Will Schube is in the club politely requesting Bruce Springsteen.
There is no competition for song of the summer because it’s always been and always will be “Return of the Mack.” But, let’s suppose we’re playing a silly game in which “Return of the Mack” is disqualified, and well then, things get a bit more interesting; but not for long because the contest is already over. Valee may have already wrapped up the top spot for 2018 just after May Day with the Jeremih-assisted “Womp Womp.”
The track is the only good thing currently coming out of the flaming pile of trash that is G.O.O.D. Music, and Valee’s goodness has almost taken attention away from his MAGA-loving boss. Politics aside, Valee knows how to make a hit and if his 2018 release, GOOD Job, You Found Me, didn’t clue you in, the young man born Valee Taylor is going to be a star—if he hasn’t become one already.
“Womp Womp” is the sort of freewheeling hit that young artists release to test the limits of their reach after the first record goes over well. It’s just weird enough to be an outlier within Valee’s growing discography, but is still a glowing orb of star-power and hook-laden goodness. The beat busts with enough low-end to find a place on the dance floor, but the rubbery bassline looks westward with an eye towards Cali’s low-riding idyllic summer days. Cássio’s production is sneakily minimalistic, sparse enough to let Valee and Jeremih roam around, coming up with new and witty ways to talk about how much they get laid.
Jeremih takes the track’s first half, delivering his lines with a matter-of-fact ambivalence, but with enough variance in his sing-rap style that the veteran stays effortlessly engaging. Valee sticks with him bar for bar, more than holding his own with sex laden lines like, “Bought that bitch some acid/ I brought back the fun fun/ Even though her weave undone I fucked her twice cum cum.”
“Womp Womp” is sure to be playing at the first Instagramable pool party of the summer, but that speaks more to Valee’s crossover appeal than the sort of fans he’s bound to attract. “Return of the Mack” is forever, so the song of the summer is a non-discussion. But “Womp Womp” is more than a sterling consolation prize.
