made headway, a handful of men were also excited to rap about being of service. This isn’t a contest, but for me, the crown of pussy-eating raps sits squarely with Lil Wayne. He takes any opportunity, even in interviews, to talk about it, but he’s also one of few male rappers who raps about it well. The NOLA spitter has endless bars about eating box, but his greatest flex is the song “Pussy Monster” from 2008’s Tha Carter III. For nearly five minutes, this man speaks at length about his love for the sport with no qualms about the details. “Put that pussy in ma’ face every time I face you/… Because it’s the reason I am alive/Momma, I need it to stay alive/It’s like I gotta eat it just to survive.”

Other strong examples of the niche at the dawn of the millennium include Ludacris’ 1999 single “What’s Your Fantasy.” On it, we get a bouncy phone sex session where Ludacris and Shawnna get into the details of their individual daydreams. “How about on the beach with black sand?” Luda raps. “Lick up your thigh, then call me the Pac-Man.”

Sadly, they aren’t all gems. Plies’ 2007 single “Get You Wet” is particularly egregious—all bite and not much romance. The crooning ballad is written from his lustful perspective, and it mostly makes you want to look away: “Bet if I suck on dem titties bet dat’ll get you wet.” The lyrics are explicit in the harshest way, with no real interest in his partner’s pleasure. The song’s best moment is horny boy band Pretty Ricky’s lustful crooning on the hook.  

But there are also some underappreciated pussy-rap yearners. Take Atlanta rappers, and former dynamic duo, Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug. Quan most notably dropped the true hood classic “Milk Marie,” a lustful and in-love ballad, in 2014. Then there’s Thug’s “Feel It,” from his 2017 album Beautiful Thugger Girls, which starts off with, “I want that pussy in a Wraith/I’ma make sure lil’ mama feel it,” echoing the true begging nature of the act. 

Other modern gentlemen also strike the perfect balance of adoration, sweetness, and lust that makes for enjoyable pussy-eating ballads that feel honest. Take Tyler, the Creator’s sensual selflessness on “Rah Tah Tah,” from this year’s Chromakopia, where he brags, “I’m a bonafide face-seat box-muncher.” Or ASAP Ferg’s “Dreams, Fairy Tales, Fantasies,” where he declares, “We go for hours, fuck in the shower, pussy devour/Foreplay in the kitchen, bend it over the counter/You taste like candy‚ I eat it like Sour Power.”

Westside Gunn sliced through R&B singer Joyce Wrice’s delicate 2021 album Overgrown with his infamous gun adlibs and lines like, “Chance I’ll need a table for two/I’ll finger-fuck you while we waiting on side-taste.” It’s the perfect mix of vulgarity and romance—Westside’s tone can make anything sound luxurious, even an offer to eat someone out in public. (On 2020’s “Liz Love Luger,” Westside delivered a cunnlingus rap with even more clarity: “Flygod’s lil’ whore, you look so beautiful/Lickin’ on her pussy, I’m ’bout to buy the Goyard store.” A true man of class!)

All of it feels like a sweet embrace instead of a harsh collision, and a reflection of the moment hip-hop has matured into. Hypermasculinity isn’t the central voice in rap anymore—there’s space for pleasure to be a two-way conversation, and for men who might’ve felt shame about being of service to have the space to put it on wax.

Even with a new class of male rappers taking ladies’ pleasure more seriously, the new girls are upping their demands to the next level, where box-eating is the minimum requirement. As the California rapper Kaliii said on her 2022 track “Eat It Up”:  “Can’t beat it up till he eat it up.” On “Eater,” from 2021, St. Louis rapper Big Boss Vette echoes Lil Kim. Of course, a little song called “Munch (Feelin’ U)” turned Ice Spice into a star. And Houston’s favorite, Megan Thee Stallion, has never been shy about her desires—but on my personal favorite Meg track, 2021’s “Eat It,” she spits an artillery of gratifying orders that feel effortless: “I don’t want just one nut/Daddy, I’ma need the whole tree.”

The new vanguard is repurposing the sounds and politics of Trina, Lil Kim, and Wayne so that we can fully appreciate the staunch bravery of this tradition’s pioneers. From the Black feminist backlash against Lil Kim’s 1996 debut to the RIAA slapping the first-ever parental advisory sticker on 2 Live Crew’s 1990 album Banned in the U.S.A., Black sexual expression has and will always be political. Women in rap have been able to push through the misogyny to spearhead the sonics of their pleasure on their terms. Sexuality, and the politics of who gets to enjoy sex, has come full circle since the dawn of hip-hop. By now, the playing field is closer to even than ever, as rappers across gender identities show off their best lines about eating pussy on wax without the earlier stigmas of promiscuity. Soon enough, the days of cringey and male-centered sex rap might be behind us entirely.

Below is a playlist of highlights from rap’s cunnilingus (and cunnilingus-adjacent) canon, available to paying subscribers only. Your support allows us to delve into important cultural histories like this one!